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#Rowing: Carlow’s Sadhbh Scully and Keara Egan won the junior 18 women’s double at Ghent regatta on Sunday – first of 18 competing crews. Castleconnell won the women’s junior 18 quadruple, another competitive event, with 10 crews completing the course. Both clubs did well over the two days, as did Three Castles, Methodist College, Belfast, Cork and Commercial, whose senior men’s eight took second on the Sunday.

Ghent Spring Regatta, Belgium (Selected Results; Irish interest):

Saturday

Men

Sculling, Quadruple: 3 Lagan Scullers. Junior: 5 Three Castles.

Double – Jun: 3 Three Castles (L Flynn, A Keogh)

Single – Jun: 5 Cork (P Beechinor) 7:41.32.

Women

Eight – Junior: 1 Commercial 7:25.17.

Four – Jun: 1 Castleconnell 7:32.0, 2 Commercial 7:37.27.

Pair - Senior: 2 Anna Liffey (C Dempsey, D Maguire). Under-23: Cork (J Duggan, C O’Sullivan) 8:11.24. Junior: 1 Cork (J Duggan, C O’Sullivan) 7:59.94, 2 Castleconnell (L O’Brien, N Kiely) 8:04.33.

Sculling

Double – Junior: 5 Carlow.

Lightweight Single: 2 Skibbereen (O Hayes). Under-23: 1 Carlow (K Egan) 8:49.25. Junior: 6 Carlow (S Scully).  

Sunday

Men

Eight – Senior: 2 Commercial. Four, coxed- Jun 18: 2 Methodist College, Belfast. Junior 16: 2 Castleconnell.  

Sculling, Quadruple: 2 Three Castles.

Double – Jun 18: 4 Cork (Beechinor, M Cronin) 7:08.14.

Single – Under-23 Lightweight: 2 Castleconnell (B Frohburg). Jun 18: 3 Three Castles (Flynn), 5 Three Castles (Tiarnan McKnight), 6 Three Castles (Keogh).   

Women

Four – Jun: 1 Commercial 7:41.73, 2 Castleconnell.

Pair – Sen: 3 Anna Liffey (Dempsey, Maguire). Under-23: Cork (Duggan, O’Sullivan) 8:47.59. Jun: Cork (Duggan, O’Sullivan) 8:12.36, 3 Commercial.

Sculling, Quadruple – Jun 18: 1 Castleconnell 7:21.72. Jun 16: 3 Castleconnell, 4 Carlow.  

Double – Jun 18: 1 Carlow (Scully, Egan) 7:58.26.

Single – Lightweight: 2 Skibbereen (Hayes). Lwt U-23: 1 Carlow (Egan) 8:56.71. Jun 18: 3 Carlow (Scully); 5 Cork (H Gahan).

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Skibbereen took two titles and NUIG took three from the second set of finals on the third day of the Irish Rowing Championships at the National Rowing Centre.

Gary O’Donovan and Denise Walsh had very easy wins in the bright sunshine in the finals of the lightweight single sculls. NUIG’s victories – which bring them to eight so far – came in the men’s intermediate pair, where they were tested by Shandon; the women’s intermediate coxed four and the men’s club coxed four.

NUIG Inter Pair beat Shandon ChampsNUIG celebrate after beating Shandon in the intermediate men's pair

Eliza O’Reilly and Gill McGirr have been the best junior pair in the country this year and the Fermoy crew proved it with their convincing win. Daire Lynch was similarly emphatic as he took the intermediate single sculls title for Clonmel.

Fermoy WJ2 Win at ChampsFermoy on their way to winning the women's junior pair

Rory Quinn and Oisin Clune of Three Castles added another win to the one they had earlier taken in the junior quadruple when they won the junior double.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Day Three (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Novice: Queen’s 6:21.56.

Four – Club, coxed: NUIG A 6:43.38.

Pair – Inter: NUIG 6:56.09

Sculling, Quadruple – Junior: 1 Three Castles 6:21.53, 2 Shandon 6:22.75, 3 Clonmel 6:23.05.

Double – Junior: Three Castles A 6:50.22.

Single – Lightweight: Skibbereen (G O’Donovan) 7:22.32. Inter: Clonmel (D Lynch) 7:10.25.

Women

Four – Inter, coxed: NUIG 7:23.65.

Pair – Senior: UCD (A Crowley, E Lambe) 7:37.41. Junior: Fermoy 7:53.37.

