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Displaying items by tag: Mark O'Donovan

#Rowing: The men's pair of Mark O'Donovan and Shane O'Driscoll won their E Final at the World Rowing Championships in Linz-Ottensheim. The Skibbereen men led right through and saw off nearest challengers, Lithuania.

World Rowing Championships, Linz-Ottensheim, Austria - Day Five (Irish interest)

Men

Pair - E Final (Places 25 to 28): 1 Ireland (M O'Donovan, S O'Driscoll) 6:36.3

Lightweight Double Sculls - A/B Semi-Final Two (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (F McCarthy, P O'Donovan) 6:13.46, 2 Germany 6:13.59, 3 Norway 6:14.15.

Lightweight Single Sculls A/B Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 6 Ireland (G O'Donovan) 7:34.01.

Women

Four A/B Semi-Final Two (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Australia 6:25.34, 2 Denmark 6:28.58, 3 Romania 6:30.96; 4 Ireland (T Hanlon, E Lambe, A Keogh, E Hegarty) 6:32.37.

Pair - A/B Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 New Zealand 6:57.92, 2 United States 7:01.78, 3 Italy 7:01.80; 4 Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:03.05.

Lightweight Double Sculls - C/D Semi-Final One (First Three to C Final; rest to D Final): 3 Ireland (A Casey, D Walsh) 7:01.68.

Lightweight Single Sculls A/B Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 6 Ireland (L Heaphy) 7:42.23.

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Ireland pair of Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll just missed out on a qualifying for the quarter-finals at the World Rowing Championships in Austria today.

 The Skibbereen men had to be in the top two in their repechage, but in a three-boat finish, Chile pipped Greece and Ireland were just .66 of a second off qualifying. They go to the E Final.

  The lightweight quadruple of Hugh Sutton, Miles Taylor, Ryan Ballantine and Jake McCarthy finished fourth in their heat and will compete in a repechage as they attempt to make the A Final. Italy were very strong and won well, staying clear of Denmark and Austria. Italy qualified for the A Final.

World Rowing Championships, Linz, Austria, Day Two (Irish interest)

Men

Pair - Repechage Two (First Two to Quarter-Finals; Third to Final E): 1 Chile 6:43.70, 2 Greece 6:43.71; 3 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:44.35.

Lightweight Quadruple – Heat One (Winner to A Final; rest to Repechage): 4 Ireland (H Sutton, M Taylor, R Ballantine, J McCarthy) 6:04.84

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley took an encouraging second place in their heat as they qualified for the quarter finals in the women’s pair at the World Rowing Championships in Linz, Austria. The United States looked to have the win wrapped up, but Ireland raced to the line and pushed them at the finish.

 Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll finished sixth in their heat of the men’s pair. They were not in the mix for the top-four placing which would have seen them directly into the quarter-finals, and must compete in a repechage.

World Rowing Championships, Linz, Austria, Day One (Irish interest)

Men

Pair – Heat One (First Four to Quarter-Finals; rest to Repechage):

6 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:50.51.

Women

Pair – Heat Four (First Four to Quarter-Finals; rest to Repechage):

2 Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:13.30

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll made their exit at the semi-final stage at Henley Royal Regatta today. The Skibbereen pair in the Silver Goblets moved off the start well and took a small lead, but they could not shake off Agustin Diaz and Axel Haack of Argentina.

 With each stroke through the middle of the course, the Argentina pair gained traction. The drew level and then passed O’Donovan and O’Driscoll. They opened a big lead and won well.

Henley Royal Regatta, Day Four (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Silver Goblets (Men’s Pairs, Open): A Diaz and A Haack bt M O’Donovan and S O’Driscoll (Skibbereen) 2¾ l

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Skibbereen men Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll won their first race at Henley Royal Regatta. The Skibbereen pair eased into Saturday’s draw in the Silver Goblets by beating Hugo Elworthy and Harry Hogan with little drama. O’Donovan and O’Driscoll used their very fast start to leave the Doncaster crew behind and then took advantage of the very good conditions to stay clear while easing their rate down.

Henley Royal Regatta, Day Three (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Hambleden Pairs (Women’s Pairs, Open): G Prendergast, K Gowler bt S O’Connor, N Long 2¼ l

Silver Goblets (Men’s Pairs, Open): Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll (Skibbereen) bt H Hogan and H Elworthy 2¼ l

Double Sculls (Men’s Double, Open): J Collins, G Thomas bt Nathan Hull and OJ Dix (Queen’s, Belfast and Leander) 1l

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The standout names in the Irish entry for Henley Royal Regatta are Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll. The world lightweight champions of 2017 have entered the Silver Goblets for open pairs.

 The Irish challenge features Commercial in the Thames Cup for club eights and UCD’s four in the Visitors. Both crews are Irish champions. Enniskillen have chosen to enter quadruples in the Fawley and the Diamond Jubilee.

 UCD, who compete at Henley Women’s Regatta this weekend, have entered the open event for women’s eights, the Remenham.  Orla Hayes of Skibbereen has entered the Princess Royal, the open event for women's single scullers.

