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Displaying items by tag: Indoor

#Rowing: Damian Browne set a remarkable time of 1:16.2 for 500 metres at the Provinces Indoor Rowing championships at the University of Limerick on Saturday. The big Galway man, who will row the Atlantic starting in December, finished second in the men’s open category. Colin Burke of Auriel Kensington won this with 1.4 seconds to spare over Browne.  

Provinces Indoor Rowing Championships, Limerick,Saturday 

Men, Open: 1 Colin Burke (Auriel-Kensington, London) 6:12.9, 2 Damian Browne 6:14.3, 3 Ciaran Brady (Offaly) 6:25.7. 500m: Browne 1:16.2 

Junior 18 2000: Mark Ryder (Col Iognaid) 6:29.8.Jun 18 500: James McCarthy (CIT) 1:22.3

M J16 2000: Darragh Gallivan (CRCC) 6:52.8. Men, 30-39: John Whooley (Skib) 6:23.2.

M 40-49: Fintan Gilsenan (Castletownbere RC) 6:26.8.

Women, Open: B Larsen (Garda) 7:06.0. Jun 18 : Caoileann Nic Dhonncha (Col Iognaid) 7:34.1 Jun 16: Roisin O’Connor (Castleconnell BC) 7:34.7.  

W 40-49: Fiona McKeown (Castleconnell BC) 7:23.0

Pararowing

MLTA: Kevin Wall (Clonmel) 6:51.9.

WLTA: Sarah McLoughlin (Univ of Limerick) 8:07.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Paul O’Donovan set a new personal best – by just .1 of a second - and was the top lightweight at the Irish Indoor Rowing Championships today. The outstanding peformance of the day at the University of Limerick belonged, however, to heavyweight oarsman Sam McKeown. The Queen’s University oarsman was by far the fastest on the day, with a time of five minutes 55 seconds. This was the second occasion on which he had broken six minutes (he had covered the 2,000 metres in 5:59 in November) and he looked in control at the finish, shouting “Go Queen’s!”

 Sanita Puspure was the fastest woman, clocking six minutes 40 seconds  with a steady peformance. Her nearest rival was Monika Dukarska – 6:52.6 was a personal best for the Killorglin woman.

 Ross Corrigan from Enniksillen Royal College (formerly Portora) was the fastest junior man – of 125 – and Hannah Scott of Bann took the honours amongst junior women.

 In the under-23 men’s competition, another win for Daire Lynch confirmed his strong transition from junior ranks; UCD man Shane O’Connell, whose star has also been on the rise, won the under-23 lightweight grade in a good battle with Jake McCarthy and Fintan McCarthy.

 Emily Hegarty of Skibbereen was the top woman at under-23 level. Her nearest rival was Eimear Lambe, who pipped her elder sister, Claire, by half a second. The Ireland Olympian who is now at Cambridge University competed as a heavyweight as she prepares for the Boat Race. 

 Competitors had to leave the venue late in the programme after a fire alarm. They were able to return to finish events.

Irish Indoor Rowing Championships, University of Limerick, Saturday (Selected Results):

Men – Open: 1 S McKeown 5 min 55.0 sec, 2 E O’Connor 6:02.7, 3 T Oliver 6:03.9. Lightweight Open: 1 P O’Donovan 6:07.4, 2 G O’Donovan 6:14.2, 3 M O’Donovan 6:19.0, 4 S O’Driscoll 6:21.1. Under-23: D Lynch 6:10.0. Lightweight Under-23: S O’Connell 6:21.3. Junior 18: R Corrigan 6:21.3. Jun 16: M Gallagher 6:38.6.

Women – Open: 1 S Puspure 6:40.0, 2 M Dukarska 6:52.6, 3 B Larsen 7:02.5, 4 C Lambe 7:11.4. Lwt: D Walsh 7:13.1. Under-23: E Hegarty 6:57.5; Lwt U-23: E McGiff 7:38.6. Jun 18: H Scott 7:05.7. Jun 16: Z McCutcheon 7:18.2.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The entry for the Irish Indoor Rowing Championships has both quantity and quality, with Irish rowers who are set to compete at the Olympic Games in the mix. Gary O’Donovan will compete in lightweight class and Paul O’Donovan in the under-23 lightweight class.