Sculling, Single – Senior: Old Collegians (S Pupsure) 8:02.64. Lightweight: Skibbereen (D Walsh) 8:09.96. Club One: Carlow (C Nolan) 8:15.22.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Three Castles won a thrilling final of the men's junior quadruple sculls at the Irish Rowing Championships this morning. They had just a second to spare over Shandon, who were just ahead of Clonmel. The crew of Aaron Keogh, who is the youngest, Tadgh McKnight, Rory Quinn and Oisin Clune were the first winners of the day, as theirs was one of the finals deferred from the Saturday session.

 Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Day Three (Selected Results)

Men

Junior Quadruple: 1 Three Castles 6:21.53,

2 Shandon 6:22.75

3 Clonmel 6:23.05

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: NUIG carried off the men’s and women’s senior eights at the Lough Rynn Regatta in Leitrim today. Enniskillen, the former Portora, won the men’s and women’s junior 18 titles. While the morning session had run off on time and with little disruption, the weather changed for the worse in the afternoon, with squalls and bouts of heavy rain. The programme ran late and junior 15 and junior 16 events were cancelled.

A composite crew from UCC and Shandon won the men’s senior double, while the Three Castles duo of Rory Quinn and Oisin Clune of Three Castles won the junior double.

Lough Rynn Regatta, Leitrim (Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Senior: 1 NUIG, 2 UCD. Intermediate: 1 UCD, 2 Commercial, 3 NUIG A. Jun 18: 1 Enniskillen, 2 Neptune, 3 Commercial. Club/Jun 16: NUIG. Masters: Athlone (f).

Four – Senior: 1 NUIG, 2 Enniskillen, Cork. Inter, coxed: 1 NUIG A, 2 Commercial, 3 Skibbereen. Club, coxed: 1 NUIG A, 2 NUIG B, 3 Enniskillen. Junior, coxed: 1 Enniskillen, 2 Methodist, 3 Commercial. Masters, coxed: Neptune A (e).

Pair – Inter: 1 Commercial A, 2 St Michael’s, 3 Belfast BC. Jun 18: 1 Commercial B, 2 Commercial A, 3 Commercial C.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club, coxed: 1 Carlow, 2 Enniskillen, 3 Col Iognaid. Jun 16, coxed: 1 Castleconnell. Sculling, Masters: City of Derry.

Double – Sen: 1 Shandon/UCC, 2 Castleconnell, 3 Shandon. Jun 18: 1 Three Castles A, 2 Castleconnell B. Club: 1 Portadown, 2 Clonmel, 3 St Joseph’s. Jun 16: Three Castles.

Single – Sen: 1 Skibbereen (K Mannix), 2 Skibbereen (J Lupton) 3 UCC (R Byrne). Intermediate: 1 Skibbereen (Mannix), 2 Carlow (Murphy), 3 Shandon (O’Sullivan). Masters b and c: Galway (Walkowiak); c: Clonmel (McGrath); d: Carlow (O’Brien): e: Galway (D Crowley); g and h: Belfast BC (Lockwood).

Women

Eight – Sen: 1 NUIG, 2 Commercial. Inter: 1 NUIG, 2 NUIG B. Nov: 1 Galway, 2 Enniskillen. Club: 1 NUIG A, 2 NUIG B. Jun 18: 1 Enniskillen, 2 Bann, 3 Col Iognaid. Jun 16: St Michael’s. Masters: Belfast BC (e). Jun 15: Enniskillen A.

Four – Sen: 1 Cork, 2 Commercial, 3 NUIG. Jun 18A:1 Enniskillen, 2 Commercial, 3 Col Iognaid. Inter, Club, Jun 16, coxed: NUIG (inter).

Pair – Senior/Inter: 1 Bann (inter), 2 Cork, 3 Belfast.

Sculling, Quadruple – Nov, coxed: 1 Neptune, 2 Galway, 3 King’s Hospital. Club, coxed: 1 Methodist, 2 King’s Hos, 3 Commercial. Jun 18: 1 Clonmel, 2 Belfast BC, Portadown, Bann (sen). 3 Comercial. Masters, coxed: Belfast BC. Jun 16: Castleconnell.

Double – Sen: 1 Neptune, 2 Carlow/Kenmare, 3 Garda/NUIG. Club: 1 Bann, 2 St Michael’s, 3 Carlow. Jun: 1 Castleconnell, 2 Commercial, 3 Portadown. Masters: Tribesmen A (d).

Single – Sen: 1 Cork (L Dilleen), 2 Skibbereen (L Heaphy), 3 Queen’s (O Blundell). Inter: 1 Bann (A O’Donovan), 2 Neptune (C Feerick), 3 Skibberee (L Heaphy). Jun 18: 1 Bann (H Scott), 2 Carlow (C Nolan), 3 Col Iognaid (Nic Dhonncha). Masters: City of Derry (M Nic Bhloscaidh; a).

