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#Rowing: A young Queen’s University lightweight quadruple were the fastest crew at the Shannon Head of the River at Carrick-on-Shannon on Saturday. The under-23 crew of Jordan Wilson, Miles Taylor, Ewan Murray and Harry Mahon took 11 minutes and 53 seconds to complete the course. Portora’s junior 16 eight also did well. Tiernan Oliver and Sam McKeown, in a senior double, almost matched their time. See Attached Results.

Head of the Shannon, Carrick-on-Shannon (Selected Results)

Head One:

Men

Eight – Jun 16: Portora 12 minutes 43 seconds.

Four – Jun 18, coxed: Portora 13:13.

Sculling, Quadruple – Jun 16, coxed: Carrick-on-Shannon 14:24. Double – Sen: Queen’s 12:46

Women

Eight – Club One: Commercial 14:29. Jun 18: Commercial 13:39

Sculling, Quadruple – Jun 18A: Portora 14:08.

Head Two:

Men

Eight – Novice: Commercial 14:55.

Sculling – Quadruple – Sen: Queen’s 11:53. Jun 18A, coxed: Portora 12:28

Single – Sen: Queen’s (T Oliver) 14:03. Jun 18A Carrick-on-Shannon (T Earley) 14:48.

Women

Eight – Inter: Commercial B 13:40. Jun 16: Portora 13:57.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: NUIG overtook Commercial and won the men's senior four at the Irish Rowing Championships in Cork today. The other senior title on offer in the second session of finals at the National Rowing Centre went to Mark O'Donovan in the single sculls. The 26-year-old Skibbereen man, rating much higher than his rivals, established an early lead and was not caught. It was his first senior singles sculls crown.

 Portora also took the lead early and won the junior 18 eights - but the Cork Boat Club challenge was severe. This fine race lasted right to the line and was decided by under half a second.

 Neptune added the women's novice coxed quadruple title to their men's title, won earlier in the day, while UCD won the women's intermediate eight. The Dublin college also took the men's club eight.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork, Day One (Selected Results)

Men

Eight - Club: UCD 5:56.392. Junior: 1 Portora 5:59.419, 2 Cork 5:59.84, 3 St Joseph's A 6:10.731.

Four - Senior: 1 NUIG 6:03.081, 2 Commercial 6:05.925, 3 Portora 6:09.284. Inter, coxed: 1 NUIG 6:26.811.

Sculling, Quadruple - Novice, coxed: Neptune 6:44.559.

Double - Senior: 1 Skibbereen 6:32.773, 2 UCD 6:34.914, 3 Castleconnell 6:39.727.

Single - Senior: 1 Skibbereen (M O'Donovan) 7:04.162, 2 UCD (T Hughes) 7:10.256, 3 Portadown (S McKeown) 7:12.256. Junior: 1 Clonmel (D Lynch) 7:04.040, 2 Shandon (R Byrne) 7:04.462, 3 Shandon (S O'Sullivan) 7:23.197.

Women

Eight - Intermediate: UCD 6:38.722. Four - Senior: 1 UCD 6:54.652, 2 Skibbereen/UCC 6:58.902, 3 Trinity 7:04.715. Club, coxed: Fermoy 7:16.116.

Four - Junior: 1 Skibbereen 7:05.645, 2 Shandon A 7:13.661, 3 Galway 7:19.145.

Pair - Intermediate: Cork 7:36.488

Sculling, Quadruple - Novice, coxed: Neptune A 7:55.460.

Double - Junior: 1 Skibbereen B 7:19.682, 2 Bann 7:91.995, 3 Neptune 7:33.305.

 

 Skibbereen brought their tally of title for the day to four with a win in the women's junior four.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Ireland team for the Home International Regatta in Cardiff Bay on July 23rd has been chosen. The men’s senior four is an all-Portora unit and these rowers go into a strong-looking senior eight, with UCC.

Ireland senior team for Home International Regatta, Cardiff Bay, July 23rd. Not necessarily in crew order.

Men

Eight: D Keohane, B Keohane, B Rix, R Ballantine, L Seaman, C McLaughlin, R Thompson, N Farrell; cox: G Connolly. Four: Rix, Ballantine, Seaman, McLaughlin. Four, coxed: B Keohane, D Keohane, Farrell, Thompson; cox: Connolly. Pair: L McCann, M Taylor. Lightweight Pair: C Higgins, S Kearney.

Sculling – Quadruple: T Dillon, A Prendergast, D Begley, D Kelly. Double: Prendergast, Begley. Lightweight Double: A O’Connor, H Sutton. Single: Kelly. Lightweight Single: Dillon.

Women

Eight: G Crowe, H O’Neill, A Keogh, C Joyce Hearne, D Maguire, K Shirlow, L McHugh, S Higgins; cox: G Canham. Four: Keogh, Joyce Hearne, A Feeley, R Maguire. Four, coxed: McHugh, Higgins, R Davidson, S Corr; cox: Canham. Pair: D Maguire, Shirlow. Lightweight Pair: Crowe, O’Neill.

Sculling

Quadruple: O Blundell, M Piggott, S Bouanane, A Byrne. Double: Blundell, Bouanane, Lightweight Double: C Nolan, Byrne. Single: Piggott. Lightweight Single: L Heaphy.

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Paul O'Donovan was far and away the fastest single sculler at Cork Regatta at the National Rowing Centre today. The 22-year-old UCD man had a clearwater lead by halfway and beat his younger brother, Gary into second by over eight seconds. The O'Donovans form the Ireland Olympic lightweight double. Paul will go on to represent his country as a lightweight single sculler at the World Championships.

 Denise Walsh was a convincing winner of the women's senior single, well ahead of Siobhan McCrohan, while the very promising Cork Boat Club junior crew of Amy Mason and Tara O'Hanlon won the Division One women's pair. Shane O'Driscoll and Mark O'Donovan took the men's senior pair, ahead of the Portora intermediate crew of Ryan Ballantyne and Barney Rix.

 The New Ross junior 16 crew had a stirring victory in the women's division two coxed quad, while UCD's club two crew won the men's division two eight.

