It’s hard to believe that we are just a few days away from Christmas!
We packed a helluva lot into 2025, with lifters setting records at our Nationals in Asylum Gym (too many to name!), the Europeans in Slovakia in May (well done Dylan Frank and Darren), Four Nations in Dublin in July (Ray Foley’s deadlift stands out but many many more that day!), a small team travelled to Brazil in October and then to the world cup in November and we finished the year with our Winter Open in Carrick On Suir. It was delightful to see several older faces back on the GPC platform as well as the many youth lifting at this open! Speaking of….
Congratulations to the best lifters at our Winter Open:
Best Female: Natasha Anderson
Best Teen: Tommy Colfer
Best Junior: Sean Fox (former European Champion)
Best Open: Maurice O’Keeffe
Best Master: Jason Airton
Best Deadlift: Martin O’Mahony
Best Bench: Paul Kiely
Best Overall: Ryan ‘Benji’ McDonnell
Our Calendar for 2026 is set as follows:
Irish Nationals: March 7th, Strength and Fitness Gym, Carrick on Suir (Entries will go live on the website for this shortly; be sure to enter before the deadline to get your competition shirt free with your entry!)
GPC European Championship: May 15-17, Wolverhampton, UK
Annual Summer Open Push Pull: July (exact date and location TBC)
GPC World Championship: October 19-25, Pabianice, Poland
BiAnnual GPC Ireland Charity Push Pull: November 1st, Kings Gym, Limerick (More info closer to date, but note we will have a prize for best Halloween costume)
GPC British Championship, Open to all Irish lifters as part of the Combined Nations Association: November 21-22, Wolverhampton, UK
Annual Winter Open: December (exact date and location TBC)
My fellow lifters, it has been an honour and a humbling privilege to act as your president of the GPC Irish federation again this year. Our primary goal is to be as inclusive and welcoming as possible to lifters of all ages and backgrounds, and created events at as many different locations as possible to be as accessible as possible and we are eternally grateful to the gym owners that partner with us across the nation and make this possible. I have personally seen and felt the confidence and camaraderie that is alive in this sport, and it’s so exciting to offer events to each lifter as they progress on their respective journey in our sport. We all do this for a different reason, but we all share the love of the sport, and that tie transcends all differences.
I wish you all a very festive and happy holiday season, and look forward to seeing you all again on the platform in a healthy and strong 2026!
Sincerely,
Jenny O’Neil
