NUIG retained their senior eights title at the National Championships in Farran Wood in Cork with an on-the-line victory over Queen’s University which was remarkably similar to their win last year.

The two crews were locked together in the closing stages and a photo finish was needed to separate them. The official verdict was three feet.

The women’s senior eight crown also produced an extraordinary result: a crew formed just for  the Championships won – and won well. Former and current internationals Laura D’Urso, Monika Dukarska and Sinead Jennings were all part of the ‘super eight’ which had almost four seconds to spare over the Old Collegians/UCD composite in second. Favourites Commercial were third.

In the last Championship finals of the day, Shannon won the men's novice coxed four and Queen's A the women's novice coxed four.

National Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork, Day Two

Men, Eight – Senior: 1 NUIG 5:44.61, 2 Queen’s University A 5:44.74, 3 Commercial/Old Collegians/UCD 5:50.6, 4 Muckross 5:51.29, 5 Queen’s B 6:04.5.

Junior 18: 1 Bann 5:54.4, 2 Skibbereen 5:57.6, 3 Portora 5:59.2, 4 St Joseph’s College 5:59.9, 5 Presentation College 6:19.2, 6 Colaiste Iognaid 6:27.5.

Fours – Intermediate, coxed: 1 University of Limerick 6:24.9, 2 Galway RC A 6:29.7, 3 Queen’s University 6:32.2, 4 Neptune 6:32.6, 5 UCD 6:35.3, 6 Trinity 6:36.6. Novice, coxed: 1 Shannon 6:51.1, 2 Fossa 6:54.4, 3 Cork BC 6:55.6, 4 Workmen’s, Killarney 7:07.1, 5 Skibbereen A 7:10.9, 6 Trinity 7:35.6.

Women

Eights – Senior: 1 Castleconnell/Carrick-on-Shannon/St Michael’s/University of Limerick/City of Derry/Killorglin/Skibbereen/Cork 6:36.8, 2 UCD/Old Collegians 6:40.7, 3 Commercial 6:41.7, 4 Trinity 6:43.1, 5 NUIG 6:58.1

Junior 18: 1 Portora 6:42.5, 2 St Michael’s 6:46.0, 3 Methodist College 6:56.7, 4 Muckross 7:16.7.

Fours – Intermediate, coxed: 1 Cork BC 7:12.0, 2 NUIG A 7:13.3, 3 Skibbereen 7:17.2, 4 UCD 7:22.6, 5 NUIG B 7:44.8. Novice, coxed: 1 Queen’s A 7:35.9, 2 St Michael’s 7:40.2, 3 Trinity 7:41.3, 4 UCD A 7:54.5, 5 UCD B 7:56.1, 6 Carrick-on-Shannon 8:05.2.

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There was controversy in the semi-finals of the men's senior eights at the National Rowing Championships in Cork.

The University of Limerick cox failed to weigh in for the second semi-final, and the crew was disqualified. 

This left only three crews in the race: Muckross, NUIG and St Michael’s.

One crew could not make it through to the final, and St Michael’s lost out in a race won by Muckross, with NUIG taking the second place in the final.

In the other semi-final, Queen’s qualified two crews, and they were joined by a composite crew from  Commercial, UCD and Old Collegians.

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Bann of Coleraine had a fine victory at the National Rowing Championships in Cork in the junior 18 eights. Skibbereen, who had a very impressive semi-final win, were second.

Portora won the women’s junior 18 eight by a length from St Michael’s of Limerick, who challenged them in the closing stages.

Skibbereen looked odds-on to win the women’s intermediate coxed four, but Cork Boat Club sprung a surprise.

University of Limerick had a surprisingly big margin over Galway Rowing Club in their win in the men’s intermediate coxed four, with half a length of clear water as they came to the line.

National Championships, Day Two

Men

Eights - Junior 18: 1 Bann 5:54.4, 2 Skibbereen 5:57.6, 3 Portora 5:59.2, 4 St Joseph’s College 5:59.9, 5 Presentation College 6:19.2, 6 Colaiste Iognaid 6:27.5.