Cork Regatta (Coillte Grand League), National Rowing Centre, Day One

Men

Eight - Div Two - A Final: 1 UCD (Club 2) 6:10.51; 3 Neptune (jun 18B) 6:26.949; 5 UCD (nov) 6:35.449; 6 Shandon (jun 16) 6:36.01.

Pair - Div One - A Final: 1 Skibbereen (M O'Donovan, S O'Driscoll; sen) 6:47.31, 2 Portora (inter) 7:00.21, 3 Portora (sen) 7:03.97. B Final: UCC 7:09.969; 4 Methodists (jun 18A) 7:27.72. C Final: 1 Commercial B (sen) 7:19.64; 5 Cork (Club 1) 7:39.03.

Sculling, Single - Div One - A Final: 1 UCD (P O'Donovan; sen) 6:55.78, 2 Skibbereen (G O'Donovan; sen) 7:03.98, 3 Portadown (S McKeown; sen) 7:20.81; 4 Shandon (R Byrne; jun 18) 7:21.20; 5 St Michael's (D O'Connor; inter) 7:21.58. B Final: Clonmel (D Lynch; jun 18) 7:20.48; 6 NUIG (T Dillon; lwt) 7:39.37. C Final: Shandon (D Begley; inter) 7:29.43; 2 Carlow (L Keating; Club One) 7:30.86.

Women

Pair - Division One - A Final: 1 Cork A (jun) 7:49.19, 2 UCC (sen) 7:53.55, 3 Bann (inter) 7:59.863. B Final: Queen's/UCC (sen) 8:01.37. C Final: St Michael's (inter) 8:21.57.

Sculling, Quadruple - Div Two, coxed - A Final: 1 New Ross (jun 16) 7:40.26, 2 Cork B (Club 2) 7:41.14; 5 Carlow (jun 18B) 7:48.997. B Final: Waterford (jun 18B) 7:54.796. C Final: Commercial (club 2) 8:18.91; 3 Castleconnell (nov) 8:24.174.

Single - Div One - A Final: 1 Skibbereen (D Walsh; sen) 7:51.57, 2 Tribesmen (S McCrohan; sen) 8:04.30, 3 Skibbereen (O Hayes; sen) 8:09.94; 4 Belfast BC (O Blundell; inter) 8:21.16. B Final: Belfast BC (C Deyermond; club 1) 8:25.96; 2 Neptune (C Feerick; jun 18A) 8:28.71. C Final: Carlow (A Byrne; lwt) 9:05.89.

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Portora took the men’s senior four and men’s senior pair at the Queen’s Regatta on Saturday at Castlewellan. Damien Kelly of Garda and Micheál Bailey of Neptune finished first and second in the men’s senior single. Commercial took the men’s club one eight and coxed fours. The host club took the women’s club one eight.

 