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Irish clubs had some excellent placings on Saturday at the Ghent International May Regatta in Belgium. Commercial and Neptune finished first and second in the junior men’s eight and Commercial also finished second in the women’s junior eight and four, and second and third in the junior women’s pair. The Three Castles junior double of Rory Quinn and Oisin Clune took silver – second of 47 crews which competed. New Ross were the second-placed crew in the junior quadruple.

In the adult events, which generally had smaller entries, St Michael’s had wins through Declan O’Connor, Ben McKeon and Colm Garvey, while Skibbereen’s Orla Hayes won the lightweight women’s single. Sam McKeown of Queen’s University finished second to Dave Bell of Molesey in the senior single sculls.

Ghent International May Regatta, Belgium (Irish interest; selected results; Saturday)

Men

Eight – Junior: 1 Commercial 6:42.02, 2 Neptune 6:47.0.

Four – Junior: 2 Commercial 7:01.64. Four, coxed – Junior: 2 Neptune 7:13.78.

Pair – Senior: 1 Commercial (D Joyce, M Maher) 7:45.01 Under-23 (Two Crews): 1 St Michael’s (B McKeon, C Garvey) 8:22.06, 2 St Michael’s (T McKeon, D O’Byrne) 8:23.88. Lightweight Pair: 1 St Michael’s (B McKeon, C Garvey) 8:09.34. Junior: 2 St Michael’s (T McKeon, D O’Byrne) 7:36.89.

Quadruple – Junior: 2 Three Castles 6:48.14.

Double – Junior: 2 Three Castles (R Quinn, O Clune) 7:18.24.

Single – Senior: 2 Queen’s (S McKeown) 8:03.56. Lightweight: 1 St Michael’s (D O’Connor) 7:05.24. Under-23 Lightweight: 3 Queen’s (M Taylor) 8:13.94.

Women

Eight – Junior: 2 Commercial 7:52.67, 3 Cork BC 8:04.40.

Four – Junior: 2 Commercial 8:18.63, 3 New Ross 8:27.38.

Pair – Senior: 3 Commercial (H O’Neill, G Crowe) 9:06.60. Junior: 2 Commercial (A Keogh, S Maxwell) 8:57.17, 3 Commercial (G McNamara, K Dolan) 9:03.31.

Sculling – Quadruple – Junior: 2 New Ross 7:52.00.

Lightweight Single: 1 Skibbereen (O Hayes) 8:52.88.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING:In one of the closest races of a long day, Castleconnell beat Commercial by one foot in the men’s junior 18A quadruple sculls at Athlone Regatta at Coosan Point. Becky Quinn of Three Castles won the women’s senior single sculls and Patrick Munnelly of the host club won the men’s junior 18 single sculls.  Bann won the women’s junior 18 eight. In the men’s junior 16 eight, St Joseph’s beat Portora. The senior events were not well supported.

 

Event NameCrew nameRace Position
Mens Senior 2- Neptune Row over
Shannon Row over
   
Mens Senior 1X Athlone, Munnelly, P Did not start
Garda, Kelly, D Did not start
Neptune, Bailey, M Did not start
   
Mens Intermediate 8+ Cork Row over (private race)
   
Mens Intermediate 4+ Cork Row over (private race)
UCDBC A Did not start (private race)
UCDBC B Did not start (private race)
   
Mens Intermediate 2- Neptune 1st
Shannon 2nd
Commercial 3rd
   
Mens Intermediate 2X Garda 1st
Shandon 2nd
Lee 3rd
Commercial Competed
Sligo Competed
QUBBC A Did not start
QUBBC B Did not start
   
Mens Intermediate 1X Shandon, Merz, C 1st
Lee, O'Sullivan, D 2nd
Commercial, Healy, J 3rd
Athlone, Munnelly, P Competed
Garda, Allen, R Competed
Lee, Hill, R Competed
Offaly, Gannon, A Did not start
   
Mens Club 2 8+ Shandon Row over (private race)
UCDBC Did not start (private race)
   
Mens Club 2 4X+ Carlow 1st
Athlone 2nd
Commercial 3rd
   
Mens Club 2 1X Cappoquin, Aherne, S 1st
Clonmel, Lynch, D 2nd
Carrick, Earley, T 3rd
Castleconn, Mozdzer, A 4th
Athlone, Maloney, M Competed
Commercial, Healy, J Competed
Commercial, Henry, T Competed
Commercial, McMorrough, P Competed
Lee, Fitzgerald, R Competed
Lee, Sutton, H Did not start
Offaly, Hogan, S Did not start
QUBBC, Lopez, D Did not start
QUBBC, Martin, P Did not start
   
