Róisín Ní Riain and Dearbhaile Brady claimed Ireland’s first medals of the 2026 World Para Swimming European Championships as Team Ireland enjoyed a memorable night in Kocaeli.

Ní Riain produced a lifetime best to take silver in the women’s 100m freestyle S13, while Brady announced herself on the European stage with another silver in the 200m individual medley SM6.

There was also a narrow fourth-place finish for Deaten Registe, while Emersyn Scully continued her remarkable run of form with a fourth consecutive personal best.

For Ní Riain, silver came after a stunning late charge in an event she does not contest at the Paralympic Games.

The 22-year-old National Centre Limerick swimmer had qualified fourth-fastest for the final after clocking 1:01.85 in the morning heats, just outside her previous personal best of 1:01.58.

She was fourth at the halfway mark but produced a superb final 50 metres, increasing her stroke rate to power home in 1:00.52 and smash her lifetime best.

The performance secured European silver, with Ní Riain finishing just 0.31 seconds behind Italy’s Carlotta Gilli, who took gold in 1:00.21.

“I’m really, really happy with that swim,” Ní Riain said afterwards.

“I knew I was capable of a swim like that, and I also knew I was capable of a time like that for a while now.

“This is my first time racing the 100m freestyle at a major international championship, so I didn’t really know what to expect. It’s my first tapered 100m freestyle and everything like that, so I knew that if I executed it correctly, there was a good swim in me.”

Ní Riain admitted she had not expected to leave the event with a medal, describing the 100m freestyle as something of a “mystery event” due to its absence from the Paralympic programme.

“If you told me I’d win a medal in the 100m freestyle, I wouldn’t have believed that,” she said.

“It just goes to show that the work I was doing all year did pay off, even though it may have been a little bit different.

“It’s a bit of a mystery event for me. It’s not an event for us at the Paralympic Games, so it’s a bit of a fun one we get to do at Europeans.

“That was just a fun one for me tonight. I wasn’t too nervous for it. It’s about resetting for the backstroke now tomorrow.”

Brady followed with another silver for Ireland after an impressive display in the 200m individual medley SM6.

The National Centre Dublin swimmer made a blistering start and led after the opening 50 metres before dropping back to second at the turn.

But the Irish swimmer held firm over the remainder of the race to secure the silver medal in 3:20.78, finishing more than five seconds clear of the bronze medallist.

“I feel quite good,” Brady said.

“It was the first event, so I just wanted to start off by getting into racing. I was quite nervous, so I’m happy with how it went.

“I think it’s about taking it a day at a time. Competition started two days ago and I was training throughout, so it’s nice to be racing.”

Brady said a greater focus on consistency in training was beginning to show results.

“I think this year was just about getting more training and consistency,” she said.

“It’s nice to see that there’s now a positive side coming out of it all. I’m really happy with how it went today.”

Registe came agonisingly close to adding another medal to Ireland’s tally in the 100m breaststroke SB14.

The Lisburn swimmer clocked 1:08.36 to finish fourth, missing out on bronze by just 0.29 seconds behind Ukraine’s Vasyl Krainyk.

“I feel good. It was better than this morning, that’s all I can ask for,” Registe said.

“I probably could have paced the second 50 a bit better, but apart from that I can’t be too upset. It’s faster than this morning, so I’m happy enough.”

Registe added that a busy schedule of travel and competition had provided valuable experience ahead of the championship.

“It’s been a lot of travel and competition. Some have been good, some have been bad, but each one has been a learning curve, going to all these places and competing against the best.”

Scully, meanwhile, continued to rewrite her own personal best after producing another strong swim in the 100m breaststroke SB14 final.

The New Ross swimmer clocked 1:24.90 to finish sixth in Europe, lowering her best for the fourth consecutive race and taking almost a full second off her heat time of 1:25.89.

“It’s actually crazy, I can’t believe it,” Scully said.

“It’s been such a long season, so it’s nice to have a PB. It shows the training is paying off.

“To say I finished sixth in Europe is crazy. My nan is at home now probably bawling and crying. I’m so proud to be here and represent Ireland. It’s amazing.”

Ní Riain and Brady will both return to action on day four, alongside Síomha Nic Brádaigh and Dylan Prenderville, as Ireland look to build on a superb night in Kocaeli.