John Somers Payne

John Somers Payne (pronunciation: dʒon somɘɹz peɪn; 25 January 1926 – 24 April 2013) was an Irish sport sailor, doyen of Cork Harbour Sailing and double Olympian.

[3] Payne competed as a member of the Irish National sailing teams in November 1956 and again at the August 1960 Olympics, earning himself the title of a double Olympian.

[4] John Somers Payne, also simply known as 'Somers' was often described by family and friends as an ‘inspiration’, as he was one of the first individuals from the coastal Cork village of Crosshaven to sail into the olympics.

‘In the run up to the Melbourne Olympics, in 1955 Payne walked from Heuston Station (then Kingsbridge) in Dublin city to Malahide for the trials, some 20km, after missing his bus.

',[3] Somers Payne proceeded to win this trial, however, the Irish Yachting Association insisted he must also attend a sailing event in the Netherlands before qualifying for the Olympic team.

[citation needed] Somers Payne also had many successful meetings in the Admirals Cup tournament, but more importantly to him, the National Eighteen race.

Following his death in 2013, The Irish Times spoke to Mark Mansfield who said, "Somers was an inspiration to us all at Royal Cork Yacht Club because he was one of the first from Crosshaven to sail in the Olympics.