SAILOR DAMIAN Foxall was honoured by Kerry County Council yesterday with a civic reception at council headquarters in Tralee.
Foxall, who was the winner of the inaugural Barcelona World Race, is from Derrynane in Co Kerry.
He won the race with his sailing partner Jean-Pierre Dick. They left Barcelona on November 11th, 2007 and spent 92 days at sea, covering more than 25,000 miles.
Foxall, who was accompanied by his wife Suzy-Ann and their baby son Oisín, said a lot of his success had to do "with where I was brought up and the strong sporting tradition in Kerry".
He said that while he was often away during his 15 years in the sport, it was very important for him to come home to Kerry and share his experiences with local schools.
Mayor of Kerry Michael Healy Rae paid tribute to Foxall's dedication and mental toughness, which he said had helped him to achieve his goal.
"The dedication needed to prepare for a race like this is enormous. The mental toughness that is needed to survive three months in a small boat, and to keep pushing forward to victory, can only be imagined.
"We must pay tribute to sports people of this calibre, and it is an honour that Kerry and Ireland are represented on the world sailing circuit by people of Damian's calibre," Mr Healy Rae said.
County manager Tom Curran also paid tribute to the resilience shown by Damian and Jean-Pierre, pointing to the fact that of the 18 boats that started the race only five were able to finish.