Claire Lambe, who partnered Sinéad Jennings in the Ireland lightweight women’s double crew which qualified the boat for Rio, is also entered. Jennings may do a Wattbike test.

Among the heavyweight men, Philip Doyle, Sam McKeown and Dave Neale will be among those competing to set the top mark, while Sanita Puspure, an Olympian in 2012, should be the fastest woman.

The Championships have a record entry and will be held in Limerick on January 23rd.

Published in Rowing

#Indoor Rowing: Claire Lambe excelled among a group of lightweight rowers who set personal best times in ergometer (rowing machine) tests at the National Rowing Centre in Cork. Gary O’Donovan, Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll all set new best times. Paul O’Donovan did his test in Dublin and also broke new ground. Heavyweight rower Aifric Keogh matched her best time of six minutes 55.5 seconds.

High Performance Ergometer Testing, National Rowing Centre, Cork

Men

Lightweight: 1 G O’Donovan 6:13.7, 2 M O’Donovan 6:16.8, 3 S O’Driscoll 6:18.5.

Women

Open: A Keogh 6:55.5, L Kennedy 6:56.7.

Lightweight: C Lambe 7:05.6, S Dolan 7:15.3.

Irish Provinces Indoor Rowing Championships, University of Limerick (Selected Results; 2000 metres unless stated)

Men

Open – 1 R O’Hagan 6:09.4, 2 F Crowley 6:24.9, 3 A Prendergast 6:25.5. 30-39: G Conway 6:19.7. Open 500: R O’Hagan 1:19.6.

Under-23: A Kinneen 6:20.2. Junior 18: R Byrne 6:16.9, 500: E Walls-Tuite 1:22.3.

Jun 16: J Keating 6:33.8, 500: J McCarthy 1:29.8.

Jun 15 (1,000): R MacCurtain 3:23.6.

Freshers (1,000); G Barlow 3:05.2.

40-49: N Carey 6:24.3, 500: Carey 1:23.9. 50-59: O Short 6:46.9, 500: Short 1:29.4. 60-69: P Victory 6:57.6, 500 (60+): P Victory 1:32.6.

Lightweight – Open: D O’Connor 6:33.5, 500: L Keane 1:28.9.

Lightweight Under-23: L Keane 6:25.0, 500: Keane 1:28.9. Lightweight 40-49: J Doyle 6:29.1.  

Women

Open – 1 M Dukarska 7:02.7, 2 A O’Sullivan 7:19.0, 3 M Piggott 7:34.7. 500: M Dukarska 1:33.6.

Under-23: S Bounane 7:18.7. Junior 18: M Cremin 7:23.3.

500: M Cremin 1:38.8.

 Jun 16: A O’Farrell 7:32.7, 500: L Turner 1:44.1.

Jun 15: (1,000): A Doyle 3:50.6, 500: J Crowley 1:41.1

Freshers (1,000): B Chase 3:43.2.

30-39: S Kennelly 7:24.9. 40-49: P O’Brien 7:51.8, 500: R Ware 1:43.3. 50-59: M Lawlor 8:11.2, 500: Lawlor 1:55.9.

Lightweight – Open: S McCrohan 7:14.7, 500: K Wilkie 1:44.4.

Lightweight Under-23: E McGiff 7:49.2. 

Lightweight 30-39:  C Conway 7:48.3.

LTA – S McLoughlin 3:51.1, 500: McLoughlin 1:51.0.

Ulster Indoor Rowing Championships, Queen’s University, Saturday (Selected Results, 2,000 metres unless stated). Includes BUCS: British University Championships.

Men

Open: S McKeown 6:04.7, 2 M Christie 6:25.9. BUCS Open: 1 T Oliver 6:10.6, 2 P Doyle 6:26.9, 3 R Urquart 6:34.7. BUCS Lightweight: C Beck 6:31.2.

Under-23 Lightweight: A Laivinas 6:50.3.

Under-18: D Mitchell 6:26.0. Under-16: A Christie 6:39.3. Under-15: A Graham (1,000m) 3:32.7.