Mens Novice 4X+ Neptune Row over (private race)
QUBBC Did not start (private race)
   
Mens Masters 8+ Commercial / Neptune / Belfast BC / Galway / LEBC (d 436) 1st
OCBC (e 459) 2nd
Bann (d 404) 3rd
Neptune (d 413) 4th
   
Mens Masters 4+ Galway (d 203) 1st
Neptune (e 223) 2nd
Shandon (c 174) 2nd
Bann A (c 184) 3rd
Bann B (e 220) Competed
OCBC (e 220) Competed
   
Mens Masters 1X Athlone, Gallen, P (f) Competed
C of Derry, D'Urso, G (e) Competed
Commercial, Crowley, D (d) Competed
Commercial, Heavey, M (e) Competed
Galway, Heaney, S (d) Competed
Offaly, Hogan, S (a) Competed
Shandon, Diffley, R (a) Competed
Shandon, O'Flynn, B (b) Competed
SMRC, McDonnell, S (b) Competed
   
Mens J18A 8+ SMRC Row over (private race)
   
Mens J18A 4+ Bann 1st
Athlunkard 2nd
Cork Competed
Pres Cork Competed
SMRC A Competed
SMRC B Competed
   
Mens J18A 4X- Castleconn 1st
Commercial 2nd
Lee 3rd
Bann 4th
Pres Cork Competed
   
Mens J18A 2- Bann 1st
Athlunkard A 2nd
Athlunkard B Competed
   
Mens J18A 2X Shandon 1st
Castleconn A 2nd
Lee B 3rd
Bann Competed
Cappoquin Competed
Castleconn B Competed
Clonmel Competed
Commercial Competed
Neptune Competed
Pres Cork A Competed
Pres Cork B Competed
Sligo Competed
SMRC Competed
Lee A Did not start
   
Mens J18A 1X Athlone, Munnelly, P 1st
Bann, Mitchell, D 2nd
Athlone, Hannon, B Competed
Carlow, Byrne, S Competed
Carlow, Kelly, C Competed
Castleconn, McKeon, M Competed
Castleconn, Silke, P Competed
Clonmel, Lonergan, S Competed
Commercial, Baskerville, R Competed
Commercial, Beggan, N Competed
KHBC, Little, O Competed
Lee, Deasy, H Competed
Lee, Larkin, D Competed
Neptune, Newcombe, L Competed
Neptune, Thompson, H Competed
Sligo, Hough, C Competed
Sligo, Smith, B Competed
Carrick, Earley, T Did not start
   
Mens J18B 4X+ Athlone 1st
Pres Cork 2nd
SMRC 3rd
   
Mens J16 8+ St Josephs 1st
Portora 2nd
SMRC A 3rd
SMRC B Competed
   
Mens J16 4X+ Cork 1st
3 Castles 2nd
Pres Cork 3rd
Athlone Competed
Carlow A Competed
Carlow B Competed
Commercial Competed
Neptune Competed
Portora Competed
SMRC A Competed
SMRC B Competed
SMRC C Competed
   
Mens J16 2X 3 Castles B 1st
3 Castles A 2nd
Athlone Competed
Carlow A Competed
Carlow B Competed
Carlow C Competed
Carlow D Competed
Commercial A Competed
Commercial B Competed
Cork Competed
Lee Competed
Neptune Competed
Offaly A Competed
Offaly B Competed
Pres Cork A Competed
Pres Cork B Competed
SMRC Competed
Shandon A Did not start
Shandon B Did not start
Shandon C Did not start
St Josephs Did not start
   
Mens J16 1X Carlow, O'Brien, R 1st
Lee, Jackson, P 2nd
Lee, Murphy, T 3rd
Athlone, Byrne, M Competed
Cappoquin, Ballegaard, J Competed
Carlow, Duggan, R Competed
Carlow, Dunne, A Competed
Castleconn, Meehan, D Competed
Commercial, Field, O Competed
Commercial, Meehan, E Competed
Commercial, O Toole, O Competed
Commercial, O'Neill, J Competed
Offaly, Cumming, B Competed
3 Castles, Irwin, A Competed
   
Mens J15 8+ Portora 1st
Pres Cork 2nd
   
Mens J15 4X+ Shandon 1st
Commercial 2nd
Neptune 3rd
Carlow Competed
Galway Competed
Portora Competed
Pres Cork A Competed
Pres Cork B Competed
SMRC Competed
Cappoquin Did not start
St Josephs A Did not start
St Josephs B Did not start
   
Mens J15 2X Shandon A 1st
Shandon B 2nd
Commercial 3rd
Athlone Competed
Carlow Competed
Neptune Competed
Portora Competed
SMRC Competed
   