Fours – Intermediate, coxed: 1 University of Limerick 6:24.9, 2 Galway RC A 6:29.7, 3 Queen’s University 6:32.2, 4 Neptune 6:32.6, 5 UCD 6:35.3, 6 Trinity 6:36.6

Women

Eights – Junior 18: 1 Portora 6:42.5, 2 St Michael’s 6:46.0, 3 Methodist College 6:56.7, 4 Muckross 7:16.7.

Fours – Intermediate, coxed: 1 Cork BC 7:12.0, 2 NUIG A 7:13.3, 3 Skibbereen 7:17.2, 4 UCD 7:22.6, 5 NUIG B 7:44.8.

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Skibbereen ended a very successful day at the National Championships in Farran Wood in Cork by winning the men’s junior coxed four. Gary O’Donovan, Diarmuid O’Driscoll, Shane O’Driscoll and Paul O’Donovan had over six seconds to spare over Bann B in second.

The men’s novice eight also involved an emphatic win, this time for UCD, with NUIG second.

National Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork, Day One

Men, Eight – Intermediate: 1 University of Limerick 5:44.8, 2 Galway RC 5:48.1, 3 Trinity 5:55.5, 4 UCD 5:56.2, 5 Carlow 5:56.5, 6 Neptune 5:58.4. Novice: 1 UCD  6:05.9, 2 NUIG 6:12.1, 3 Trinity 6:15.2.

Four – Senior: 1 NUIG (P Giblin, A Martin, C Folan, James Wall), 2 UCD, 3 Galway/Neptune, 4 St Michael’s A, 5 Queen’s A, 6 Cork BC. Junior 18, coxed: 1 Skibbereen (G O’Donovan, D O’Driscoll, s O’Driscoll, P O’Donovan; cox: E O’Regan) 6:28.3, 2 Bann B 6:34.6, 3 St Joseph’s 6:39.3.

Women, Eight – Intermediate: 1 Trinity 6:33.4, 2 Portora 6:36.4, 3 UCD 6:43.4, 4 NUIG 6:48.8. Novice: 1 Queen’s University 6:41.3, 2 St Michael’s 6:46.3, 3 Trinity 6:50.6, 4 UCD 6:57.9, 5 Neptune 6:58.5, 6 NUIG 7:05.5.

Four – Senior: 1 Skibbereen (S Dinneen, D Walsh, C Fitzgerald, O Hayes) 6:55.4, 2 Neptune, Commercial, Old Collegians 6:57.3, 3 Commercial A 6:59.6.

Junior 18: 1 Skibberen 6:57.8, 2 Cork 7:12.6, 3 Commercial 7:14.5, 4 Shannon 7:30.8, 5 Clonmel 7:36.7

NUIG took on and beat UCD in the men’s senior four at the National Championships in Cork. The experienced crew of Paul Giblin, Alan Martin, Cormac Folan and stroke James Wall passed the four rowers who had won the Prince Albert at Henley in the final 500 metres and kept a steady rhythm to win convincingly.

Skibbereen, with three of the crew which won the junior four earlier, had a fine win in the senior eights. Teenagers Shelly Dineen, Denise Walsh and Christine Fitzgerald were joined by Orla Hayes in a crew which saw of a challenge of the composite crew of Elaine Fitzgerald, Claire Ludlow, Becky Quinn and Siobhan Jacob.

The women’s novice eight was won by Queen’s University.

National Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork, Day One

Men, Eight – Intermediate: 1 University of Limerick 5:44.8, 2 Galway RC 5:48.1, 3 Trinity 5:55.5, 4 UCD 5:56.2, 5 Carlow 5:56.5, 6 Neptune 5:58.4

Four – Senior: 1 NUIG (P Giblin, A Martin, C Folan, James Wall), 2 UCD, 3 Galway/Neptune, 4 St Michael’s A, 5 Queen’s A, 6 Cork BC.