Event NameCrew nameRace PositionResult Points
Mens Senior 4-Portora1st 50
Mens Senior 4-QUBBC2nd -10
Mens Senior 2-Portora1st 50
Mens Senior 2-QUBBC A2nd -10
Mens Senior 2-QUBBC BDid not start 0
Mens Senior 2XSligo1st 50
Mens Senior 2XPortora2nd -10
Mens Senior 2XGardaDid not start 0
Mens Senior 1XGarda, Kelly, D1st 50
Mens Senior 1XNeptune, Bailey, M2nd -10
Mens Senior 1XQUBBC, Stitt, J3rd -10
Mens Senior 1XGarda, Allen, RDid not start 0
Mens Intermediate 2-Commercial1st 50
Mens Intermediate 2-Belfast RC A2nd -10
Mens Intermediate 2-Belfast RC B3rd -10
Mens Intermediate 2-CGS4th -10
Mens Intermediate 1XBelfast BC, Mitchell, D1st 50
Mens Intermediate 1XQUBBC, Martin, P2nd -10
Mens Intermediate 1XC of Derry, D'Urso, G3rd -10
Mens Intermediate 1XQUBBC, Stitt, J4th -10
Mens Intermediate 1XGarda, Allen, RDid not start 0
Mens Intermediate 1XGarda, Maceoin, DDid not start 0
Mens Intermediate 1XPortadown, Laivins, ADid not start 0
Mens Intermediate 1XQUBBC, Taylor, RDid not start 0
Mens Club 1 8+Commercial1st 50
Mens Club 1 8+QUBBC2nd -10
Mens Club 1 4+Commercial1st 50
Mens Club 1 4+Belfast RC2nd -10
Mens Club 1 4+QUBBC A3rd -10
Mens Club 1 4+CGS4th -10
Mens Club 1 4+QUBBC B5th -10
Mens Club 1 4+Methodist6th -10
Mens Club 1 4X-QUBBC B1st 50
Mens Club 1 4X-Sligo2nd -10
Mens Club 1 4X-QUBBC ADid not start 0
Mens Club 1 2XSligo1st 50
Mens Club 1 2XGarda B2nd -10
Mens Club 1 2XQUBBC A3rd -10
Mens Club 1 2XQUBBC C4th -10
Mens Club 1 2XQUBBC B5th -10
Mens Club 1 2XBlackrock6th -10
Mens Club 1 2XCommercialCompeted -10
Mens Club 1 2XQUBBC DCompeted -10
Mens Club 1 2XRBAICompeted -10
Mens Club 1 2XGarda ADid not start 0
Mens Club 1 1XBelfast BC, Mitchell, D1st 50
Mens Club 1 1XGarda, Maceoin, D2nd -10
Mens Club 1 1XQUBBC, McNamee, M3rd -10
Mens Club 1 1XCommercial, Connolly, S4th -10
Mens Club 1 1XC of Derry, D'Urso, G5th -10
Mens Club 1 1XBlackrock, Riordan, P6th -10
Mens Club 1 1XBlackrock, Drennan, DCompeted -10
Mens Club 1 1XCommercial, Fowler, PCompeted -10
Mens Club 1 1XQUBBC, Foster, CCompeted -10
Mens Club 1 1XQUBBC, Holden, PCompeted -10
Mens Club 1 1XQUBBC, Stitt, JCompeted -10
Mens Club 1 1XPortadown, Laivins, ADid not start 0
Mens Club 1 1XSligo, Patterson, GDid not start 0
Mens Club 2 8+QUBBC1st 50
Mens Club 2 8+RBAI2nd -10
Mens Club 2 8+Methodist3rd -10
Mens Novice 4X+Sligo1st 50
Mens Novice 4X+Portadown B2nd -10
Mens Novice 4X+Portadown A3rd -10
Mens J18A 8+Portora1st 0
Mens J18A 8+Methodist A3rd 0
Mens J18A 8+Methodist B4th 0
Mens J18A 4+Portora1st 0
Mens J18A 4+Methodist2nd 0
Mens J18A 4+RBAI A3rd 0
Mens J18A 4+RBAI BDisqualified 0
Mens J18A 4X-Lee A1st 0
Mens J18A 4X-Lee B2nd 0
Mens J18A 4X-RBAI3rd 0
Mens J18A 4X-Portadown4th 0
Mens J18A 4X-Methodist5th 0
Mens J18A 2-Portora B1st 0
Mens J18A 2-Methodist2nd 0
Mens J18A 2-Portora ADid not finish 0
Mens J18A 2XLee A1st 0
Mens J18A 2XLee D2nd 0
Mens J18A 2XLee C3rd 0
Mens J18A 2XLee B4th 0
Mens J18A 2XPortadown B5th 0
Mens J18A 2XCGSCompeted 0
Mens J18A 2XPortadown ACompeted 0
Mens J18A 1XPortadown, Hull, N1st 0
Mens J18A 1XPortadown, Murtagh, D2nd 0
Mens J18A 1XPortadown, Morrow, R3rd 0
Mens J18A 1XBelfast RC, Moran, J4th 0
Mens J18A 1XPortadown, Tang, CDid not start 0
Mens J16 8+Portora1st 0
Mens J16 8+Methodist2nd 0
Mens J16 4X+Portora A1st 0
Mens J16 4X+Commercial2nd 0
Mens J16 4X+Methodist A3rd 0
Mens J16 4X+Portadown4th 0
Mens J16 4X+Blackrock5th 0
Mens J16 4X+Methodist B6th 0
Mens J16 4X+Methodist CCompeted 0
Mens J16 4X+Portora BCompeted 0
Mens J16 2XCommercial1st 0
Mens J16 2XBelfast BC2nd 0
Mens J16 2XPortora3rd 0
Mens J16 2XPortadown B4th 0
Mens J16 2XPortadown A5th 0
Mens J16 2XPortadown C6th 0
Mens J16 1XCGS, Moore, H1st 0
Mens J16 1XCommercial, Browne, K2nd 0
Mens J16 1XCommercial, Hickey, D3rd 0
Mens J16 1XCommercial, Holton, A4th 0
Mens J16 1XPortora, Blake, R5th 0
Mens J16 1XCommercial, Daly, ACompeted 0
Mens J16 1XRBAI, Lyons, TCompeted 0
Mens J15 4X+Blackrock1st 0
Mens J15 4X+Portora2nd 0
Mens J15 4X+Methodist B3rd 0
Mens J15 4X+Methodist A4th 0
Mens J15 2XBlackrock A1st 0
Mens J15 2XPortora2nd 0
Mens J15 2XMethodist A3rd 0
Mens J15 2XBlackrock B4th 0
Mens J15 2XPortadown5th 0
Mens J15 2XMethodist B6th 0
Womens Senior 1XBelfast BC, Turner, KDid not start 0
Womens Senior 1XGarda, Larsen, BDid not start 0
Womens Intermediate 2-QUBLBC A1st 50
Womens Intermediate 2-Bann2nd -10
Womens Intermediate 2-SMRC3rd -10
Womens Intermediate 2-QUBLBC C4th -10
Womens Intermediate 2-Portora A5th -10
Womens Intermediate 2-Portora B6th -10
Womens Intermediate 2-QUBLBC BDid not start 0
Womens Intermediate 1XGarda, Larsen, B1st 50
Womens Intermediate 1XNUIG, Pigott, M2nd -10
Womens Intermediate 1XBelfast BC, Turner, KDid not start 0
Womens Intermediate 1XGarda, Moore, MDid not start 0
Womens Intermediate 1XGarda, Ryan, JDid not start 0
Womens Intermediate 1XQUBLBC, Brown, RDid not start 0
Womens Club 1 8+QUBLBC A1st 50
Womens Club 1 8+Bann2nd -10
Womens Club 1 8+QUBLBC B2nd -10
Womens Club 1 4X-Bann1st 50
Womens Club 1 4X-Methodist2nd -10
Womens Club 1 4X-Belfast RCDid not start 0
Womens Club 1 2XBann1st 50
Womens Club 1 2XSMRC2nd -10
Womens Club 1 2XGarda3rd -10
Womens Club 1 2XQUBLBC A4th -10
Womens Club 1 2XQUBLBC BDid not finish 0
Womens Club 1 1XGarda, Ryan, J1st 50
Womens Club 1 1XGarda, Moore, M2nd -10
Womens Club 1 1XLee, Murphy, C3rd -10
Womens Club 1 1XLee, Nagle, N4th -10
Womens Club 1 1XQUBLBC, Potts, L5th -10
Womens Club 1 1XQUBLBC, Crouch, J6th -10
Womens Novice 4X+QUBLBC B1st 50
Womens Novice 4X+Portadown2nd -10
Womens Novice 4X+Sligo3rd -10
Womens Novice 4X+QUBLBC A4th -10
Womens Novice 4X+Belfast BCDisqualified 0
Womens J18A 8+Portora1st 0
Womens J18A 8+Methodist2nd 0
Womens J18A 8+Bann3rd 0
Womens J18A 8+Portadown4th 0
Womens J18A 4-Methodist1st 0
Womens J18A 4-Portora A2nd 0
Womens J18A 4-Portora B3rd 0
Womens J18A 4X-Bann1st 0
Womens J18A 4X-Lee2nd 0
Womens J18A 4X-Sligo3rd 0
Womens J18A 4X-Portadown4th 0
Womens J18A 2XBann1st 0
Womens J18A 2XLee A2nd 0
Womens J18A 2XNeptune3rd 0
Womens J18A 2XLee B4th 0
Womens J18A 2XSligo A5th 0
Womens J18A 2XPortadown A6th 0
Womens J18A 2XBelfast RCCompeted 0
Womens J18A 2XPortadown BCompeted 0
Womens J18A 2XPortadown CCompeted 0
Womens J18A 2XSligo BCompeted 0
Womens J18A 1XNeptune, Feerick, C1st 0
Womens J18A 1XBann, Odonovan, A2nd 0
Womens J18A 1XBann, Wylie, L3rd 0
Womens J18A 1XPortadown, McCann, K4th 0
Womens J18A 1XNeptune, Clark, ADid not start 0
Womens J16 8+Portora A1st (private race)0
Womens J16 8+Portora B2nd (private race)0
Womens J16 4X+Lee1st 0
Womens J16 4X+Portora2nd 0
Womens J16 4X+Sligo3rd 0
Womens J16 4X+Portadown4th 0
Womens J16 4X+Belfast RC5th 0
Womens J16 2XPortora B1st 0
Womens J16 2XPortora A2nd 0
Womens J16 2XMethodist3rd 0
Womens J16 2XBelfast RC4th 0
Womens J16 1XBelfast RC, Hall, A1st 0
Womens J16 1XPortadown, McCann, S2nd 0
Womens J16 1XBann, Blemmings, E3rd 0
Womens J16 1XPortora, Hutton, DCompeted 0
Womens J16 1XPortora, McComb, TCompeted 0
Womens J16 1XPortora, O'Doherty, MCompeted 0
Womens J16 1XBann, Carson, RDid not start 0
Womens J15 4X+Bann1st 0
Womens J15 4X+Portora A2nd 0
Womens J15 4X+Portora B3rd 0
Womens J15 4X+Portadown4th 0
Womens J15 2XPortadown A1st 0
Womens J15 2XBann A2nd 0
Womens J15 2XBann B3rd 0
Womens J15 2XPortadown B4th 0
Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Neptune won the club one eights, beating UCD in a close final, and the junior 18 coxed four at the Portadown Regatta on Saturday. Methodist College, Belfast, took the club one women’s quadruple sculls. Katie Shirlow of Bann was the best women’s intermediate single sculler.  