Mens J15 1X Carlow, Kelly, C Competed
Carlow, Mead, H Competed
Commercial, Holton, A Competed
Commercial, Lynch, C Competed
CRCC, Allison, M Competed
Lee, Murphy, T Competed
Offaly, Brennan, C Competed
Offaly, Cumming, O Competed
Portora, Blake, R Competed
Portora, Kennedy, J Competed
Portora, McBrien, M Competed
Portora, McCutcheon, A Competed
Shandon, Arrigan, J Competed
Shandon, Byrne, A Competed
Shandon, Gaffney, E Competed
Shandon, O'Neill, S Competed
Shandon, Ronayne, W Competed
SMRC, O'Byrne, D Competed
SMRC, Spelman, R Competed
Carlow, Keating, J Did not start
   
Mens J14 4X+ St Josephs A 1st
Shandon 2nd
Portora 3rd
CRCC 4th
St Josephs B Did not start
St Josephs C Did not start
   
Mens J14 2X Shandon B 1st
3 Castles 2nd
Shandon A 3rd
Bann Competed
Cappoquin Competed
Carlow Competed
CRCC Competed
St Josephs Did not start
   
Mens J14 1X Bann, Clark, T Competed
Carlow, Slattery, H Competed
CRCC, O Muirnin, T Competed
Portora, Balcombe, S Competed
Portora, Bell, A Competed
Portora, Stewart, C Competed
Portora, Stewart, M Competed
Shandon, Cosgrave, D Competed
Shandon, Leggett, J Competed
3 Castles, Flynn, L Competed
3 Castles, Keogh, A Competed
St Josephs, Bradley, B Did not start
St Josephs, Daly, A Did not start
St Josephs, Harry, H Did not start
   
Womens Senior 1X 3 Castles, Quinn, B 1st
Garda, Gannon, L 2nd
SMRC, O'Sullivan, A 3rd
Commercial, Edwards, C Competed
   
Womens Intermediate 4+ Bann 1st
Garda 2nd
Commercial Competed
   
Womens Intermediate 2X Garda 1st
SMRC 2nd
Castleconn 3rd
Carlow Competed
Commercial Competed
   
Womens Club 2 8+ Neptune Row over (private race)
Commercial Did not start (private race)
   
Womens Club 2 4X+ Commercial 1st
Cappoquin 2nd
   
Womens Club 2 1X Lee, Keane, F 1st
Lee, Row-Ham, C 2nd
Garda, Moore, M 3rd
Lee, Brozio, M Competed
Lee, Murphy, C Competed
3 Castles, Greve O' Meara, J Competed
Garda, Galvin, L Did not start
   
Womens Novice 4X+ NUIG 1st
Castleconn 2nd
Sligo 3rd
   
Womens J18A 8+ Bann 1st
SMRC 2nd
Portora 3rd
   
Womens J18A 4- Bann 1st
SMRC 2nd
   
Womens J18A 4X- Lee 1st
Bann 2nd
Carlow 3rd
Cork Competed
   
Womens J18A 2- Cork 1st
Lee 2nd
   
Womens J18A 2X Lee A 1st
Neptune 2nd
Lee B 3rd
Cork A Competed
Cork B Competed
Offaly Competed
   
Womens J18A 1X Offaly, Mooney, A 1st
SMRC, Murphy, S 2nd
Neptune, Feerick, C 3rd
Cappoquin, Murphy, L Competed
Lee, Brozio, M Competed
Lee, Cummins, E Competed
Lee, Keane, F Competed
Lee, McMcguire, C Competed
Lee, Murphy, C Competed
Lee, Row-Ham, C Competed
Shandon, Keeley, F Competed
Shandon, Power, F Competed
Athlone, Faller, U Did not start
Athlone, Lemass, C Did not start
Carrick, Duggan, T Did not start
Neptune, Byrne, A Did not start
Offaly, Murphy, A Did not start
   
Womens J18B 4X+ Carlow 1st
Cork 2nd
Athlone Competed
Neptune Competed
   
Womens J16 8+ Commercial 1st
Portora 2nd
Shandon 3rd
   
Womens J16 4X+ Commercial 1st
Carlow 2nd
Cork 3rd
Athlone A Competed
Athlone B Competed
Shandon A Competed
Shandon B Competed
SMRC Competed
   
Womens J16 2X Cork 1st
SMRC A 2nd
Carlow 3rd
Athlone A Competed
Athlone B Competed
Cappoquin Competed
Sligo Competed
SMRC B Competed
   