Women, Eight – Intermediate: 1 Trinity 6:33.4, 2 Portora 6:36.4, 3 UCD 6:43.4, 4 NUIG 6:48.8. Novice: 1 Queen’s University 6:41.3, 2 St Michael’s 6:46.3, 3 Trinity 6:50.6, 4 UCD 6:57.9, 5 Neptune 6:58.5, 6 NUIG 7:05.5.

Four – Senior: 1 Skibbereen (S Dinneen, D Walsh, C Fitzgerald, O Hayes) 6:55.4, 2 Neptune, Commercial, Old Collegians 6:57.3, 3 Commercial A 6:59.6.

Junior 18: 1 Skibberen 6:57.8, 2 Cork 7:12.6, 3 Commercial 7:14.5, 4 Shannon 7:30.8, 5 Clonmel 7:36.7

University of Limerick fought of a strong challenge by Galway Rowing Club to take the Intermediate Eight title at the National Championships at the National Rowing Centre in Cork by one length. 

Trinity won the women’s intermediate eights title. In a four-boat race their closest challengers were the junior crew from Portora, who overlapped them for much of the course. Trinity, coxed by club captain Rachel Nazarin, powered through the line to win by a length.

In the third Championship event of the morning session, the women’s junior 18 coxless four, Skibbereen had a very impressive win.

National Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork, Day One

Men, Eight – Intermediate: 1 University of Limerick 5:44.8, 2 Galway RC 5:48.1, 3 Trinity 5:55.5, 4 UCD 5:56.2, 5 Carlow 5:56.5, 6 Neptune 5:58.4

Women, Eight – Intermediate: 1 Trinity 6:33.4, 2 Portora 6:36.4, 3 UCD 6:43.4, 4 NUIG 6:48.8.

Four – Junior 18: 1 Skibberen 6:57.8, 2 Cork 7:12.6, 3 Commercial 7:14.5, 4 Shannon 7:30.8, 5 Clonmel 7:36.7

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The Ireland under-23 lightweight quadruple scull finished sixth in their A Final at the World Cup in Lucerne. France made the pace for much of the race, but it was World Champions Italy who took gold. Germany took silver and France bronze.

The Ireland crew, formed in the run-up to this event, were a little off the pace all through. They will have gained invaluable experience from competing at this level, said Ireland performance director Martin McElroy.

World Cup Regatta, Lucerne

Lightweight Quadruple Scull – A Final: 1 Italy 6:30.06, 2 Germany One 6:32.67, 3 France 6:32.80; 4 Germany Two 6:35.12, 5 Denmark 6:35.46, 6 Ireland (N Kenny, M Maher, M O’Donovan, J Ryan) 6:42.42.

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Siobhan McCrohan finished sixth in the A Final of the lightweight single scull at the World Cup regatta in Lucerne. The 23-year-old did well in the early stages and was second at 500 metres. However, as her opponents made their moves in a good race McCrohan dropped back. Alexandra Tsiavou of Greece, who led for most of the 2,000 metres, was pushed into silver medal position by Marie-Louise Draeger of Germany. Fabiana Beltrame of Brazil took the bronze medal.

World Cup Regatta, Lucerne

Lightweight Single Scull – A Final: 1 Germany One (M-L Draeger) 7:48.92, 2 Greece (A Tsiavou) 7:50.69, 3 Brazil (F Beltrame) 7:53.16; 4 Britain (A Dennis) 7:57.47, 5 Italy (E Bello) 7:58.14, 6 Ireland (S McCrohan) 8:04.60.

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Siobhan McCrohan and the lightweight men’s quadruple scull grabbed A Final spots this morning at the World Cup regatta in Lucerne.