Portadown Regatta, Saturday (Selected Results):

Men

Eight – Club One: Neptune bt UCD ¼ l. Junior 18: Neptune bt Methodist College, Belfast 2½ l. Masters: Bann bt Belfast RC, bowball.  Jun 16: Methodist bt Coleraine GS 5l.  

Four – Jun 18, coxed: RBAI r/o Neptune. Masters, coxed: Belfast BC bt Belfast RC 1½ l

Sculling – Quadruple, Club One, coxed: Coleraine GS bt RBAI 5l. Novice, coxed: Neptune bt RBAI 3l. Jun 18: Bann bt RBAI 1¼ l. Jun 16, coxed: Portora bt Portadown 2¼ l.  Jun 15 coxed: Bann bt Portadown 2l.

Double – Club One: Portadown bt Coleraine GS, 5l. Jun 18: Bann bt RBAI B ½ l. Nov: UCD bt Portadown easily. Masters: Belfast BC bt Lady Victoria 3l. Jun 16: Neptune A bt RBAI 5l. Jun 15: Bann bt Coleraine GS 1¾ l

Single – Club: Carrick-on-Shannon (T Earley) bt RBAI (J Emery) 4l. Novice: RBAI (T Lyons) bt Carrick (F Early) 2½ l. Jun 18: Carrick-on-Shannon (T Earley) bt Portadown (N Hull) 1l. Masters: Portora (G Murphy) bt City of Derry (G D’Urso) 1½l. Jun 16: Portora (R Blake) bt Coleraine GS (H Moore) lft. Jun 15: Portora (M Stewart) r/0 Portora (C Stewart).

Women

Eight – Jun 16: Neptune bt Coleraine Grammar School 3½ l. Jun 15: Portora A bt Portadown easily.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club One, coxed: Methodist bt Belfast BC 2¼ l. Novice, coxed: Neptune bt Methodist 3l. Jun 18: Bann bt Portadown easily. Jun 16, coxed: Neptune bt Portadown A ¾ l. Jun 15, coxed: Bann bt Portadown A, easily.

Double – Inter: Bann bt Portadown 4l. Masters: Belfast BC bt Lady Victoria 3l. Jun 18: Bann bt Portadown A, 6l. Jun 16: Portora bt Belfast RC 3l.

Single – Inter: Bann (K Shirlow) bt Portadown (A Martin) easily. Club One: Bann (D Maguire) bt Portadown (A Martin) easily. Jun 18: Neptune (A Clark) bt Portadown (K McCann) 4l. Jun 16: Portadown (I Peyton) bt Carrick-on-Shannon (A O’Connor) easily. Jun 15: Portora (V Wilson) bt Portora (M O’Doherty) 1¼ l.