BUCS Beginners (1,000): J Lobinger 3:11.4. 

Women

Open: R Maguire 7:15.4. BUCS Open: Maguire 7:15.4. BUCS Open Lightweight: R Brown 7:46.7.

Under-23: K Shirlow 7:28.3.

Under-18: F Chestnutt 7:31.0.

Under-16: L McIntyre 7:46.2. Under-15 (1,000m): A Hall 3:54.6. 30+ (1,000m): L Kerr 3:20.9.

BUCS Beginners (1,000m): A Druijff 3:45.8. 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The School Indoor Rowing Blitz in Trinity College drew hundreds of competitors. Borris Vocational School from Carlow won the Girls under-15 section ahead of Gaelcholáiste Ceatharlach, and Limerick school Laurel Hill won the girls under-14 category. The top under-14 boys’ team were CBC from Monkstown.  

For Full Results, See Attachment Below

School Indoor Rowing Blitz, Trinity College (Selected Results)

Boys

Under 14: 1 CBC Monkstown 7 min. 0.7 secs,  2 Presentation, Cork - Panthers 7:24:9. Under 13: 1 CBC Monsktown 7:51:0, 2 St Joseph’s, Galway One 7:53.9, 3 St Joseph’s, Galway Three 8:13.7.

Girls

Under 15; 1 Borris Vocational School – Barrow Barrowers 7:45.4, 2 Gaelcholáiste, Ceatharlach 7:53.1, 3 Cois Life, Lucan 8:32.7.

Under 14: 1 Laurel Hill, Limerick 7:43:3, 2 Coláiste Iognáid 7:44:5, 3  Borris Vocational School  - Barrow Blitzers 7:44:8. Under-13: 1 Laurel Hill, Limerick 7:48:0. 2 Col Iognaid 8:20:2, 3 Gael Scoil, Carlow 8:20:5

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Kenny McDonald, who is the world champion indoor rower in the 40 to 49 lightweight category, today set a new Irish record in this class. The Shannon Rowing Club man clocked six minutes 20.7 seconds in a special test at St Michael’s Rowing Club in Limerick. This knocked exactly a second off Philip Healy’s old mark. Jonathan Doyle, also competing today, set a time of 6:24.0. The world record, which belongs to Denmark’s Eskild Ebbesen, is 6:18.8.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Kenny McDonald, the world champion indoor rower in the 40 to 49 lightweight class, will launch a bid on Sunday to break the Irish and world records in this class. McDonald, of Shannon Rowing Club, and Dubliner Jonathan Doyle, the man he replaced as champion earlier this year, will take each other on at St Michael’s Rowing Club in Limerick at 1 p.m. The Irish record  is 6:21.7, held by Philip Healy, and the world record time is 6:16.8. It was set in January at the European Championships in Copenhagen by five-time Olympic medallist Eskild Ebbesen.

McDonald, who is a garda and an instructor in the Garda College in Templemore, set a time of six minutes 24.5 seconds when he won his title in Boston in February, but felt he could have gone faster. “The race went well, it was nice to win it, (but) I was going out at the back of my mind to break the world record. It went well for 1200 metres but the wheels started to come off at that stage. The last 800 metres I lost the focus. I definitely had a faster time in me.”

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Kenny McDonald of Shannon Rowing Club won the 40 to 49 lightweight class at the World Indoor Rowing Championships in Boston yesterday. McDonald headed up an Ireland one-two: Jonathan Doyle, the defending champion, was second. Greg Ruckman of the United States, a world champion in the 30-39 class just two years ago, was third.

McDonald is a former Ireland international rower, while Doyle was a runner who took up indoor rowing after being hit by injury.

CRASH B World Indoor Rowing Championships, Boston, United States (Selected Result)

Men, Lightweight Senior Master Men (40-49):
1 K McDonald (Shannon RC) 6:24.5, 2 J Doyle (Paddy Power IRC) 6:26.7, 3 G Ruckman (Colorado Rowing) 6:32.0.

Published in Rowing

#INDOORROWING: Irish indoor rower Jonathan Doyle took a silver medal in a remarkable race at the European Indoor Championships in Copenhagen.

