At the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, competitions will be spread across six distinct “clusters” in Northern Italy. For Team Ireland, this set-up means athletes will be based in different villages depending on their sport, but together they will showcase Irish talent across a wide range of disciplines.
The Milano Cluster will host skating and the Opening Ceremony in the iconic San Siro Stadium. Ireland will not be represented in figure skating or ice dance, but there is a real opportunity in short track. Over the coming weeks, Sean McAnuff and Liam O’Brien will begin their qualifying campaigns, aiming to secure Ireland’s first participation in this high-intensity sport.
In the Cortina Cluster, women’s alpine skiing takes centre stage alongside curling and sliding sports. Ireland’s female quota place will see strong challenges from skiers including Elle Murphy, Eabha McKenna and some exciting junior skiers. The dramatic Dolomite slopes will be where these battles for selection are ultimately decided. Also in this village, Elsa Desmond is aiming to qualify for her second Olympic Games in luge.
The Val di Fiemme Cluster is home to cross-country skiing, and Thomas Maloney Westgaard will be back to his grind — switching from roller skis to snow as he prepares for another Olympic push in endurance racing.
The Valtellina Cluster, centred on separate villages in Livigno and Bormio, will stage men’s alpine and freestyle skiing and snowboarding. In Bormio, Ireland’s male alpine skiing spot will be hotly contested by Matt Ryan, Cormac Comerford, Ethan Bouchard, and Finlay Wilson while in Livigno, several Irish athletes are targeting places: Claire Dooley in moguls, and Anja Barugh and Ben Lynch both aiming to qualify in freestyle skiing halfpipe.
In the Antholz Cluster, biathlon will be staged and this is the only village where Ireland will certainly not be represented. Verona will host the Closing Ceremony in its famous Roman amphitheatre. With the majority of qualification events concluding only in mid – late January, the anticipation of who will ultimately make up Team Ireland will continue to build.
For Team Ireland, the cluster system presents a logistical challenge, but it also underlines the growing breadth of winter sports where Irish athletes are competing