Womens J16 1X Castleconn, Hogan, N 1st
Carrick, Duggan, T 2nd
Carlow, Webster, C 3rd
Cork, Dupuis, H Competed
Cork, Mackey, J Competed
Cork, Mallen, V Competed
Cork, McCarthy, C Competed
Cork, Murphy, S Competed
Offaly, McKeagney, E Competed
   
Womens J15 8+ Portora Row over (private race)
   
Womens J15 4X+ Cork A 1st
Carlow 3rd
Shandon 3rd
Athlone Competed
Cork B Competed
Galway Competed
Portora Competed
SMRC Competed
   
Womens J15 2X Cork A 1st
Cork B 2nd
Athlone Competed
Galway Competed
SMRC Competed
   
Womens J15 1X Shandon, Crowley, J 1st
Commercial, McCannon, S 2nd
SMRC, McMahon Lowe, C 3rd
Commercial, O Toole, D Competed
Shandon, Dineen, M Competed
Shandon, Harrington, J Competed
   
Womens J14 4X+ Bann 1st
Carlow 2nd
Athlone 3rd
Portora Competed
SMRC Competed
   
Womens J14 2X Cork 1st
Athlone A 2nd
Athlone B Competed
CRCC Competed
Offaly Competed
SMRC Competed
   
Womens J14 1X Athlone, Cooke, L Competed
Athlone, Donovan, H Competed
Commercial, McCannon, S Competed
Commercial, O Toole, D Competed
Cork, Duggan, J Competed
Cork, O'Sullivan, C Competed
CRCC, Comber, H Competed
CRCC, Hartigan, E Competed
Offaly, Murphy, A Competed
Portora, Conway, R Competed
Portora, Hutton, D Competed
Portora, Mackin, M Competed
Portora, Wilson, V Competed
SMRC, Prendergast, G Did not start
Published in Rowing

#ROWING: The Lady Elizabeth coxed four and single sculler Anthony English both qualified for the main draw at Henley Royal Regatta today. The Lady Elizabeth crew of Brendan Smyth, Stuart King, Peter Waldron, David Meehan and cox Brendan Farrell will compete in the Britannia, while English, who has been based in Nottingham, is set for the the Diamond Sculls. It is the premier event for single scullers.

A number of Irish crews were not asked to pre-qualify. The Trinity senior eight will compete in the Temple Cup; Queen’s University have a quadruple scull in the Prince of Wales; Dave Neale and Eimantas Grigalius of Three Castles are entered in the Double Sculls.

Henley Royal Regatta – Qualifiers (Irish interest)

Diamond Sculls: A English

Britannia (Fours, coxed): Lady Elizabeth

Published in Rowing

#IrishRowingChampionships: Alan Martin won his eighth senior fours title as Gráinne Mhaol laid down a marker for the senior eights on the first day of the the Irish Rowing Championships in Cork today. The experienced crew of Martin, Dave Mannion, Cormac Folan and James Wall were quickly joined by another Gráinne Mhaol winner in Niall Kenny, taking his second successive title in the lightweight single sculls.

Trinity brought their tally of wins up to three when the men’s novice eight and women’s intermediate eight added to the earlier win by the women’s intermediate pair. Three Castles matched their surprise win in the men’s senior double with a more predictable victory in the women’s double by Eimear Moran and Helen Walshe.

Skibbereen’s junior women’s four gave them their only Championship win of the day, while St Joseph’s of Galway took the junior men’s eight – their third in-a-row.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Farran Woods, Day One (Selected Results; Finals)

Men

Eight, Junior: 1 St Joseph’s 6:49, 2 Portora 6:54, 3 Neptune 6:58. Novice: 1 Trinity 6:50, 2 UCD 6:56, 3 UCC 7:01.

Four – Senior: 1 Grainne Mhaol (D Mannion, A Martin, C Folan, J Wall) 6:51, 2 St Michael’s 6:59, 3 UCD 7:00.

Intermediate, coxed: 1 UCC 7:14, 2 NUIG A 7:20, 3 Trinity A 7:22.

Sculling, Double – Senior: 1 Three Castles (R Corcoran, E Grigalius) 7:09.86, 3 Commercial 7:17.43, 3 Skibbereen 7:17.51.

Single – Senior Lightweight: 1 Grainne Mhaol (N Kenny) 8:09, 2 Clonmel (A Prendergast) 8:19, 3 Skibbereen (A Burns) 8:30.

Junior 18: 1 Shannon (C Carmody) 8:43, 2 St Michael’s (O’Malley) 8:48, 3 Belfast BC (McKillan) 9:05.

Women

Eight, Intermediate: 1 Trinity 7:47, 2 Galway RC 7:49, 3 UCD A 7:50.