EventTypeLane 1: Portadown StationVerdictLane 2: Gilford StationNext
MJ18 2XHeat 1Portadown B RBAI B35
MJ18 2XHeat 2Methodist Portadown C35
WJ14 1xHeatPortadown, Pinkerton, R Portora, McComb, T72
WC1 1XSFCarrick, Duggan, T Bann, Maguire, D117
WN 4x+SF1Methodist QUBLBC71
WN 4x+SF2Neptune Portadown71
MN 1xHeatPortadown, McClenahan, B Carrick, Early, F44
no race     
MJ18 1XHeat 1Bann, Christie, A RBAI,Reid,N48
MJ18 1XHeat 2CGS, Moore,H Portadown, Tang,C48
MC1 2xHeatRBAI Portadown136
MC1 1XHeatCarrick, Earley, TReschedued to race 39Portadown, Laivins, A85
WJ14 4X+HeatBann Portadown57
MJ16 2XHeat 1Portadown A Neptune B88
MJ16 2XHeat 2Portora Portadown B88
WJ16 4X+Heat 1Belfast RC Methodist34
WJ16 4X+Heat 2Portadown A Portora34
MN 2xHeatUCDBC Bann65
WJ18 1xHeat 1Neptune, Clark, A Carrick, Duggan, T53
WJ18 1xHeat 2Portadown, Green, R Portadown, Henderson, A53
MN 4X+Heat 1Portadown A UCD BC86
MN 4X+Heat 2Portadown B Neptune86
MJ16 1XSF1Carrick, Early, F CGS,Moore,H80
MJ16 1XSF2Portora,Blake, R RBAI, Lyons, T80
WJ15 8+SF1Portadown CGS102
WJ15 8+SF2Portora A Portora B102
WJ18 2XHeat 1Methodist Bann77
WJ18 2XHeat 2Portadown B Neptune77
MJ15 1XSF1Portora, Stewart, C CGS, McCook, C74
MJ15 1XSF2Portora, Stewart, M Portora, Bell, A74
MM 4+SF1Belfast RC B (e 220) Belfast BC (f 247)103
MM 4+SF2Belfast RC A (f 251) Neptune (d 215)103
WJ16 4X+SF1Neptune Portadown B140
WJ16 4X+SF2Methodist Portadown A140
MJ18 2XQF1RBAI B Methodist67
MJ18 2XQF2RBAI A CGS67
MJ18 2XQF3Portadown A Portadown D68
MJ18 2XQF4Neptune Bann68
MC1 1XHeatCarrick, Earley, T Portadown, Laivins, A85
no race     
MM 2XFLVBC (e 116)Belfast BC (3 l)Belfast BC (f 128)-
MM 1XSFC of Derry, D'Urso, G (e) LVBC, Keown,P €70
MJ16 8+HeatPortadown Methodist141
MN 1xFCarrick, Early, FRBAI, Lyons,T (2.5 l)RBAI, Lyons,T-
WJ15 4x+SF1Bann CGS115
WJ15 4x+SF2Portadown A Portadown B115
MJ18 1XQF1RBAI, Patterson,D Carrick, Earley, T90
MJ18 1XQF2Bann, Christie, A CGS, Moore, H90
MJ18 1XQF3Portadown, Morrow,R Portadown, Murtagh, D91
MJ18 1XQF4Methodist, Young, X Portadown,Hull, N91
MJ15 2XSF1CGS Portadown110
MJ15 2XSF2Bann Portora110
WJ18 1xSF1Neptune, Clark, A Portadown, Green, R143
WJ18 1xSF2Bann, Scott,H Portadown, McCann, K143
WJ15 2XHeatPortadown A Bann B92
MJ18 8+Heat RBAI Neptune133
WJ14 4X+SF1Bann Portora B84
WJ14 4X+SF2CGS Portora A84
MJ14 2XHeatBann Portadown81
MJ18 4X-SFBann Portadown101
MM 8+SF1Bann (d 412) LVBC (f 498)132
MM 8+SF2Belfast RC (e 471) Neptune (d 419)132
MJ16 4X+SF1RBAI Portora144
MJ16 4X+SF2Methodist Portadown144
MN 2xFUCDBCUCDBC (6 l)Portadown-
MJ14 4X+FMethodistCGS (1l)CGS-
MJ18 2XSF1RBAI B CGS119
MJ18 2XSF2Portadown D Bann119
LunchLunchLunchLunchLunchLunch
MM 1XFC of Derry, D'Urso, G (e)Portora, Murphy, G (e ) 1.5 lPortora, Murphy, G (e )-
WN 4x+FMethodistNeptune (3 l)Neptune-
WJ14 1xFPortora McComb TPortadown, Patterson, L (2.5L)Portadown, Patterson, L-
WJ16 2XHeatPortadown Belfast RC94
MJ15 1XFPortora, Stewart, CPortora, Stewart, M (RO)Portora, Stewart, M-
no race     
no race     
WJ18 2XSF1Bann Neptune113
WJ18 2XSF2NeptuneNot run as Neputne double entry - PBC byePortadown A113
MC1 4X+HeatMethodist CGS116
MJ16 1XFCGS,Moore,HPortora,Blake, R (1ft)Portora,Blake, R-
MJ14 2XFBannCGS (Bann disq)CGS-
MJ15 4X+HeatMethodist A Portadown98
MJ15 4X+Heat 2Methodist B RBAI98
WJ14 4X+FPortora BPortora APortora A-
MC1 1XFCarrick, Earley, TCarrick, Earley, T (4l)RBAI, Emery, J-
MN 4X+SF1UCD BC Neptune114
MN 4X+SF2RBAI Methodist114
MJ16 2XQF1Portadown A Portora111
MJ16 2XQF2Neptune A Methodist111
MJ18 1XSF1Carrick, Earley, T Bann, Christie, A129
MJ18 1XSF2Portadown, Morrow,R Portadown,Hull, N129
WJ15 2XSF1Bann B Portadown B106
WJ15 2XSF2Bann A Portadown C106
WJ16 2XFBelfast RCPortora (3 l)Portora-
MJ16 2XQF3Portadown C CGS112
MJ16 2XQF4Belfast RC RBAI112
no race     
MJ15 4X+SF1PortadownRescheduled to race 120RBAI145
MJ15 4X+SF2Bann CGS145
MJ18 4+FRBAIRBAI (RO)Neptune-
MJ18 4X-FBannBann (1.25 l)RBAI-
WJ15 8+FPortadownPortora A (easily)Portora A-
MM 4+FBelfast BC (f 247)Belfast BC (f 247) (1.5 l)Belfast RC A (f 251)-
WJ18 4x-FPortadownRescheduled to race 130Bann-
WI 2XFPortadownBann (4 l)Bann-
WJ15 2XFPortadown BRescheduled to race 131Portadown C-
MJ14 1XHeatBann, Morelli, N CGS, McCook, S128
MC1 8+SF1RBAI Neptune126
MC1 8+SF2Methodist UCDBC126
MJ15 2XFCGSBann (1.75 l)Bann-
MJ16 2XSF1Portora Neptune A127
MJ16 2XSF2Portadown C RBAI127
WJ18 2XFBannBann (6 l)Portadown A-
MN 4X+FNeptuneNeptune (3 l)RBAI-
WJ15 4x+FBannBann (6 l)Portadown A-
MC1 4X+FCGSCGS (5 l)RBAI-
WC1 1XFBann Magurie, DBann Magurie, D (easily)Portadown, Martin, A-
WC1 4X+FBelfast BCMCB (2.25 l)Methodist-
MJ18 2XFRBAI BBann (0.5 l)Bann-
MJ15 4X+SF1Portadown RBAI145
no race     
WJ15 1XSF1Portora, Wilson, V Portadown, McCann, S142
