Skibbereen Rowing Club wins five titles at nationals to rubber-stamp position as number one

BY EMILY DULOHERY AND NIAMH CASEY

SKIBBEREEN Rowing Club once again highlighted they are the club to beat after a dominant showing at the Irish Rowing Championships.

The most successful rowing club in the country brought home an impressive haul of five national championship titles to bump their total up to a whopping 195.

The club's athletes faced tough competition over the weekend, including challenging weather conditions and altered timetables but all athletes showed resilience and flexibility and rose to the task on hand.

Dominic Casey and Cathal McCarthy won the men's junior pair.

Racing on Friday, day one of the championships, was very unpredictable and only the first block of scheduled racing went ahead as planned. Christopher O’Donovan put in a storming performance in the men’s lightweight single scull and came away with second place in very tricky racing conditions due to the wind. Alannah Keane and Hazel Deane did not let the weather impact their race and had great success in the women’s junior pair, crossing the line in third place. Racing was then suspended for the rest of the day, pushing the remainder of the Friday afternoon racing block to early Saturday morning where there was another calm weather window for racing to take place.

The first race at 6.30am on Saturday morning saw Caoimhe Casey lead the charge and put in a commanding performance to win the women's lightweight single sculls national title. Caoimhe’s hard work and dedication paid off as she claimed her first-ever championship title. 

Caoimhe Casey celebrates her win in the women’s lightweight scull.

Rising stars Dominic Casey and Cathal McCarthy formed an unstoppable duo in the men's junior pair event. They left their rivals trailing behind as they powered their way to a well-deserved victory, also winning their first championship title. They were later joined by teammates Mattias Cogan and Aengus Riou Allen in the men’s junior coxed four, coxed by Louise Murran, where they had a battle all the way down the 2000m course to narrowly miss out and finish third. The junior boys also raced in the junior men’s double event and were very unlucky not to make the final. During Saturday's short block of racing David O’Brien had a strong performance in the intermediate men’s single scull in challenging conditions. The men’s club coxed club four of Eoin Murran, Michael Hourihane, Christopher O’Donovan, Cathal O’Donovan and cox Louise Murran crossed the line in third place in tricky racing conditions.

The women's junior double scull team of Aoife Hendy and Ailise O'Sullivan proved their mettle, displaying their dedication and teamwork. Their exceptional performance secured them the championship title and showcased the strength of Skibbereen Rowing Club's young talent pool. The girls joined their crewmates Moya Knowles and Jessica Crowley to race the women’s junior quadscull and junior women’s coxless four, where they finished respectively in second and third place. Moya Knowles displayed a skilful race in the women’s junior single scull, finishing third in the country. Julia Cotter and Eimer Martin also competed in this event and put in solid performances in the women’s junior scull event in a strong field of 34 entries. The women’s junior coxed eight of Moya Knowles, Jessica Crowley, Ailise O’Sullivan, Aoife Hendy, Orla Seymour, Niamh O’Donovan, Audrey McCarthy and Hazel Deane, coxed by Eve Waugh-O’Brien, put in a strong effort to secure the bronze positions in the premier event for junior rowing. This is a very promising result for these young athletes for next season. 

Aoife Hendy and Ailise O'Sullivan were a class apart in the women’s junior double scull.

The women’s senior team included Caoimhe Casey, Kate O’Brien, Kelly Oforji, Ellen McCarthy, Louise McCarthy and Marie Pigott with Orla Hayes in the coxing seat this season. The senior women raced a combination of boats over the weekend. They raced club coxed four finishing second, women’s intermediate coxed four finishing third, women’s club eight and women’s senior 8+, finishing fourth in both events.

Showcasing the depth of the underage squad presently training at Skibbereen Rowing Club the men’s junior 16 quadscull of Ultan Kearney, Franek Lechtanski, Tomás Burchill, Patryk Balassa and cox Abigail Fowler came third overall in an event that had 38 crews entered. Brion Hurley, Cillian Keane, Mark Yaskozhuk, Jack Burchill and cox Eve Waugh-O’Brien also had a strong performance in this competitive time trial event with the top six progressing to the final. Tomás Burchill and Patryk Balassa both raced the junior 16 single scull event and put in very strong performances, both finishing within the top 16 out of a massive field of 49 entries. Ultan Kearney and Eoin O’Donovan competed in the junior 16 single sculls event, and performed very well. The young crew of Ultan Kearney and Franek Lechtanski made the final of the junior 16 double sculls out of 43 entries. These boys will certainly be names to look out for in the future.

Chloe O’Donovan and Audrey McCarthy displayed their strength in finishing second and third respectively in the women’s junior 16 single sculls. This event had a total of 49 entries, Chloe and Audrey must be commended for their hard work and display of talent in the strong field at the championships. The junior 16 women’s quad of Abigail Fowler, Chloe O’Donovan, Audrey McCarthy, Sarah Coughlan and cox Eve Waugh-O’Brien put in a great performance and finished in the top 12 out of a very big entry of 30 crews. Sarah Coughlan and Eve Waugh-O’Brien partnered up to form the women’s junior 16 double and came in eight place out of 40 crews. The volume of entries in these junior 16 crews across the championship event signifies the ever-growing popularity of the sport of rowing from a young age across the country.

Skibbereen's Michael Hourihane and Finn O'Reilly won the men’s intermediate pair.

Sunday, the final day of racing, saw the senior men, Michael Hourihane and Finn O'Reilly, dominate the men's intermediate pair event, demonstrating their remarkable strength and skill on the water to bring another Irish championship home to the club. This event also saw Eoin Murran and Cathal O’Donovan compete and they were unlucky not to make the final of this event. Later that afternoon, the final race of the national championships, saw the intermediate men storm home to a very commanding victory with a win in the men’s intermediate coxed four with Eoin Murran, Michael Hourihane, Finn O'Reilly, Christopher O’Donovan, coxed by Louise Murran. This was the last race of the exciting weekend which left all Skibbereen Rowing Club supporters on a high. 

With these five impressive victories, Skibbereen Rowing Club has once again solidified its position as a powerhouse in Irish rowing. The triumphs at the Irish Rowing Championships will be celebrated as historic achievements, ensuring that the club's name will be printed on the ‘board’ (golden board) at the rowing club in the coming weeks.

The men’s intermediate coxed four of Eoin Murran, Michael Hourihane, Finn O'Reilly, Christopher O'Donovan and cox Louise Murran. On right is Olympic champion Fintan McCarthy.