Rachael Darragh
Badminton
BIOGRAPHY
Rachael Darragh represented Ireland in the women’s badminton singles at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, becoming the second member of her family to compete in Olympic badminton.
She was drawn in a tough group alongside Olympic champion Carolina Marín of Spain and was eliminated in the group stage. From Raphoe, Co. Donegal, Darragh grew up in one of Ireland’s great badminton families – her grandfather Samuel Magee founded Raphoe Badminton Club, her aunt Chloe Magee competed in women’s singles at three Olympics (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016) and became the first Irish woman to win an Olympic match at Beijing, and her uncles Sam and Josh Magee are European medallists.
Her uncle Dan Magee served as Badminton Ireland’s High Performance Director throughout her career. She attended Royal and Prior School in Raphoe and studied leisure management at TU Dublin. She qualified for Paris ranked 34th in the world – securing her place thanks to a reallocated spot from host nation France – and had made the quarter-finals of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She was coached at the National Sports Campus by Iskander Zulkarnainar in the build-up to the Games.
BADMINTON NEWS
OFI Updates – June 2026
BADMINTON IRELAND SETS OUT PATHWAYS FOR DAKAR 2026, EUROPEAN GAMES 2027 & LA28 OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION To support athletes and coaches in planning for this cycle, Badminton Ireland, in partnership with the Olympic Federation of Ireland, has published its nomination policies for Dakar 2026, the European Games 2027, and LA28. Publishing these policies early provides clarity [...]
Badminton Ireland Sets Out Pathways for Dakar 2026, European Games 2027 & LA28 Olympic Qualification
Irish badminton is entering one of its busiest and most important highperformance cycles in recent years, with athletes across both pathway and senior levels preparing for a demanding run of major international events. With qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games beginning next year — running from 3 May 2027 to 30 April 2028 [...]
Team Ireland Set for Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026
Team Ireland is preparing for an exciting milestone on the Olympic pathway as we look ahead to the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026. This is the first Olympic event ever to be hosted on the African continent. The Games take place from 31 October to 13 November 2026, bringing together the world’s best young athletes [...]
In The News – April 20th 2026
Gymnastics Gymnastics Ireland’s own Emma Slevin competed in the NCAA National Final Four on Saturday 18th April with her team, the Minnesota Golden Gophers. This is the first time Minnesota has made the Final Four in their history. Ranked No. 13 after the NCAA regular season, the Gophers upset No.4 UCLA and No.9 Arkansas in the [...]
Istanbul 2027 European Games
A Key Step on the Road to LA28 The 4th European Games will take place in Istanbul, Turkey from 16 to 27 June 2027, one year out from the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. For Team Ireland, Istanbul represents a significant moment in the LA28 cycle: a major competitive platform, a qualification opportunity across multiple [...]
In the News – 9 March 2026
Hockey The Irish Men’s and women’s hockey teams qualify for the FIH World Cup, after competing in the Qualifiers tournament in Santiago, Chile. The Ireland Men’s Hockey Team closed out their FIH Hockey World Cup Qualifiers with a win over France to take top spot in the tournament. Having trailed by a goal, Ireland fought [...]