Five-time Olympic medallist Eskild Ebbesen of Denmark was cheered home to a gold medal in the 40-49 lightweight grade in a world record time of 6 minutes 16.8 seconds. The Dane crept inside the old world record of 6:17.1 with a stunning final quarter of one minute 31.1 seconds. Doyle settled for silver in 6:30.3, with Briton Alastair Peake third in 6:33.4.

Doyle held the world and British titles in his class, but said it was a privelege to be involved in this race.

The men’s open lightweight class was won in 5:56.7 by Henrik Stephansen of Denmark.

European Rowing Championships, Copenhagen (Selected Result):

Men, Lightweight – 40 to 49: 1 Danske Studenters Roklub One (E Ebbesen) 6:16.8, 2 Paddy Power IRC One (J Doyle) 6:30.3, 3 Bideford AAC One (A Peake) 6:33.4.

Published in Rowing
Tagged under

#BelfastIndoorRowing: Erin Barry, a junior 16 athlete, set an excellent time of seven minutes 2.1 seconds for the 2,000 metres at the Belfast Indoor Rowing Event today. Barry, from the Bann club in Coleraine, was over 30 seconds faster than her nearest rival. One of the top performers from the Irish Indoor Championships last week, Sam McKeown from Portadown, was entered but did not take part. The event served as part of the Ireland trialling system and a round of the British University indoor series.

 