Henley Royal Regatta, July 3rd to 7th (Selection of Entries, Irish interest)

Remenham Cup (Women’s Eights, Open): UCD

Thames (Men’s Eight, Club): Commercial

Visitors (Men’s Four, Club and University): UCD

Prince of Wales (Men’s Quadruple, Club and University): Lagan Scullers’

Fawley (Men’s Quadruple, Junior): Enniskillen Royal Boat Club

Diamond Jubilee Cup (Women’s Quadruple, Junior): Enniskillen Royal Boat Club

Britannia (Men’s Fours, coxed, Club): Belfast Rowing Club

Silver Goblets (Men’s Pairs, Open): Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll (Skibbereen)

Hambleden Pairs (Women’s Pairs, Open): Sadhbh O’Connor and Natalie Long (NUIG and Skibbereen)

Double Sculls (Men’s Double, Open): Nathan Hull and OJ Dix (Queen’s, Belfast and Leander)

Stonor Trophy (Women’s Double Sculls, Open): Fiona Chestnutt, CK Knight (Reading Univ and Newcastle Univ)

Diamond Sculls (Men’s Single, Open): Callum McCrae (Cambridge Univ Lightweight RC)

Princess Royal (Women’s Single, Open): Orla Hayes (Skibbereen)

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s Aoife Casey and Denise Walsh showed the Skibbereen skill for sprinting to good effect as they worn their C Final of the women’s lightweight double sculls at the World Championships in Plovdiv. They were fourth at 500 metres, but they sped up the rankings through the middle 1,000 and led with 500 metres to go. They took it home from there, with Austria second and Germany third. Ireland placed 13th in the World because of this result.

Shane O’Driscoll and Mark O’Donovan took fourth in their C Final, 16th overall, in the men’s pair. The race was won by Australia’s Andrew Judge and Joseph O’Brien, while O’Donovan and O’Driscoll produced a remarkable change of pace to challenge the leaders, but Poland and the United States had pushed in between them and the leaders on the line.

World Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Day Seven (Irish interest):

Men

Pair – C Final (places 13 to 18): 1 Australia 6:23.81; 4 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:29.19.

Lightweight Double Sculls – A Final: 1 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:06.81, 2 Italy 6:08.31, 3 Belgium 6:11.25.

Women

Pair – A Final: 1 Canada 6:50.67, 2 New Zealand 6:52.96, 3 Spain 7:04.60; 6 Ireland (A Keogh, E Hegarty) 7:15.70.

Lightweight Double Sculls – C Final (places 13 to 18): 1 Ireland (A Casey, D Walsh) 7:05.77, 2 Austria 7:08.29, 3 Germany 7:09.12.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll featured in the closest race of the day at the World Rowing Championships. The first three crews to finish in the C/D semi-final of the men’s pair would go through to the C Final. O’Donovan and O’Driscoll pushed hard to catch Australia and held second as the crews dashed for the line. But Italy and the Netherlands sped into the picture. The finish was so close that it was well into the next race before the judges ruled that Ireland and Italy had finished joint second (a very unusual decision). The Netherlands missed out by .04 of a second and go to the D Final.

World Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Day Five (Irish interest)

Men

Pair – Quarter-Final Four (Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to C/D Semi-Finals): 1 Canada 6:26.04, 2 New Zealand 6:30.36, 3 Czech Republic 6:35.01; 5 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:44.28. C/D Semi-Final One (Three to C Final; rest to D Final): 1 Australia 6:36.82, 2= Ireland 6:38.74, 2= Italy 6:38.74; 4 The Netherlands 6:38.78.

Double Sculls – Repechage Four (First Two to A/B Semi-Final): Ireland (P Doyle, R Byrne) 6:16.96, 2 Bulgaria 6:20.15.

Lightweight Double – Semi-Final Two (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Italy 6:21.94, 2 Belgium 6:22.83, 3 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:23.78.

Women

Pair – Semi-Final (Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Ireland (A Keogh, E Hegarty) 7:14.67, 2 Italy 7:14.99, 3 Spain 7:15.30.

Lightweight Double Sculls – C/D Semi-Final (First Two to C Final; rest to D Final): 1 Ireland (A Casey, D Walsh) 7:20.51, 2 Spain 7:24.08.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Shane O’Driscoll and Mark O’Donovan took fifth in their quarter-final of the pair at the World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv. Canada won well, with New Zealand and the Czech Republic taking the other A/B semi-final places. The Ireland crew battled well to push ahead of Denmark, but third and qualification for the A/B Semi-Finals was beyond them. They will compete in the C/D Semi-Finals.

 Earlier, Philip Doyle and Ronan Byrne had won their repechage of the double sculls to secure their place in the A/B Semi-Finals.

World Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Day Five (Irish interest)

Men

Pair – Quarter-Final Four (Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to C/D Semi-Finals): 1 Canada 6:26.04, 2 New Zealand 6:30.36, 3 Czech Republic 6:35.01; 5 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:44.28.

Double Sculls – Repechage Four (First Two to A/B Semi-Final):

Ireland (P Doyle, R Byrne) 6:16.96, 2 Bulgaria 6:20.15.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll qualified for the quarter-finals of the men’s pair with a second-place finish in their repechage at the World Rowing Championships. Sander de Graaf and Vincent Klaassens of the Netherlands won, with the Ireland pair, their only rivals for the top spot, finishing well and closing on them at the finish, where they were just 1.61 seconds down. Four of the five crews took quarter-final places, with Brazil taking third and Argentina losing out in the final sprint to Bulgaria for the final spot.

World Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Day Two (Irish interest)

Men

Pair – Repechage (Four to Quarter-Finals): The Netherlands 6:34.68 2 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:36.29, 3 Brazil 6:41.66, 4 Bulgaria 6:42.81.

Lightweight Quadruple Sculls – Heat Two (First to A Final; rest to Repechage): 1 Italy 5:48.03; 3 Ireland (F McCarthy, R Ballantine, J McCarthy, A Goff) 5:53.43.

Women

Double Sculls – Heat One (First Two to A/B Semi-Final; rest to Repechage): 1 Canada 6:54.02, 2 Netherlands 6:55.57; 6 Ireland (M Dukarska, A Crowley) 7:08.79.

Single Sculls – Heat One (Winner to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage): 1 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:25.78; 2 Denmark 7:39.93.  

Published in Rowing
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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.