WJ15 1XSF2Portora, O'Doherty, M Portora, Hutton, D142
WJ16 8+FNeptuneNeptune (3.5 l)CGS-
WJ16 1XFPortadown, Peyton, IPortadown, Peyton, I (7 l)Carrick, O'Connor, A-
MC1 8+FNeptuneNeptune (0.25 l)UCDBC-
MJ16 2XFNeptune ANeptune A (5 l)RBAI-
MJ14 1XFCGS, McCook, SCGS, McCook, S (3 l)Bann, McGillan, C-
MJ18 1XFCarrick, Earley, TCarrick, Earley, T (1 l)Portadown,Hull, N-
WJ18 4x-FPortadownBann (easily)Bann 
WJ15 2XFPortadown BPortadown C (RO)Portadown C 
MM 8+FBann (d 412)Bann (d 412) (bow ball)Belfast RC (e 471)-
MJ18 8+FNeptuneNeptune (2.5 l)Methodist-
no race     
no race     
MC1 2xFPortadownPortadown (5 l)CGS-
WI 1XFPortadown, Martin, ABann, Shirlow, K (easily)Bann, Shirlow, K-
MJ16 2XFNeptune ANeptune A (5 l)RBAI 
no race     
WJ16 4X+FNeptuneNeptune (0.75 l)Portadown A-
MJ16 8+FMethodistMethodist (5 l)CGS-
WJ15 1XFPortora, Wilson, VPortora, Wilson, V (1.25 l)Portora, O'Doherty, M-
WJ18 1xFNeptune, Clark, ANeptune, Clark, A (4 l)Portadown, McCann, K-
MJ16 4X+FPortoraPortora (2.25 l)Portadown-
MJ15 4X+FPortadownBann (2 l)Bann-
Published in Rowing
#Rowing: Portora’s junior 18A eight had exactly two seconds to spare over the Queen’s University intermediate eight in the second race at the Lagan Head of the River in Belfast. Club eights from Yarm School and Commercial were credited with the same time in third and fourth.
Lagan Head of the River 2015 - Race 2 4200m at 13:30hrs
RESULTS by Time - Provisional - Masters handicap not applied
POSITION CREW
NUMBER Club Class Cox/Steerer Time % of winning
time Comments
1 1 Portora Mens J18A 8+ R Farragher 14:35.4 100.00
2 7 QUBBC Mens Intermediate 8+ C Moorehead 14:37.4 100.23
3 15 Yarm School Mens Club 1 8+ O Cairns 15:08.7 103.81
4 14 Commercial Mens Club 1 8+ S Eustace 15:08.7 103.81
5 9 DUBC Mens Intermediate 8+ H Mulvaney 15:12.8 104.27
6 12 Portora Mens Senior 4X- B Rix 15:14.7 104.49
7 8 St Josephs Mens Intermediate 8+ C R Wanjau 15:14.7 104.49
8 2 Methodist A Mens J18A 8+ A Mawhinney 15:22.7 105.40
9 4 Commercial Mens J18A 8+ B McGuiness 15:28.6 106.08
10 29 Comm/OCBC/Neptune/BBC (d ) Mens Masters 8+ J Malloy 15:46.6 108.13
11 17 QUBBC Mens Club 1 8+ A Sloan 15:51.4 108.68
12 21 St Josephs A Mens J16 8+ E Finnegan 16:13.2 111.17
13 5 Neptune Mens J18A 8+ A Gillick 16:22.8 112.27
14 3 RBAI Mens J18A 8+ M Honan 15:22.7 105.40
15 10 Belfast RC / Lagan Mens Senior 4X- T McGivern 16:24.4 112.46
16 26 QUBLBC Womens Intermediate 8+ G Canham 16:32.1 113.33
17 25 DULBC Womens Senior 8+ N Williams 16:32.1 113.34
18 19 Neptune Mens Club 1 8+ P Dolan 16:36.0 113.78
19 18 DUBC B Mens Club 1 8+ A McCormick 16:44.4 114.74
20 16 DUBC A Mens Club 1 8+ C Keogh 16:47.2 115.06
21 22 Portora Mens J16 8+ B Corrigan 16:47.3 115.06
22 34 Bann Womens Senior 4X- A Odonovan 16:52.1 115.61
23 27 DULBC Womens Intermediate 8+ B Murphy 17:00.4 116.57
24 31 Belfast BC (f ) Mens Masters 8+ E Bell 17:00.6 116.59
25 40 Portora Womens J18A 8+ S Dolan 17:01.3 116.67
26 30 Belfast RC (f ) Mens Masters 8+ S Mairs 17:04.2 116.99
27 13 St Josephs Mens Senior 4X- F Vickers 17:07.0 117.31
28 24 Methodist Mens J16 8+ C Woods 17:12.9 117.99
29 28 Bann (d ) Mens Masters 8+ C Mitchell 17:13.3 118.04
30 11 Lagan Mens Senior 4X- P Cross 17:15.6 118.30
31 6 Methodist B Mens J18A 8+ D Morrow 17:25.5 119.43
32 20 DUBC C Mens Club 1 8+ J Davis 17:38.6 120.93
33 37 Commercial Womens Senior 4- K Curran 17:42.5 121.37
34 32 LVBC (f ) Mens Masters 8+ M Warnock 17:49.4 122.16
35 41 Commercial A Womens J18A 8+ S Carpenter 17:51.1 122.36
36 38 Methodist Womens J18A 8+ S McKeown 18:22.1 125.90
37 46 Belfast BC (e ) Womens Masters 8+ C Watters 18:28.4 126.62
38 45 Yarm School Womens Club 1 8+ J Dodds 18:31.6 126.98
39 36 QUBLBC Womens Senior 4- A Buck 18:32.0 127.03
40 43 DULBC A Womens Club 1 8+ C O'Donnell 18:34.1 127.26
41 35 Belfast RC Womens Senior 4X- L Taylor 18:50.0 129.09
42 49 Portora A Womens J16 8+ R Conway 18:56.0 129.77
43 42 DULBC B Womens Club 1 8+ S Oster 19:40.0 134.80
44 50 Commercial Womens J16 8+ K Hynes 19:49.4 135.87
45 39 Commercial B Womens J18A 8+ E Hoban 20:05.8 137.75
46 47 Belfast RC (c ) Womens Masters 8+ S Smith 20:21.0 139.48
47 23 St Josephs B Mens J16 8+ B Holland 20:22.8 139.68
48 33 Portadown Womens Senior 4X- A Martin 21:04.0 144.39
49 48 Portora B Womens J16 8+ D Hutton 21:47.1 149.31
50 44 Belfast BC Womens Club 1 8+ J Penman 23:30.1 161.08
51 51 Yarm School Womens 14 4X+ F Willmott 26:12.5 179.64
Lagan Head of the River is organised by Belfast Rowing Club
with assistance from Lagan Scullers Club, Methodist College Boat Club, RBAI Rowing Club
and Belfast Boat Club
and Belfast Harbour Commissioners, Belfast City Centre Regeneration Directorate
SSE Arena
Powerhouse Sport
Published in Rowing

