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Displaying items by tag: Belderrig Currach

An historic race involving the rare Belderrig currach resulted in a victory for Mayo emigrants over the August bank holiday weekend.

Oarsmen with Mayo links from Currachaí na Sceirí, a club based in Skerries north Dublin, secured first place in the hotly contested race against a crew from Belderrig.

As Afloat reported previously, It was the first time since 1953 that what was once a regular challenge had taken place in Belderrig harbour on the north Mayo coast.

The winning Belderrig currach crew from Currachaí na Sceirí -Shane Holland Finbarr O Connor, Dermot Higgins, Anthony Moran  pictured with Kevin O'Sullivan  in the stern..jpgThe winning Belderrig currach crew from Currachaí na Sceirí -Shane Holland Finbarr O Connor, Dermot Higgins, Anthony Moran pictured with Kevin O'Sullivan in the stern

Both crews were rowing the Belderrig design of currach, a five-hander 24-foot-long salmon fishing type of craft once used along that stretch of coastline.

The winning team from Currachaí na Sceirí included Shane Holland, Finbarr O Connor, Dermot Higgins, Anthony Moran and Kevin O'Sullivan in the stern.

The Belderrig crew involved the Madden brothers of Padraig, Paul and Darren, along with Declan Caulfield and Oisín Mc Conamhna in the stern.

The Belderrig crew of the Madden brothers, Padraig, Paul and Darren, with Declan Caulfield and Oisín Mac Conamhna in  the sternThe Belderrig crew of the Madden brothers, Padraig, Paul and Darren, with Declan Caulfield and Oisín Mac Conamhna in the stern

In separate time trials, Dan and Alan Mc Hale from Mayo won first place, with Skerries crews coming second and third.

In 2002, the National Museum of Ireland commissioned skilled boat-builder Pádraig Ó Duinnín and a team from Meitheal Mara in Cork to construct the Belderrig currach in the grounds of the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life, Turlough Park in Castlebar.

CnS crew get readyCurrachaí na Sceirí crew get ready Photo: Ann Laurent

Currachaí na sceiriCurrachaí na sceiri in full flight Photo: Ann Laurent

 Belderrig (in foreground) Belderrig (in foreground) Photo: Ann Laurent

Published in Currachs
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Coastal Notes Coastal Notes covers a broad spectrum of stories, events and developments in which some can be quirky and local in nature, while other stories are of national importance and are on-going, but whatever they are about, they need to be told.

Stories can be diverse and they can be influential, albeit some are more subtle than others in nature, while other events can be immediately felt. No more so felt, is firstly to those living along the coastal rim and rural isolated communities. Here the impact poses is increased to those directly linked with the sea, where daily lives are made from earning an income ashore and within coastal waters.

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In addition Coastal Notes has many more angles to cover, be it the weekend boat leisure user taking a sedate cruise off a long straight beach on the coast beach and making a friend with a feathered companion along the way.

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