McCrohan (23) raced into the final of the lightweight single scull, taking second place to Alexandra Tsiavou of Greece in the semi-final, where three boats go through. McCrohan and Erika Bello of Italy disputed second for much of the race. In the final 500 metres, as Bello and Eri Wakai of Japan made their charges, McCrohan held on to take a clear second ahead of the Italian.

The repechage of the lightweight quadruple scull was a mad dash as four crews from six tried to make it through to the A Final. Denmark moved into pole position early, but Ireland, Brazil and two German crews were all in a fight for the three other places. The Irish crew of Niall Kenny, Michael Maher, Mark O’Donovan and Justin Ryan did well to push through to third at the end, with the two German crews taking the other qualification places.

“You make a mistake in a race like that and it’s all over,” said Ireland performance director Martin McElroy. “They did a really good job.”

 He added: "Siobhan did what she needed to do. Two A Finals is a a good start."

Irish crews took part in four competitive C Finals. The men’s open and lightweight pairs both finished third, placing them 15th overall. Sanita Puspure in the women’s single finished fourth (16th) and the lightweight women’s double sixth (18th). Cathal Moynihan took fourth in this D Final of the lightweight single scull (22nd).

World Cup Regatta, Lucerne, Day Two (Irish interest)

Men,

Pair – C Final (Places 13-18): 1 Cuba 6:39.17, 2 Czech Republic 6:39.86, 3 Ireland (C Folan, S Jacob) 6:44.52, 4 France Two 6:48.80, 5 Australia 6:56.86, 6 Egypt One 6:59.75.

Lightweight Pair (Places 13-18): 1 Japan Two 6:50.55, 2 Japan One 6:50.90, 3 Ireland (P Hanily, A English) 6:51.18, 4 Brazil 7:06.94, 5 Indonesia 7:12.72.

Lightweight Quadruple Scull – Repechage (First Four to A Final): 1 Denmark 6:08.60, 2 Germany Two 6:09.43, 3 Ireland (N Kenny, M Maher, M O’Donovan, J Ryan) 6:09.99, 4 Germany One 6:10.63; 5 Brazil 6:11.63, 6 Argentina 6:12.14.

Lightweight Single Scull – D Final (Places 19 to 24): 1 Bulgaria 7:15.81, 2 Japan One 7:19.21, 3 Venezuela One 7:19.66, 4 Ireland (C Moynihan) 7:20.83, 5 Belgium One 7:21.82, 6 Turkey One 7:28.18.

Women

Single Scull – C Final (Places 13 to 18):  1 Germany  Two 7:48.52, 2 Estonia 7:51.57, 3 China Two 7:51.92, 4 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:53.15, 5 Finland 8:01.18, 6 Chile 8:02.95.

Lightweight Double Scull – C Final (Places 13 to 18): 1 Italy 7:12.29, 2 Germany Two 7:14.58, 3 Sweden 7:16.48, 4 Switzerland Two 7:17.26, 5 Russia 7:18.21, 6 Ireland (C Lambe, S Dolan) 7:18.39.

Lightweight Single Scull – Semi-Final (First Three to A Final): 1 Greece (A Tsiavou) 7:54.34, 2 Ireland (S McCrohan) 7:55.71, 3 Italy (E Bello) 7:56.21; 4 Japan Two 7:56.29, 5 Sweden One 7:59.27, 6 Netherlands (M-A Frenken) 8:17.52.

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Siobhan McCrohan came third in her quarter-final of the lightweight single scull at the World Cup in Lucerne, securing a place in the semi-finals. The Galway woman led early on, but Erika Bello of Italy and Fabiana Beltrame of Brazil passed her in the second half of the race.

The lightweight men’s pair of Peter Hanily and Anthony English, an under-23 crew, came very close to landing a place in the A/B semi-finals. Even in the early stages of this repechage Canada and Italy were in charge of the first two qualification places. Ireland led a battle for third until the closing stages, when they were pipped by Hong Kong.

Cathal Moynihan finished last in his quarter-final of the lightweight men’s single scull and the men’s pair of Cormac Folan and Sean Jacob were fifth in their repechage. Both crews missed out on A/B semi-Finals.