#Rowers of the Month: The Afloat Rowers of the Month for November are Barney Rix of Portora and Ronan Byrne of Shandon. The two young men set new Irish records in indoor rowing. Byrne set a new junior record of six minutes 16.9 seconds at the Provinces Indoor Championships in Limerick. Rix, who had won the junior section at the Irish Indoor Championships early in the year, competed just two days after the Limerick test in Enniskillen – and lowered the record by .1 of a second to 6:16.8.

 Rower of the Month awards: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times and David O'Brien, Editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year will appear on afloat.ie and the overall national award will be presented to the person or crew who, in the judges' opinion, achieved the most notable results in, or made the most significant contribution to rowing during 2015. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2015 champions list grow.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Trinity won the senior eights Championship of Ireland for the first time since 2008 at the National Rowing Centre today. They started well and pushed into a one-length lead at 1,000 metres over UCD/Old Collegians, with NUIG/Grainne Mhaol not far behind. Trinity saw off repeated pushes to win by just under a length from UCD/Old Collegians.

In the women’s senior eights UCD had a similar race pattern, but had a little more to spare over their rivals, UCC/Skibbereen and Trinity.

The men’s intermediate double gave Garda’s Damien Kelly and Ronan Allen a chance to impress. They dominated their race, as did Skibbereen in the women’s junior quadruple sculls – a win which brought Skibbereen up to 150 wins and level with Neptune on the Pots won at the Irish Championships. Fittingly, Aoife and Niamh Casey, daughters of Dominic Casey, were in the winning boat.

Dervla Forde won the women’s intermediate single sculls title – after a fine battle with Sarah Quinn of Belfast Boat Club, while Portora finished off a good Championships for them with wins in the men’s junior pair and women’s club eight.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork, Day Three (Selected results)

Men

Eight – Senior: 1 Trinity (G Mahon, I Hurley, J Magan, M Corcoran, P Moreau, M Kelly, L Hawkes, D Butler; cox: C Flynn) 5 mins 37.45 seconds, 2 UCD/Old Collegians 5:40.41, 3 NUIG/Grainne Mhaol 5:42.05, 4 UCC/Presentation 5:56.76.

Four – Club, coxed: 1 Queen’s 6:28.23, 2 UCD A 6:30.77, 3 NUIG A 6:36.48.

Pair – Intermediate: 1 Commercial A 6:47.94, 2 Skibbereen 6:55.20, 3 Portora 7:00.19. Junior: 1 Portora B 6:56.46, 2 St Joseph’s A 6:58.25, 3 Portora A 7:04.65.

Sculling, Double – Intermediate: 1 Garda 6:49.10, 2 Lee 6:41.24, 3 Waterford 6:42.64. Junior: 1 Shandon 6:40.27, 2 Castleconnell A 6:50.48, 3 Cork BC B 6:55.56.

Lightweight Single: 1 Skibbereen (J Ryan) 7:09.17, 2 Skibbereen (McCarthy) 7:12.63, 3 St Michael’s (D O’Connor) 7:15.40.

Women

Eight – Senior: 1 UCD (D Callanan, R Gilligan, C Harrison, B Larsen, O Finnegan, A Crowley, A O’Riordan, K O’Connor; cox: L Mulvihill) 6:25.85, 2 UCC/Skibbereen 6:30.31, 3 Trinity A 6:31.62. Club: 1 Portora 6:41.27, 2 Commercial A 6:46.19, 3 NUIG 6:47.67.

Four – Intermediate, coxed: 1 NUIG 7:09.66, 2 Commercial 7:18.28, 3 Shannon 7:23.16.

Pair – Junior: 1 Bann 7:42.60, 2 Portora 7:47.30, 3 Lee 7:51.35.

Sculling, Quadruple – Junior: 1 Skibbereen 6:50.32, 2 Bann A 6:57.37, 3 Bann B 6:59.29.

