BY ELLEN McCARTHY
THE best just got even better – Skibbereen Rowing Club created yet more history at the Irish Rowing Championships.
The most decorated rowing club in Ireland entered the weekend on 199 national titles, and was on course to become the first-ever club to reach the magical 200. It was Jake McCarthy who delivered the club’s landmark 200th ‘pot’, winning the lightweight men’s single scull on Friday morning. Trailing by four lengths coming into the final 500 metres, McCarthy staged a dramatic comeback to edge out the Castleconnell sculler right on the line to take the win. It was a brilliant start to three intense days of racing across junior, club, intermediate, and senior levels.
Orla Hayes, a veteran of many of the club’s previous wins, took to the water in the lightweight women’s single scull, finishing third behind Siobhán McCrohan of Tribesmen, who claimed bronze at the 2024 World Championships in this event.
In the J16 women’s quad scull, Skibbereen had two entries, showcasing the club’s depth in this age group. The Skibb B crew of Ellen Connolly, Irene Aguirre Barrero, Saoirse O'Donnell, and Fia Foley, coxed by Chloe Grant, just missed out on qualifying for the final with fourth place in the semi. Meanwhile, the Skibb A crew of Nadine Hourihane, Emily Sheehan, Mia Maguire, and Holly O'Flynn, coxed by Eve Waugh O'Brien, earned themselves and the club a bronze medal after progressing through time trials and a semi-final.
Jake McCarthy won Skibbereen's 200th 'pot' after victory in the men's lightweight single scull.
On Saturday, these athletes teamed up with Mimi Jacob and cox Eve Waugh O’Brien to take home the silver medal in the J16 eight, beating Enniskillen and finishing just behind Galway. Holly O’Flynn also made the final of the J16 Single Scull, finishing fifth overall on Sunday evening. Chloe Grant additionally raced the time trial of the Junior 18 women’s single and in the Junior 18 women’s pair, Hazel Deane and Sarah Coughlan were on duty for Skibbereen.
In the J16 men’s category, the quad of Franek Lechtanski, Jack Burchill, Brion Hurley, and Ryan Coakley, coxed by Peter Grant, were unlucky to narrowly miss out on qualifying for the A final after a gritty effort. On Saturday, the J16 eight of Franek, Jack, Brion, Ryan, joined by Sam Wheeler O’Brien, Olan Ferguson, Desmond Keane, and Odhran Keane, and coxed by Nadine Hourihane came through a tough field to win the bronze medal.
Men's senior double winners, Fintan and Jake McCarthy.
On Sunday morning, Sam Wheeler O’Brien produced a standout performance, winning the J16 single scull in a time of 8:34, finishing nearly two lengths ahead of Creedon of Lee Valley. This followed his J15 single win at Lough Rynn and ahead of his selection to represent Ireland at the Coupe de la Jeunesse in Austria this August. Mark Yaskozhuk and Paddy O’Driscoll also raced well in the J16 double, qualifying for the semi-final, a strong achievement.
Skibbereen fielded two crews in the club women’s four. The crew of Moya Knowles, Mimi Jacob, Kelly Oforji, and Audrey McCarthy, coxed by Nadine Hourihane, competed against strong college opposition, with UCD taking the win. The second Skibb boat crewed by Niamh O’Donovan, Orla Seymour, Sarah Coughlan, and Eve Waugh O’Brien and coxed by Abigail Fowler also raced well in this event. A combination of these athletes lined out again in the intermediate four on Sunday, delivering solid performances.
In the men’s intermediate four, Kealan Mannix, Finn O'Reilly, Mattias Cogan, and Kenneth McCarthy, coxed by Nadine Hourihane, won their heat in a race where less than two seconds separated the top three crews, and went on to finish second in the final, just behind University of Galway.
Fintan McCarthy, Olympic gold medallist, returned in top form to win the senior men’s single scull, dominating a strong field. Earlier, Fintan had teamed up with brother Jake McCarthy to win the senior men’s double, with a second Skibb crew of Kealan Mannix and Finn O'Reilly finishing third behind Skibbereen and an international UCC combination.
Fintan also rowed in two composite crews with UCC. He joined three UCC scullers to win the senior quad, and later on Sunday evening, he, along with Mattias Cogan, Finn O’Reilly, and Jake McCarthy, joined four UCC athletes in the senior eight. Their strong sprint finish left them narrowly behind UCD at the line. Nadine Hourihane was again on hand to cox the men in what was an astonishing tenth run down the course for her over the weekend between her coxing and rowing duties!
Olympians Aoife Casey and Emily Hegarty won the senior women's pair.
In the women’s senior ranks, Moya Knowles, who will represent Ireland at U23 level in September, raced in the senior coxless quad with senior internationals Aisling Hayes, Aoife Casey, and Emily Hegarty, finishing behind a dominant UCC crew. Later, Aoife and Emily, fresh from Henley success and currently studying in London, won the senior pair, ten years after their national win together in the junior double in 2015.
Together with Aisling Hayes and Kelly Oforji, they also raced in a composite senior eight with Trinity. Despite an early lead, they were overtaken by University of Galway and had to settle for second place.
In men’s single sculling events, Tomás Burchill and David Duggan represented Skibb in the Club 2 Single, while Cathal O'Donovan and Oran Roycroft raced in the intermediate single, and Dominic Casey competed in the lightweight category.
Skibbereen's talented women's J16 8+ won silver medals.
In the junior men’s single, Mattias Cogan finished a hard-earned third place behind Jack Rafferty of St Michael's. Ultan Kearney made the semi-final, a promising sign as he remains eligible for another year at junior level.
Tomás and Ultan paired up for the Junior 18 double, progressing through time trials and semi-finals to race in a strong A final. Earlier that day, Ultan also raced the intermediate double with Dominic Casey. Dominic was also representing the club in the intermediate pair with partner Cathal McCarthy where they performed strongly in heat to make it through to the A-final.
In the junior women’s single, Aoife Hendy finished second behind Sophia Young of Methodist College, her future partner in the Irish junior double at the World Championships in Lithuania. Despite being teammates internationally, the rivalry between Skibb and Methody was evident all weekend.
In the Junior double, Aoife and Abigail Fowler took an early lead and held it through the middle 1,000m. But in the closing stages, Methodist closed the gap and edged them out by 0.1 seconds in a heartbreaking finish. That result repeated in the junior quad, where Aoife and Abigail were joined by Audrey McCarthy and Hazel Deane, again taking silver behind Methodist in a race they can be proud of.
With the 2025 domestic calendar now wrapped up, Skibbereen Rowing Club ends the year with 204 national championship titles. The club extends sincere thanks to its coaches, trailer drivers, helpers, and volunteers; not just for the champs weekend, but for their support throughout the entire year.
Focus now turns to the international calendar, where several Skibbereen athletes will represent Ireland at major events in the coming months, including the Coupe de la Jeunesse, Junior World Championships, U23 international fixtures and the Senior World Championships.
