Irish Rowing Championships 2024 – Senior, Lightweight Intermediate, Club and Novice Preview

The jewel in the crown of the Irish rowing season is finally here. With over a thousand athletes set to compete across fifty-four events between July 12th – 14th, the stage is set for a celebration of the sport at the National Rowing Centre, from J16 to senior categories. Through a tough season of cancelled regattas, some exhibitionary performances have still been witnessed around the domestic and international circuits, and the recent announcements of the athletes selected for junior and U23 world championships and the Home International Regatta have tipped the excitement for the Regatta into fever pitch. Last year’s Championships undisputedly belong to the University of Limerick, who took home nine national titles and were crowned Rowing Ireland Club of the Year; whether another Club will step into a similar level of limelight this year remains to be seen, but either way, a fantastic weekend of rowing awaits.  

Senior

The ‘blue riband’ Senior VIII events are as usual expected to be a highlight of the Regatta. On the men’s side, Cork BC will hope to reclaim the ‘Big Pot’ for the first time in a number of years and end University College Dublin’s (UCD) chokehold on the event; hope will stem from a thrilling race at the recent Cork Regatta, where Cork triumphed by less than a second. UCD’s ability to peak perfectly in time for the Championships will be a concern, however, as will an exciting University of Galway (UG)/ University College Cork (UCC) composite crew who were also within a second of Cork BC in the heats of the same event.

Turning to the women, UG triumphed at Cork Regatta over the University of Limerick (UL) by five seconds; however, UL have gained a notable asset in the shape of Anna Keating, who will represent Shannon RC in the composite crew. Keating raced at the junior world championships in 2022 in the double and is currently a freshman at Yale University, where this season she stroked the Varsity coxed four to a fourth-placed finish at NCAAs. 

In the coxless four, another battle is expected between Cork BC and UCD, with the crews going stroke-for-stroke into the line at Cork Regatta, with UCD ultimately winning by 0.3 of a second. Turning to the women, UG have looked dominant in the category for some time now, taking a relatively comfortable five-second win over Dublin University Ladies’ BC (DULBC) at Cork Regatta. This margin was roughly halved from their win over DULBC at London Metropolitan Regatta, however, so whether Trinity or one of the other entries can look to pounce on a perhaps faltering crew will be interesting to watch.

In the coxless quads, in the men’s race Queens’ University Belfast (QUB) will undoubtedly have high hopes. Freshly back from reaching the semi-finals of The Prince of Wales Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta, losing by ¾ of a length to eventual winners Leander Club, and featuring two athletes selected for the U23 world championship team, they’ll absolutely be the ones to watch in this category. On the women’s side, UL will be looking to claim back-to-back titles after winning in stunning style last year and setting a course record; again entering a composite crew with Anna Keating of Shannon RC, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them take the event with relative comfort. It’ll be an interesting match up against the UCC boat, which features Lauren O’Brien – former Captain of UL and one of the members of last year’s winning crew.

In the pairs, Cork BC and UCD are once again the ones to watch. At Cork Regatta, Cork A, Cork B, and UCD A were within three seconds of one another, followed by UG. However, Neptune RC’s entry saw success at the Metropolitan Regatta with a win in the championship pair on Sunday, and it’ll likely be an intriguing battle between the in-form crews. Turning to the women, UL took a 1.5 second win at Cork Regatta over UG and will hope to hold onto this lead. Absent from Cork were UCD’s Alison and Sarah Daly, however, who recently reached the quarter-finals of Henley Women’s Regatta in the championship pair. Shannon RC’s pair also looks exciting in the shape of Anna Keating and Patti Mullin, teammates at Yale. 

In the doubles, there’s a bountiful array of fast lineups on the women’s side. Lee Valley’s Holly Davis and Sophia Monahan have both just been selected for the U23 world championships, in the open and lightweight doubles respectively. Neptune RC’s Claire Feerick is freshly back from winning The Remenham Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta with Oxford Brookes University, and her partner Niamh Kilgallon is reigning national champion in the club single. Shannon RC are sending out Anna Keating and Patti Mullin also in this category, and it’ll be interesting to see how they stack up against domestic lineups after spending the season sweeping in the US. Turning to the men, QUB’s entry will again have high hopes; Ciaran Purdy and Hugh Moore won silver together in the lightweight double at the 2022 U23 world championships, although UG took a tight win at Cork Regatta and their boat features Donagh Claffey, who’s just been selected for this year’s U23 world championships.

Finally, in the single, both sides look set for thrilling races. The men’s entries are filled with experienced faces, from Lady Elizabeth BC’s Mark Quigley (reigning National Champion in the club single), to Ryan Spelman of St. Michael’s RC who’ll be filled with confidence after two second-placed finishes at the Metropolitan Regatta, to Commercial RC’s Andrej Liadov and Niall Beggan who came first and second at Cork Regatta respectively, to UL’s Joe Tanner who’s just been selected for the Home International Regatta and is reigning senior double national champion.