UIR 2013 Nov 30
RESULTS INFO
2000m 1005 R1 W U16 Drag 120
Best from Limerick WU16 7:22.7 MANUAL SPLITS eg 00:03:55.4
LANE CODE RACE NAME 500 1000 1500 2000
1 1 Barry BANN W U16 07:02.1
2 2 DeSay NEPTUNE W U16 DNS
3 3 Clarke PORTORA W U16 07:39.2
4 4 Shirlow BANN W U16 07:36.0
5 5 McGrath CARLOW W U16 07:53.8
6 6 Walker P'DOWN W U16 08:21.9
7 0 7
8 0 8
9 0 9
10 0 10
11 0 11
12 0 12
2000m 1025 R2 W U16_Olwt Drag 120 LWW 125
Best from Limerick WOL 7:18.1 MANUAL SPLITS
LANE CODE RACE NAME 500 1000 1500 2000
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 8 McCann P'DOWN W U16 DNF
6 2 DeSay NEPTUNE W U16 08:40.9
7 7 mullan BANN W U16 07:45.5
8 8
9 9 chestnutt BANN W U16 07:54.5
10 10 scott BANN W U16 07:53.8
11 11 Watson QULBC W OLwt 08:15.5
12 12 Cunningham QULBC W OLwt 00:05.6
2000m 1045 R3 M U16 Drag 130
Best from Limerick 6:32.6 MANUAL SPLITS
LANE CODE RACE NAME 500 1000 1500 2000
1 13 MITCHELL BANN M U16 06:35.9
2 14 DAVIDSON BANN M U16 06:55.9
3 15 PARISH BANN M U16 06:48.8
4 16 CHRISTIE BANN M U16 06:56.5
5 0 5
6 0 6
7 0 7
8 0 8
9 0 9
10 0 10
11 0 11
12 0 12
UIR 2013 Nov 30
1000m 1105 R4 W U15_M50+ Drag free
Best from Limerick 3:45.8 MANUAL SPLITS
LANE CODE RACE NAME 500 1000
1 17 Coulter BELFAST RC W U15 04:09.5
2 18 Taylor BELFAST RC W U15 04:00.3
3 19 McIntyre LAGAN SC W U15 04:04.4
4 20 Hobson BELFAST RC W U15 04:02.8
5 21 White BELFAST RC W U15 DNF
6 22 Booth STRANMILLIS M 50+ DNS
7 0 7
8 0 8
9 0 9
10 0 10
11 0 11
12 0 12
2000m 1145 R5a W U18 Comb Drag 120
Best from Limerick 7:15.2 MANUAL SPLITS
LANE CODE RACE NAME 500 1000 1500 2000
1 23 English BBC-TALENT W U18 07:17.9
2 24 Connolly NEPTUNE W U18 07:37.9
3 25 morelli BANN W U18 07:49.4
4 26 Turner BBC-TALENT W U18 07:36.7
5 27 Coleman NEPTUNE W U18 07:49.2
6 28 Martin P'DOWN W U18 08:46.3
7 29 wray BANN W U18 07:40.2
8 30 Glover PORTORA W U18 07:45.9
9 31 Blundell BBC-TALENT W U18 08:01.7
10 32 Byrne NEPTUNE W U18 07:46.3
11 33 Flack P'DOWN W U18 08:40.5
12 35 Smylie P'DOWN W U18 08:09.2
2000m 1205 R7 W OLwt_U23Lwt Drag 120 BUCS 125 lanes 3,4,5
Best from Limerick WU23L 7:25.3 MANUAL SPLITS
LANE CODE RACE NAME 500 1000 1500 2000
1 36 Quinn BBC-TALENT W OLwt 07:18.1
2 37 Cameron BBC-TALENT W OLwt 07:33.5
3 38 Elliot QULBC W OLwt 08:11.8
4 39 Flynn QULBC W OLwt 08:44.7
5 40 Todd QULBC W OLwt 08:11.1
6 41 Morris DULBC W U23Lwt 07:27.2
7 42 Maguire QULBC W U23Lwt DNS
8 0 8
9 0 9
10 0 10
11 0 11
12 0 12
UIR 2013 Nov 30
2000m R8 M U18 Drag 130
Best from Limerick 6:25.2 MANUAL SPLITS
LANE CODE RACE NAME 500 1000 1500 2000
1 43 Meenagh CAI M U18 07:16.8
2 44 Murray BBC-TALENT M U18 06:33.6
3 45 Murray PORTORA M U18 06:38.2
4 46 Curran CARLOW M U18 DNS
5 47 Carroll COMMERCIAL M U18 07:08.2
6 48 McKillen QUBBC M U18 06:19.7
7 49 Chambers P'DOWN M U18 07:33.6
8 50 Doyle NEPTUNE M U18 DNS
9 51 Mullan CAI M U18 06:57.0
10 52 Rix PORTORA M U18 06:31.3
11 53 Nolan CARLOW M U18 DNS
12 0 12
2000m 1245 R9 M U18 Drag 130
Best from Limerick 6:25.2 MANUAL SPLITS
LANE CODE RACE NAME 500 1000 1500 2000
1 54 Keenan COMMERCIAL M U18 06:49.1
2 55 Ferguson P'DOWN M U18 07:45.7
3 56 Simpson CAI M U18 07:17.9
4 57 Taggart CAI M U18 DNS
5 58 Dunne COMMERCIAL M U18 06:58.0
6 59 Kerr P'DOWN M U18 08:07.0
7 60 McCaughtry BELFAST RC M U18 07:24.4
8 61 Bassett P'DOWN M U18 07:40.8
9 62 Kennedy CAI M U18 06:48.3
10 0 10