Four – Senior: 1 Cork/NUIG (F Judge, M O’Neill, A Wickham, L Dilleen) 7:33.22, 2 Skibbereen/Killorglin 7:33.52, 3 St Michael’s 7:25.21. Novice, coxed: 1 Commercial 8:11, 2 NUIG 8:14, 3 Queen’s 8:24. Junior: 1 Skibbereen 8:18, 2 Cork BC 8:29, 3 St Michael’s 8:40.

Pair – Intermediate: 1 Trinity (G Crowe, S O’Brien) 9:22, 2 St Michael’s 9:42, 3 Commercial 9:47.

Sculling, Double – Senior: 1 Three Castles (H Walshe, E Moran) 8:13, 2 St Michael’s 8:25.

Junior: 1 Belfast BC (J English, B Jacques) 8:21, 2 Cork BC 8:32, 3 Castleconnell 8:41.

Published in Rowing

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Because of Ireland's location at the Atlantic edge of the EU, it has more offshore energy potential than most other countries in Europe. The conditions are suitable for the development of the full range of current offshore renewable energy technologies.

Offshore Renewable Energy FAQs

Offshore renewable energy draws on the natural energy provided by wind, wave and tide to convert it into electricity for industry and domestic consumption.

Offshore wind is the most advanced technology, using fixed wind turbines in coastal areas, while floating wind is a developing technology more suited to deeper water. In 2018, offshore wind provided a tiny fraction of global electricity supply, but it is set to expand strongly in the coming decades into a USD 1 trillion business, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). It says that turbines are growing in size and in power capacity, which in turn is "delivering major performance and cost improvements for offshore wind farms".

The global offshore wind market grew nearly 30% per year between 2010 and 2018, according to the IEA, due to rapid technology improvements, It calculated that about 150 new offshore wind projects are in active development around the world. Europe in particular has fostered the technology's development, led by Britain, Germany and Denmark, but China added more capacity than any other country in 2018.

A report for the Irish Wind Energy Assocation (IWEA) by the Carbon Trust – a British government-backed limited company established to accelerate Britain's move to a low carbon economy - says there are currently 14 fixed-bottom wind energy projects, four floating wind projects and one project that has yet to choose a technology at some stage of development in Irish waters. Some of these projects are aiming to build before 2030 to contribute to the 5GW target set by the Irish government, and others are expected to build after 2030. These projects have to secure planning permission, obtain a grid connection and also be successful in a competitive auction in the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS).

The electricity generated by each turbine is collected by an offshore electricity substation located within the wind farm. Seabed cables connect the offshore substation to an onshore substation on the coast. These cables transport the electricity to land from where it will be used to power homes, farms and businesses around Ireland. The offshore developer works with EirGrid, which operates the national grid, to identify how best to do this and where exactly on the grid the project should connect.

The new Marine Planning and Development Management Bill will create a new streamlined system for planning permission for activity or infrastructure in Irish waters or on the seabed, including offshore wind farms. It is due to be published before the end of 2020 and enacted in 2021.

There are a number of companies aiming to develop offshore wind energy off the Irish coast and some of the larger ones would be ESB, SSE Renewables, Energia, Statkraft and RWE.

There are a number of companies aiming to develop offshore wind energy off the Irish coast and some of the larger ones would be ESB, SSE Renewables, Energia, Statkraft and RWE. Is there scope for community involvement in offshore wind? The IWEA says that from the early stages of a project, the wind farm developer "should be engaging with the local community to inform them about the project, answer their questions and listen to their concerns". It says this provides the community with "the opportunity to work with the developer to help shape the final layout and design of the project". Listening to fishing industry concerns, and how fishermen may be affected by survey works, construction and eventual operation of a project is "of particular concern to developers", the IWEA says. It says there will also be a community benefit fund put in place for each project. It says the final details of this will be addressed in the design of the RESS (see below) for offshore wind but it has the potential to be "tens of millions of euro over the 15 years of the RESS contract". The Government is also considering the possibility that communities will be enabled to invest in offshore wind farms though there is "no clarity yet on how this would work", the IWEA says.

Based on current plans, it would amount to around 12 GW of offshore wind energy. However, the IWEA points out that is unlikely that all of the projects planned will be completed. The industry says there is even more significant potential for floating offshore wind off Ireland's west coast and the Programme for Government contains a commitment to develop a long-term plan for at least 30 GW of floating offshore wind in our deeper waters.

There are many different models of turbines. The larger a turbine, the more efficient it is in producing electricity at a good price. In choosing a turbine model the developer will be conscious of this ,but also has to be aware the impact of the turbine on the environment, marine life, biodiversity and visual impact. As a broad rule an offshore wind turbine will have a tip-height of between 165m and 215m tall. However, turbine technology is evolving at a rapid rate with larger more efficient turbines anticipated on the market in the coming years.