I expect the quality of racing to be matched on the women’s side, which will feature a really exciting battle between Grace Healy of DULBC and Holly Davis of Lee Valley; these two athletes will be racing together in the double at the upcoming U23 world championships. They’ll also be up against the likes of Killorglin’s Monika Dukarska, reigning winner of the event and Tokyo Olympian; Clíodhna Nolan of UCC, who just reached the final of the championship lightweight single at Henley Women’s Regatta; and Neptune RC’s Claire Feerick and Niamh Kilgallon as discussed above.

Lightweight

With the single scull the only lightweight category remaining at the Championships, it’s rejuvenating to see a strong cohort of entries. On the men’s side, reigning champion Joe Tanner of UL will return in an attempt to defend his title, but he’ll be up against the likes of Skibbereen RC’s Jake McCarthy, who has a number of international appearances under his belt, and QUB’s Ciaran Purdy, whose prestige is well known. On the women’s side, Skibb’s Caoimhe Casey will similarly be looking to defend her title from last year, and will be looking to hold off the speed from a blend of experienced athletes and exciting junior prospects, from UCC’s Clíodhna Nolan to Coláiste Iognáid’s Avril O’Toole.

Intermediate

Moving to the Intermediate categories, the second most prestigious after Senior, there’s yet more thrilling races set to play out over the weekend. In the men’s eights, Commercial RC might find success; racing Senior at Cork Regatta, they finished a hair’s breadth behind Cork BC and UCD and might be poised to take the title back to Islandbridge. UCD’s talent in the eight can’t be played down, however, and UG as reigning champions will also have hopes for success. On the women’s side, UG are fielding the same entry as they are in Senior; unless UCD or UL can mount a threat, I can’t see them losing this category. UCD will be an interesting watch; competing at Henley Royal Regatta, they were knocked out on Wednesday by the University of Bristol after leading to the Barrier. Renowned for their commitment to the first 500, whether they can mix with an impressive UG unit after minimal domestic racing will be an interesting one.

The stage is set for an exceptionally lively battle in the coxed four on the women’s side. DULBC have taken wins in the class all season, from Erne Fours Head of the River in November to the recent Cork Regatta. However, a lively Neptune RC side defeated them to win championship coxed fours at the Metropolitan Regatta and have pushed them close all season; it could come down to the wire in this one. A powerful UG crew has also been entered after avoiding the category all season, and UCD have entered an impressive five crews; it might be a clash to remember. Turning to the men, UL will undoubtedly be looking to make up the three-second margin they lost to UCD by at Cork Regatta, but after repeated strong performances in the category over the last few years, it’s hard to see UCD relinquishing their grip on the title. 

In the pairs, more tight racing is expected. Starting with the men, the Neptune duo who found success at the Metropolitan Regatta will likely be targeting the category, but Cork BC’s exhibition at Cork Regatta (coming first and second) is hard to look past. For the size of their club, UCD are notable by their absence in this category, and UG will hope one of their three entries can seize the title. On the women’s side, it’s looking like a repeat of the coxed four category; Neptune RC have split their four in half and have two entries, all of whom will be representing Ireland at the Home International Regatta in two weeks. UCC’s Gill Crowe and Ciara Leahy have displayed speed all season, dispatching DULBC A on a number of occasions; however, in DULBC B, Sarah Tavey has been joined by Grace Healy, freshly selected for the U23 world championships as mentioned. UG have also entered half of their four and I’d consider it likely there’ll be some excellent racing across this category.

Moving finally to the sculling, QUB might be poised to take another title in the double. Their entry of Ronan Gibbon and Fergus Bryce is a very tidy unit, with Bryce just selected for the U23 world championships. They’ll have to dispatch reigning holders UG in their attempts to bring the pots back to Belfast, however, who’ll be optimistic after a good win at Cork Regatta, as well as a number of junior crews entered for race experience. Turning to the women, the Shannon duo of Yale teammates Anna Keating and Patti Mullin will be looking for a big performance, as will UCC’s Lauren O’Brien and Kate Reidy, with the latter freshly preselected for the Home International Regatta. Skibbereen RC’s Aisling Hayes and Kelly Oforji have just won the Metropolitan Regatta and been selected for the Home International Regatta respectively, while the experienced Shandon BC, Bann RC and Neptune RC crews will also be looking for top results.

