Many thanks for taking the time to visit our 'About Us' Section. Here is a short introduction on our company and what we offer.
The Irish National Sailing School is a Junior & Schools Sailing provider based on the West Pier, Dun Laoghaire, in county Dublin. During our peak season we also operate from our summer base at Seapoint Beach. Since our establishment in the 1970s, we have provided sail training for over 70,000 trainees. We still have a tremendous zest for the sport and enjoy nothing more than seeing a beginner get to grips with the skills of sailing.
History
Set up by Alistair Rumball during the bank strike of 1977, the sailing school had very humble beginnings, with the original Clubhouse situated on the first floor of what is now a charity shop on Dun Laoghaire's main street! Through the late 1970s and 1980s the business began to establish a foothold, and Alistair's brother Arthur set up the chandler Viking Marine during this period, which he ran until selling on to its present owners in 1999.
In 1991 the Irish National Sailing School relocated to its current premises at the foot of the West Pier. Throughout the 1990s the business continued to build on its reputation and became the training institution of choice for budding sailors. The 2000s have seen the business break barriers - firstly by introducing more people to the water than any other organisation, and secondly pioneering low cost course fees, thereby rubbishing the assertion that sailing is an expensive sport.
So after nearly 40 years in existance we believe our experience, excellent reputation, welcome, hospitality and competitive prices are a combination that offers you, our customer, an excellent time every time!
Fleet
Our fleet stands at over 180 boats, consisting of 83 Topper Dinghies, 31 Laser Pico Dinghies, 24 Optimist Dinghies, 6 Laser II Dinghies, 8 Squib Keelboats, 2 Sheriff Dayboats, 6 Cork 1720 Sportsyachts and a fleet of over 25 Powerboats, made up of Tiller Arm and Rigid Inflatables. The fleet is tended to by our two full time maintenance team at our Boathouse in Dun Laoghaire Harbour. To read more click Here.
Our Commitment to Quality of Service and Unbeatable Value!
We pride ourselves on an excellent quality of service. We only hire the best people; each member of staff is highly qualified in their area of expertise and has been imbued with an ethos of "The Customer comes First" across every aspect of what they do. We are proud to count Economist David McWilliams, RTE Newsreader Bryan Dobson and Hollywood Actor Colin Farrell amongst those figures. Our increase in numbers was no accident - from early 2008 it became apparent that a seismic shift was taking place in Ireland - people were sick and tired of being ripped off, consumer power came to the fore, and people were only willing to spend where they were getting "bang for their buck". We set out on a mission to lower our business costs so we could pass on savings to our customers. Inefficiency and waste were eliminated with the result that we could now match our great service with unbeatable value.
Since 2008 we have continued on this crusade, and our promise to you is to beat every single one of our competitors on quality, excellence and value. Our competitors baulk at our prices, asking how can The Irish National Sailing School offer such prices? Are INSS Courses inferior? Answer: Not in the slightest, our courses are miles better, because of our efficiencies and modern work practices! Our staff are consumate professionals, and work 52 weeks of the year teaching the skills of sailing.
We've cut out every aspect of our existance that may afford the customer bad value. Here's an example of one change: we now conduct all correspondence by email instead of post - saving up to €1.50 per piece of correspondence when postage, paper, envelope and man hours factored in. Just a small change you might think - but when this process is multiplied by 6,000 customers the difference is noted. Where? On your course fees, so you get better value for money!
Our lowering of fees across the board has prompted more people to book in for our courses, and thus we can employ more people, pay their wages, pay our taxes and contribute to a new better Ireland. By booking a course with us you are creating employment - employment which wouldn't exist if we were charging crazy prices for our programmes. Presently we employ 9 Full Time permanent staff and up to another 40 seasonal Full Time staff.
We're working hard to provide you with the best service we possibly can - we hope you have enjoyed this short piece and look forward to seeing you on the water with us very soon!
Remember to book as early as possible in advance of a course – we work on a first come, first served basis. Making a booking has never been easier – just pick up the phone and call us at 01 2844195 – all credit and debit cards are accepted !
General Information about the Irish National Sailing School:
What do you need to bring each day. Click Here for a comprehensive list.
Looking for directions or and where to park when you get here.
To find out a bit about the people behind the scenes at the Irish National Sailing School, click Here.
Other Information:
To view out Terms and Conditions click Here.