 

The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme is designed to support the development of renewable energy projects in Ireland. Under the scheme wind farms and solar farms compete against each other in an auction with the projects which offer power at the lowest price awarded contracts. These contracts provide them with a guaranteed price for their power for 15 years. If they obtain a better price for their electricity on the wholesale market they must return the difference to the consumer.

Yes. The first auction for offshore renewable energy projects is expected to take place in late 2021.

Cost is one difference, and technology is another. Floating wind farm technology is relatively new, but allows use of deeper water. Ireland's 50-metre contour line is the limit for traditional bottom-fixed wind farms, and it is also very close to population centres, which makes visibility of large turbines an issue - hence the attraction of floating structures Do offshore wind farms pose a navigational hazard to shipping? Inshore fishermen do have valid concerns. One of the first steps in identifying a site as a potential location for an offshore wind farm is to identify and assess the level of existing marine activity in the area and this particularly includes shipping. The National Marine Planning Framework aims to create, for the first time, a plan to balance the various kinds of offshore activity with the protection of the Irish marine environment. This is expected to be published before the end of 2020, and will set out clearly where is suitable for offshore renewable energy development and where it is not - due, for example, to shipping movements and safe navigation.

YEnvironmental organisations are concerned about the impact of turbines on bird populations, particularly migrating birds. A Danish scientific study published in 2019 found evidence that larger birds were tending to avoid turbine blades, but said it didn't have sufficient evidence for smaller birds – and cautioned that the cumulative effect of farms could still have an impact on bird movements. A full environmental impact assessment has to be carried out before a developer can apply for planning permission to develop an offshore wind farm. This would include desk-based studies as well as extensive surveys of the population and movements of birds and marine mammals, as well as fish and seabed habitats. If a potential environmental impact is identified the developer must, as part of the planning application, show how the project will be designed in such a way as to avoid the impact or to mitigate against it.

A typical 500 MW offshore wind farm would require an operations and maintenance base which would be on the nearby coast. Such a project would generally create between 80-100 fulltime jobs, according to the IWEA. There would also be a substantial increase to in-direct employment and associated socio-economic benefit to the surrounding area where the operation and maintenance hub is located.

The recent Carbon Trust report for the IWEA, entitled Harnessing our potential, identified significant skills shortages for offshore wind in Ireland across the areas of engineering financial services and logistics. The IWEA says that as Ireland is a relatively new entrant to the offshore wind market, there are "opportunities to develop and implement strategies to address the skills shortages for delivering offshore wind and for Ireland to be a net exporter of human capital and skills to the highly competitive global offshore wind supply chain". Offshore wind requires a diverse workforce with jobs in both transferable (for example from the oil and gas sector) and specialist disciplines across apprenticeships and higher education. IWEA have a training network called the Green Tech Skillnet that facilitates training and networking opportunities in the renewable energy sector.

It is expected that developing the 3.5 GW of offshore wind energy identified in the Government's Climate Action Plan would create around 2,500 jobs in construction and development and around 700 permanent operations and maintenance jobs. The Programme for Government published in 2020 has an enhanced target of 5 GW of offshore wind which would create even more employment. The industry says that in the initial stages, the development of offshore wind energy would create employment in conducting environmental surveys, community engagement and development applications for planning. As a site moves to construction, people with backgrounds in various types of engineering, marine construction and marine transport would be recruited. Once the site is up and running , a project requires a team of turbine technicians, engineers and administrators to ensure the wind farm is fully and properly maintained, as well as crew for the crew transfer vessels transporting workers from shore to the turbines.

The IEA says that today's offshore wind market "doesn't even come close to tapping the full potential – with high-quality resources available in most major markets". It estimates that offshore wind has the potential to generate more than 420 000 Terawatt hours per year (TWh/yr) worldwide – as in more than 18 times the current global electricity demand. One Terawatt is 114 megawatts, and to put it in context, Scotland it has a population a little over 5 million and requires 25 TWh/yr of electrical energy.

Not as advanced as wind, with anchoring a big challenge – given that the most effective wave energy has to be in the most energetic locations, such as the Irish west coast. Britain, Ireland and Portugal are regarded as most advanced in developing wave energy technology. The prize is significant, the industry says, as there are forecasts that varying between 4000TWh/yr to 29500TWh/yr. Europe consumes around 3000TWh/year.

The industry has two main umbrella organisations – the Irish Wind Energy Association, which represents both onshore and offshore wind, and the Marine Renewables Industry Association, which focuses on all types of renewable in the marine environment.

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