In the single, the men’s side is all to play for with an impressive 29 entries. Commercial RC will have high hopes in Andrej Liadov, recent winner of the senior single at Cork Regatta, while Lady Elizabeth BC’s Mark Quigley will be looking to step on from his dominant win in the club single at last year’s Championships. A number of entries from UG and UL will also be looking to make a mark in the category. Turning to the women, DULBC’s Grace Healy is holder of the event, and based on her exhibitionary performances this year, the event is hers to lose. A number of other scullers could be poised to put down big performances, however, such as UL’s Amy Barrett who secured a win in the academic single at the Metropolitan Regatta and was recently selected for the Home International Regatta. Like Quigley on the men’s side, Niamh Kilgallon of Neptune RC will be looking to step on from her win in the club single last year, and with a handful of junior entries, it could still be a lively watch.

Club

The third division of non-Junior rowing in Ireland, perhaps lesser prestige has not tended to equivalate to a lesser quality of racing over the last number of years. In the men’s eights, last year Islandbridge rivals Dublin University BC (DUBC) and Commercial RC went into the line together before an eventual victory for DUBC by a fraction of a second; DUBC will be looking to reclaim that title this year, although they’ll be disappointed with a lacklustre final at Cork Regatta, where they lost by nine seconds to a UCD crew they had held to one second in the heats. Commercial RC have entered a dynamic lineup, and UL could also be a threat. On the women’s side, it looks like UG will reclaim the trophy they last won in 2022; UL were some way behind at Cork Regatta, and unless the domestically untested UCD can do something exciting, it might be another pot for the westerners. 

In the fours, UCD took a comfortable win at Cork Regatta, however impressive DUBC and UG entries for the Championships didn’t feature in that race. Some lengths behind UCD were UL, so unless DUBC or UG can secure a real performance, it’s likely the race will belong to UCD. On the women’s side, it seems as though it’s DULBC’s to lose; featuring U23 world championships-selected athlete Grace Healy, experienced junior Sarah Tavey and Home International Regatta selected Imogen Cooney and María Mezquita García-Poggio, there’s serious prestige in this boat and a challenge to their strength is unlikely in this division. Skibbereen RC and UG can never be ruled out, as both are clubs with a long history of rampant success at the Championships (Skibbereen hold the record for the most national titles held by any Club, with a tidy 195 to their name). The speed demonstrated by the DULBC entry all season in Senior and Intermediate categories though, will surely translate to dominance here.

In the scull, it’s an eternal question as to who will triumph at club level. With 37 and 21 entries on the men’s and women’s sides respectively, it could be a seasoned competitor or an upstart who takes both titles. It’s difficult to look past Commercial RC’s Andrej Liadov for the men’s based off his win in the senior single at Cork Regatta, while on the women’s side, Jessica Legresley of Shandon RC took the win at Cork Regatta, but will face the likes of exciting prospect Anna Brennan of New Ross BC, who’s just been selected for the junior world championships. Lively racing can be anticipated in this highly variable category.

Novice

Moving finally to the Novice or ‘Maiden’ categories, which consist of an eight and a coxed quad for both men and women, these events are typically dominated by the universities and this season looks set to be no different. Starting with the men’s quads, QUB were in impressive form at Cork Regatta, racing in the Club category but being the only crew comprised of novice athletes to reach the finals. They’ll take on UCC, Fermoy RC, UCD ‘A’ and ‘B’ and DUBC ‘A’ and ‘B’ in the only novice Championship available to the men this year, as the men’s novice eight has been made an invitational i.e. non-Championship event, due to a lack of entries over the last two years, where UCD triumphed over DUBC both times in straight finals. UCD will hope to go for three in a row regardless of status, however, they’ll be up against a QUB crew who’ve shown solid form on the UK circuit and the DUBC side who defeated them in the head-to-head Colours Boat Race in March.

On the women’s side, it might be UCC’s turn to take the title in the quad. At Cork Regatta, they reached the A-Final and came third overall in 7:43, with DULBC ‘A’ the next fastest novice crew in 8:03. These crews will be joined by their respective ‘B’ boats as well as entries from QUB, UL, and Commercial RC. In the eights, it’ll be a straight final between UCD, DULBC and UCC. After UCD defeated DULBC at Colours in March, the gap between the crews narrowed considerably until Munster Regatta, where changed lineups on both sides saw DULBC triumph easily. A comfortable margin by DULBC over UCC at Cork Regatta, which UCD were absent from, indicates a two-horse race between UCD and DULBC for the Championship. UCD will be entering with solid racing experience under their belt from joining their senior squad at Reading Sprints and Henley Women’s Regatta, where they did exceptionally well to make it through the time trials in the aspirational academic eight category, and confidence will no doubt be high.

Overall, it’ll unquestionably be a fantastic weekend  for Irish rowing in Inniscarra this weekend. With record-breaking crews set to represent Team Ireland at the Paris Olympics and the upcoming U19 and U23 world championships, the community is thriving both domestically and internationally and the sheer quality of crews set to compete for the coveted national titles, across the three days of the Championships, will surely represent that. 

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