11 0 11
12 0 12
1000m 1305 R10 W Beginner Drag 130
MANUAL SPLITS
LANE CODE RACE NAME 500 1000
1 63 Murdoch QULBC begW 04:18.2
2 64 Chapman QULBC begW 03:46.0
3 65 McGaughey QULBC begW 04:35.3
4 66 Laverty QULBC begW 04:27.8
5 67 Mullen QULBC begW 04:04.4
6 68 Whittaker QULBC begW DNS
7 69 Hinds QULBC begW 04:31.4
8 70 Fordwar QULBC begW 04:19.4
9 71 Burnside QULBC begW 04:12.1
10 72 Victoria QULBC begW 04:17.9
11 73 Kelly QULBC begW 04:03.0
12 74 McBrien QULBC begW 04:08.6
UIR 2013 Nov 30
1000m R11 W Beginner Drag 130
MANUAL SPLITS
LANE CODE RACE NAME 500 1000
1 75 Fisher QULBC begW 04:13.7
2 76 Goodwin QULBC begW 04:28.8
3 77 Kelso QULBC begW 04:03.0
4 78 Copeland QULBC begW 04:33.3
5 79 Niamh QULBC begW 04:06.5
6 80 McI QULBC begW 04:10.8
7 81 Simpson QULBC begW 04:53.9
8 82 Kelly QULBC begW 04:05.7
9 83 Willis QULBC begW 04:06.5
10 84 Baxter QULBC begW DNS
11 85 Mary Claire QULBC begW DNS
12 86 Davis QULBC begW DNS
2000m 1335 R12 W O Drag 130 BUCS
Best from Limerick 6:53.2 MANUAL SPLITS
LANE CODE RACE NAME 500 1000 1500 2000
1 87 McPherson QULBC W O 08:16.1
2 88 Taylor QULBC W O 07:51.8
3 89 Maguire QULBC W O 07:49.2
4 90 Thornton QULBC W O 07:50.6
5 91 McGookin QULBC W O 07:47.7
6 92 Bossmann QULBC W O DNS
7 93 Abbott QULBC W O 08:25.1
8 94 Brown QULBC W O 08:01.0
9 95 Doran QULBC W O DNS
10 96 Alicia QULBC W O 08:15.8
11 97 Holmes QULBC W O 08:20.1
12 0 12
2000m 1355 R13a M 23Lwt_OL_MO_M23 Drag 130 (BUCS)
Best from Limerick 23L 6:28.3 OL 6:19.1 MANUAL SPLITS
LANE CODE RACE NAME 500 1000 1500 2000
1 98 mcafee BANN M U23Lwt 06:30.9
2 99 Hetherington ANGLIA RUSK M U23Lwt 06:42.4
3 100 McCann QUBBC M OLwt 06:46.2
4 101 McMullan QUBBC M OLwt 06:44.6
5
6 103 Armstrong QUBBC M OLwt 06:39.5
7 104 Evans QUBBC M OLwt 07:14.5
8
9 106 Moneypenney P'DOWN M O 06:51.4
10 109 Moran QUBBC M O 07:00.4
11 111 Magill QUBBC M U23 06:36.1
12 102 Abel QUBBC M OLwt 07:07.6
UIR 2013 Nov 30
1000m 1435 R15 M Beginner Drag 138
MANUAL SPLITS
LANE CODE RACE NAME 500 1000
1 113 Gallagher QUBBC begM 03:22.2
2 114 Gray QUBBC begM DNS
3 115 McClure QUBBC begM DNS
4 116 McCormack QUBBC begM 03:24.5
5 117 Murray QUBBC begM 03:15.8
6 118 Rice QUBBC begM 05:21.6
7 119 Leonard QUBBC begM 03:31.1
8 120 Sloan QUBBC begM DNS
9 121 Troughton QUBBC begM 03:34.5
10 122 Connolly QUBBC begM DNS
11 123 Doherty QUBBC begM DNS
12 124 Stevenson QUBBC begM DNS
1000m 1450 R16 M Beginner Drag 138
MANUAL SPLITS
LANE CODE RACE NAME 500 1000
1 125 Breslin QUBBC begM 03:37.6
2 126 Herron QUBBC begM 03:29.2
3 127 McClure QUBBC begM 03:45.2
4 128 Erskine QUBBC begM 03:19.4
5 129 Smith QUBBC begM 03:38.1
6 130 Sets QUBBC begM 03:19.4
7 131 Duffin QUBBC begM 03:50.1
8 132 Thompson QUBBC begM 03:38.3
9 133 Henry QUBBC begM 04:03.7
10 134 Vincent QUBBC begM 03:15.9
11 135 White QUBBC begM 03:21.2
12 136 Allen QUBBC begM 03:49.8
1000m 1520 R18 M Beginner Drag 138
MANUAL SPLITS
LANE CODE RACE NAME 500 1000
1 147 Graham QUBBC begM 03:16.6
2 148 McConnell QUBBC begM 03:57.7
3 149 Doyle QUBBC begM 03:07.7
4 150 Patton QUBBC begM 03:09.9
5 151 Lisowski QUBBC begM 03:19.3
6 152 Beatty QUBBC begM 03:23.2
7 153 Williamson QUBBC begM 03:23.8
8 154 J Kelly QUBBC begM 03:16.6
9 155 Brennan QUBBC begM 03:59.9
10 156 Machado QUBBC begM 03:37.4
11 0 Ruddy QUBBC begM 03:48.9
12 0 12
Published in Rowing
Page 1 of 2