Sarah Dolan and Claire Lambe saw Poland and China claim the two semi-final places in the repechages of the lightweight double scull. The Irish were a close-up fourth behind Germany in third.

World Cup, Lucerne (Irish interest)

Men

Pair – Heat Four (First Two Directly to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to repechages): 1 Greece (G Tziallas, J Christou) 6:28.17, 2 Serbia One (M Marjanovic, N Stojic) 6:34.28; 3 Netherlands 6:37.88, 4 Ireland (C Folan, S Jacob) 6:46.06, 5 Germany Two 6:52.75. Repechage (Two to A/B Semi-Finals): 1 South Africa 6:35.82, 2 Australia 6:35.93; 5 Ireland (Folan, Jacob) 6:40.64

Lightweight Pair – Heat One (First Two Directly to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to repechages): 1 Britain (A Freeman-Pask, C Boddy) 6:36.53, 2 Germany (D Wisgott, R Gerhardt) 6:39.61; 3 China 6:43.26, 4 Ireland (P Hanily, A English) 6:51.30, 5 Hong Kong 6:58.93, 6 Indonesia 7:12.49. Repechage Two (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals): 1 Canada 6:41.86, 2 Italy 6:45.05, 3 Hong Kong 6:46.90; 4 Ireland (Hanily, English) 6:47.80, 5 Japan Two 6:48.51, 6 Brazil 7:01.24.

Lightweight Quadruple Scull – Heat Two (First Directly to A Final; rest to repechage): 1 Italy (F Sancassani, F Rigon, F Gabriele, S Basalini) 5:36.36; 2 Ireland (N Kenny, M Maher, M O’Donovan, J Ryan) 5:57.15, 3 Germany One 6:02.98, 4 Brazil 6:04.55.

Lightweight Single Scull – Heat Six (First Four Directly to Quarter-Finals): 1 New Zealand (D Grant) 7:10.97, 2 Hong Kong (Sau Wah So) 7:12.63, 3 Ireland (C Moynihan) 7:12.76, 4 Venezuela (J Guipe Jimenez) 7:15. 13; 5 Finland 7:15.51. Quarter-Final Four (Three to A/B Semi-Finals): 1 Hungary 7:04.68, 2 Slovakia 7:07.03, 3 Denmark 7:07.25; 6 Ireland (Moynihan) 7:21.67.

Women

Single Scull – Heat Four (First Two Directly to A/B Semi-Final): 1 Czech Republic (M Knapkova) 7:47.39, 2 United States (G Stone) 7:53.50; 3 Ireland (S Puspure) 8:00.59, 4 Argentina 8:06.44, 5 China One 8:15.82.

Lightweight Double Scull – Heat One (First Directly to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to repechage): 1 Britain (H Goodsell, S Hosking) 7:08.40; 2 Netherlands 7:11.34, 3 Italy 7:14.14, 4 Ireland (C Lambe, S Dolan) 7:21.49, 5 Switzerland 7:23.84, 6 Cuba 7:26.44. Repechage Two (First Two to A/B Semi-Finals): 1 Poland 7:12.13, 2 China 7:13.91; 3 Germany Two 7:18.09, 4 Ireland 7:18.66

Lightweight Single Scull – Heat Three (First Three Directly to Quarter-Finals): 1 Ireland (S McCrohan) 7:56.18, 2 Japan One (A Fukumoto) 7:58.86, 3 Switzerland (E Waser) 8:02.36; 4 Zambia 8:06.15, 5 Hong Kong 8:13.50. Quarter-Final Two (Three to Semi-Finals): 1 Italy (E Bello) 7:48.29, 2 Brazil (F Beltrame) 7:50.58, 3 Ireland (McCrohan) 7:50.58; 4 Denmark Three 8:02.13, 5 Denmark Four 8:02.94, 6 France 8:04.38.

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