With the absence of Paralympic and world champion Darragh McDonald through injury, Ellen Keane, James Scully and Laurence McGivern will shoulder most of the Irish medal hopes at the Pieter van den Hoogenband Swimming Stadium.

They will be joined by fellow London 2012 Paralympian Jonathan McGrath and 15-year-old Ailbhe Kelly who will be making her debut at international level.

McDonald was the sole gold medallist at last year's World Championships but Keane with two and Scully and McGivern with one apiece earned four bronze medals in Montreal to contribute to Ireland's best ever haul at an international Paralympic swimming event.

Bethany Firth, who has since switched allegiance to Great Britain, also claimed three silver medals as the Irish team finished in 20th place overall with eight medals.

James Scully (right) will be hoping for a podium finish again when the European Championships get underway in Eindhoven next month ©Getty Images




But Sydney 2000 Paralympic swimming gold medallist, Dave Malone, the performance manager at Paralympics Ireland, is confident the team can put in a strong showing despite the absence of McDonald and Firth.

"The team we have going to Eindhoven is a really strong one with the swimmers looking forward to benchmarking themselves against all the best swimmers in Europe," said Malone.

"All five are targeting lifetime best swims at the event, and should they swim to their potential we are hopeful of podium finishes."

The Irish squad are dueto take part in a training camp in the Canary Islands from July 18 to 29 before heading to Eindhoven.

The Championships will see around 400 athletes from 40 countries competing from August 4 to 10.

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