Sharks in Irish waters

Irish waters are home to 71 species of shark, skates and rays, 58 of which have been studied in detail and listed on the Ireland Red List of Cartilaginous fish. Irish sharks range from small Sleeper sharks, Dogfish and Catsharks, to larger species like Frilled, Mackerel and Cow sharks, all the way to the second largest shark in the world, the Basking shark. 

Irish waters provide a refuge for an array of shark species. Tralee Bay, Co. Kerry provides a habitat for several rare and endangered sharks and their relatives, including the migratory tope shark, angel shark and undulate ray. This area is also the last European refuge for the extremely rare white skate. Through a European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) project, Marine Institute scientists have been working with fishermen to assess the distribution, diversity, and monthly relative abundance of skates and rays in Tralee, Brandon and Dingle Bays.

“These areas off the southwest coast of Ireland are important internationally as they hold some of the last remaining refuges for angel shark and white skate,” said Dr Maurice Clarke of the Marine Institute. “This EMFF project has provided data confirming the critically endangered status of some species and provides up-to-date information for the development of fishery measures to eliminate by-catch.” 

Irish waters are also home to the Black Mouthed Catshark, Galeus melastomus, one of Ireland’s smallest shark species which can be found in the deep sea along the continental shelf. In 2018, Irish scientists discovered a very rare shark-nursery 200 nautical miles off the west coast by the Marine Institute’s ROV Holland 1 on a shelf sloping to 750 metres deep. 

There are two ways that sharks are born, either as live young or from egg casings. In the ‘case’ of Black Mouthed Catsharks, the nursery discovered in 2018, was notable by the abundance of egg casings or ‘mermaid’s purses’. Many sharks, rays and skate lay eggs, the cases of which often wash ashore. If you find an egg casing along the seashore, take a photo for Purse Search Ireland, a citizen science project focusing on monitoring the shark, ray and skate species around Ireland.

Another species also found by Irish scientists using the ROV Holland 1 in 2018 was a very rare type of dogfish, the Sail Fin Rough Shark, Oxynotus paradoxus. These sharks are named after their long fins which resemble the trailing sails of a boat, and live in the deep sea in waters up to 750m deep. Like all sharks, skates and rays, they have no bones. Their skeleton is composed of cartilage, much like what our noses and ears are made from! This material is much more flexible and lighter than bone which is perfect for these animals living without the weight of gravity.

Throughout history sharks have been portrayed as the monsters of the sea, a concept that science is continuously debunking. Basking sharks were named in 1765 as Cetorhinus maximus, roughly translated to the ‘big-nosed sea monster’. Basking sharks are filter feeders, often swimming with their mouths agape, they filter plankton from the water.

They are very slow moving and like to bask in the sun in shallow water and are often seen in Irish waters around Spring and early Summer. To help understand the migration of these animals to be better able to understand and conserve these species, the Irish Basking Shark Group have tagged and mapped their travels.

Remarkably, many sharks like the Angel Shark, Squatina squatina have the ability to sense electricity. They do this via small pores in their skin called the ‘Ampullae of Lorenzini’ which are able to detect the tiny electrical impulses of a fish breathing, moving or even its heartbeat from distances of over a kilometre! Angel sharks, often referred to as Monkfish have a distinctively angelic shape, with flattened, large fins appearing like the wings of an angel. They live on the seafloor in the coastal waters of Ireland and much like a cat are nocturnal, primarily active at night.

The intricate complexity of shark adaptations is particularly noticeable in the texture of their skin. Composed of miniscule, perfectly shaped overlapping scales, the skin of shark provides them with protection. Often shark scales have been compared to teeth due to their hard enamel structure. They are strong, but also due to their intricate shape, these scales reduce drag and allow water to glide past them so that the shark can swim more effortlessly and silently. This natural flawless design has been used as inspiration for new neoprene fabric designs to help swimmers glide through the water. Although all sharks have this feature, the Leafscale Gulper Shark, Centrophorus squamosus, found in Ireland are specifically named due to the ornate leaf-shape of their scales.