#Rowing: Eamonn Colclough (pronounced Coakley) was elected president of Rowing Ireland at the annual general meeting in Garda Boat Club in Dublin. The Tribesmen member, who is originally from Dublin, beat Kieran Kerr of St Michael’s by just one vote, 25-24. Colclough made a strong speech which was critical of Rowing Ireland’s failure to land a major sponsorship after the stellar year of 2016, when there were two Olympic finalists and one medal. He said that the sport needed to grow; to bring in new recreational members and to put behing it what he saw as over-reliance on the National Rowing Centre in Cork.
Mick O’Callaghan launched a forceful attack on the outgoing board. He said they had forced out Morten Espersen, who is stepping down from his role as High Performance Director. The outgoing president, Con Cronin, defended the board and said he had been transparent in his own dealings.
A Skibbereen motion to add under-21 events to the Irish Championships was defeated.
