Waterford's karate-do champion Emmet Cusack honoured 

It was a proud day for karate champion Emmet Cusack, his friends, family, coaches and community as he was praised at the recent mayoral reception at Waterford’s City Hall.

The 17-year-old athlete was recognised for his fantastic achievements in his sport, having won three gold medals at the World Karate Championship. He recently won two gold medals at the WUFK (World Union of Karate-Do Federation) in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Mayor of Waterford City and County Council Cllr Liam Brazil warmly welcomed Emmet, his family and the team at Pat Rockett Martial Arts Academy for the reception on Friday, September 25.

Mayor Brazil presented a scroll to Emmet and shared some encouraging words about representing Waterford on “the world stage”.

He commented: “Emmet has been a member of the Pat Rockett Marital Arts Academy since he was just five years old, and his hard work and dedication have brought him incredible success on the world stage.

“Emmet won not one but two gold medals in his WUFK World Championship in Romania, adding to his previous World Championship title in Dundee in Scotland.

“His achievements also included gold medals in Latvia and success in Las Vegas, making 2025 and 2026 an incredible period for this young athlete.”

He added: “I’d like to compliment you and congratulate you for what you have done and what you have done for the people of Waterford as well, because you put the Waterford name, the Déise name on the map as well.

“Emmet, you’re a fantastic ambassador for Waterford and for Ireland, and your achievement at just 17 years of age is something to be extremely proud of.”

Mayor Brazil gave a special mention to young karate star Kayla Collins, who represented Waterford alongside Emmet at the Championship and holds an impressive eight World Championship medals.

Both Kayla and Emmet come from the Pat Rockett Martial Arts Academy. Pat thanked the families of the young talents for their support.

He said: “I want to thank Emmet’s parents and Kayla’s parents because ye had to bankroll that trip to Romania, there was no funding for that and that’s an expensive thing to do. But you believe in your children and that’s very, very important. There’s the results now.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Scheme