World youth Champions. European Under-18 Champions. Youth Olympic Champion. Just some of the headlines that have found their way on to the sports pages in the last year, giving Ireland a huge sense of achievement in international sporting terms. The question is: where did it all stem from and, more importantly, how long will it last?

When Brian Kerr's Under-16 side triumphed in the UEFA Youth Championship just over two months ago, even Bertie Ahern stated that "Ireland's future in the world soccer scene looks bright." With athletes returning from Youth Olympics as double gold medallists and the Under-19 rugby team beating France in the World Championship final, you could be forgiven for thinking that Ireland is on the brink of becoming a world sporting superpower.

Don't get too carried away, warns John Treacy, chairman of the Irish Sports Council, whose main function is to nurture the development of sporting success on both a national and international level.

"What we are seeing now is obviously the effects of success at senior level by the likes of our soccer team, our athletes and our golfers, which effectively has got a huge amount of people participating in sport," says Treacy. "When that happens you will have a great base for producing leading athletes and players. It's always going to be difficult to make the transition from a good junior into a good senior, but that's something we can develop and have developed in this country in recent years."

With the Sports Council set to become a statutory body within the next year, it does appear that the future of Irish sport will at least receive the attention and support that in the past have only been promised. That can only be good news for the European Boys golfers and teenage tennis stars with ambitions for senior success.

"The fundamental role that the Sports Council will play in this area is addressing the coaching structure that's in place with the governing bodies of all sports to ensure the athletes get the right coaching at the right time. Funding is also important and, for example, with the FAI we would prioritise funding at youth level, and the same in golf, where we give preference to the boys' and youth teams."

International sport could be compared to a pyramid. At the bottom and at junior level there is a lot of room for improvement and success. Nearer the summit, however, it becomes a lot more confined and a lot more difficult to find the space and opportunity to make it to the top. In other words, only so many can reach the stage where medals and championships become rewards.

The National Coaching and Training Centre, set up seven years ago at the University of Limerick, is used by sports across the board as both a training site and fitness-testing facility with these very goals in mind. Ireland's rugby team bases its preparations there, but members of the foundation squad have also been regular visitors, along with Brian Kerr's under-age teams, junior athletic teams and development squads ranging from handball to hockey.

Declan O'Leary is head of coaching development at the centre and maintains that while athlete support is the key role in the long-term future of Irish sport, it can't be done without proper strategic planning at coaching level also.

"Our current coaching development programme works across a range of sports and offers coaching courses from beginners to international level," says O'Leary. "In addition we have a tutor development course and already 160 have graduated with the responsibility in educating coaches and developing improved courses for coaches.

"In terms of youth coaching what they have to address is the drop-out factor that occurs at two main points. At about 12 years of age there is the change from school-structured sports and those where the parents may be more involved to an emphasis on the club or individual. After that there is the transition from school to college where obviously there are a number of distractions from sport. The key issue here is that coaches can offer full support to the athletes at those stages so that the interest and enthusiasm remain."

There are other issues that need consideration in developing youth sport at every level, not least why sport is played in the first place. By its very nature sport tends to be competitive, but is also needs to be fun - and safe. The Murphy Report will set standards for all sporting bodies essential in ensuring the safety of the child.

In addition, much of the onus for maintaining success lies with the 60 national governing bodies in every sporting discipline. "They have a huge responsibility to their sport and if they are getting funded as a governing body their main function must be to attract more people into the sport through club development and club structure," says Treacy. "A lot of governing bodies are making development plans for the next four or five years, which is something that wasn't done before to any great extent."

The new carding scheme soon to be introduced by the Sports Council will also help in the transition by assisting with injuries and long-term plans of the individual. In the past, more athletes would have looked abroad for that kind of support.

"If you look at the American scholarship system, for example, you can see how the trends have changed," says Treacy. "For many years that was the top choice for many junior athletes, but that has changed now with the increase in opportunities that are available here. The golfers have a huge range of facilities and a good competition structure here that gives the opportunity to improve, and the same is true of soccer.

"In athletics, the American system does have the competitive framework between the ages of 18 and 22 which is a great stepping stone, and most of our top athletes have been a product of that system. But if you look at some of the success at UCD you will see that it is changing. The goal obviously is to give them the choice in that if they do decide to stay at home they won't be disadvantaged."

There are psychological barriers to be broken also, and here again senior performance can make a difference. Declan Kidney was coach to the Under-19 rugby side that claimed the world title and reckons the right attitude can make all the difference.

"If the fitness level and the skill level are there you still have to believe in what you can achieve," he says. "Our goal in France was to be as good as we could and not be judging by others. We believed in what we could do and didn't let outside factors affect us. Ten years ago that would have been so much different."

Improvements in coaching have a trickledown effect into the grassroots of sport. With better preparations in place at the earlier stages, it means that players and athletes are coming through at a higher level, taking junior sport to new standards.

Some of the recent criticism about funding, lack of facilities and certain distractions for young people in sport is not something Treacy takes on board. "Of course, we need to ensure that the access is there for young people across the country. You can use every crutch you want as an excuse, and there are loads of them out there, but if you're dedicated, you work hard and you take care of your body, there is every opportunity there for you to make it."

In sporting terms, nothing succeeds like success, and the more of it, the more we will expect. For the time being, that is a trend set to continue.