Single – Lightweight: 1 Tribesmen (S McCrohan) 7:46.48, 2 Commercial (Sarah Dolan) 7:50.22, 3 Skibbereen (O Hayes) 8:00.39. Intermediate: 1 Cork (D Forde) 7:50.85, 2 Belfast BC (S Quinn) 7:51.99, 3 Belfast BC (Mulligan) 8:00.32.

 

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: UCC’s Andy Harrington and David O’Leary won the men’s senior pairs title at the Irish Rowing Championships this morning. The young crew flew away from their opponents in the third quarter and won well from NUIG.

Trinity had a fine win in the men’s intermediate eights, finishing well under pressure from UCD, while Portora’s win in the men’s junior coxed four was even closer. They were caught by St Joseph’s of Galway coming up to the line, but pushed again and won – by .16 of a second.

The women’s races were won by clearer margins. Dervla Forde took the junior single sculls, Skibbereen’s Orla Hayes and Aoife Casey the intermediate double and Commercial the novice eights, all in impressive fashion.

Cathal Merz also led down the course to win the men’s club single sculls.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork (Day Two, Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Intermediate: 1 Trinity 5:46.51, 2 UCD A 5:49.27, 3 Queen’s 6:08.61.

Four – Junior, coxed: 1 Portora 6:36.84, 2 St Joseph’s 6:37.0, 3 Athlunkard 6:45.18.

Pair – Senior: 1 UCC 7:03.18, 2 NUIG 7:10.16, 3 Carlow 7:12.51.

Sculling, Single – Club: 1 Shandon (C Merz) 7:42.94, 2 Clonmel (D Lynch) 7:44.96, 3 Lee (D Larkin) 7:45.94.

Women

Eight – Novice: 1 Commercial 6:59.55, 2 Queen’s 7:13.67, 3 Trinity 7:13.67.

Sculling, Double – Intermediate: 1 Skibbereen 7:36.62, 2 St Michael’s 7:45.87, 3 Belfast BC 7:48.80.

Single – Junior: 1 Cork (D Forde) 8:07.98, 2 Skibbereen (E Hegarty) 8:18.01, 3 Offaly (A Mooney) 8:21.91.

Published in Rowing
Page 1 of 3

Irish Fishing industry 

The Irish Commercial Fishing Industry employs around 11,000 people in fishing, processing and ancillary services such as sales and marketing. The industry is worth about €1.22 billion annually to the Irish economy. Irish fisheries products are exported all over the world as far as Africa, Japan and China.

FAQs

Over 16,000 people are employed directly or indirectly around the coast, working on over 2,000 registered fishing vessels, in over 160 seafood processing businesses and in 278 aquaculture production units, according to the State's sea fisheries development body Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

All activities that are concerned with growing, catching, processing or transporting fish are part of the commercial fishing industry, the development of which is overseen by BIM. Recreational fishing, as in angling at sea or inland, is the responsibility of Inland Fisheries Ireland.

The Irish fishing industry is valued at 1.22 billion euro in gross domestic product (GDP), according to 2019 figures issued by BIM. Only 179 of Ireland's 2,000 vessels are over 18 metres in length. Where does Irish commercially caught fish come from? Irish fish and shellfish is caught or cultivated within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but Irish fishing grounds are part of the common EU "blue" pond. Commercial fishing is regulated under the terms of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), initiated in 1983 and with ten-yearly reviews.

The total value of seafood landed into Irish ports was 424 million euro in 2019, according to BIM. High value landings identified in 2019 were haddock, hake, monkfish and megrim. Irish vessels also land into foreign ports, while non-Irish vessels land into Irish ports, principally Castletownbere, Co Cork, and Killybegs, Co Donegal.

There are a number of different methods for catching fish, with technological advances meaning skippers have detailed real time information at their disposal. Fisheries are classified as inshore, midwater, pelagic or deep water. Inshore targets species close to shore and in depths of up to 200 metres, and may include trawling and gillnetting and long-lining. Trawling is regarded as "active", while "passive" or less environmentally harmful fishing methods include use of gill nets, long lines, traps and pots. Pelagic fisheries focus on species which swim close to the surface and up to depths of 200 metres, including migratory mackerel, and tuna, and methods for catching include pair trawling, purse seining, trolling and longlining. Midwater fisheries target species at depths of around 200 metres, using trawling, longlining and jigging. Deepwater fisheries mainly use trawling for species which are found at depths of over 600 metres.

There are several segments for different catching methods in the registered Irish fleet – the largest segment being polyvalent or multi-purpose vessels using several types of gear which may be active and passive. The polyvalent segment ranges from small inshore vessels engaged in netting and potting to medium and larger vessels targeting whitefish, pelagic (herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting) species and bivalve molluscs. The refrigerated seawater (RSW) pelagic segment is engaged mainly in fishing for herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting only. The beam trawling segment focuses on flatfish such as sole and plaice. The aquaculture segment is exclusively for managing, developing and servicing fish farming areas and can collect spat from wild mussel stocks.

The top 20 species landed by value in 2019 were mackerel (78 million euro); Dublin Bay prawn (59 million euro); horse mackerel (17 million euro); monkfish (17 million euro); brown crab (16 million euro); hake (11 million euro); blue whiting (10 million euro); megrim (10 million euro); haddock (9 million euro); tuna (7 million euro); scallop (6 million euro); whelk (5 million euro); whiting (4 million euro); sprat (3 million euro); herring (3 million euro); lobster (2 million euro); turbot (2 million euro); cod (2 million euro); boarfish (2 million euro).

Ireland has approximately 220 million acres of marine territory, rich in marine biodiversity. A marine biodiversity scheme under Ireland's operational programme, which is co-funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the Government, aims to reduce the impact of fisheries and aquaculture on the marine environment, including avoidance and reduction of unwanted catch.

EU fisheries ministers hold an annual pre-Christmas council in Brussels to decide on total allowable catches and quotas for the following year. This is based on advice from scientific bodies such as the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. In Ireland's case, the State's Marine Institute publishes an annual "stock book" which provides the most up to date stock status and scientific advice on over 60 fish stocks exploited by the Irish fleet. Total allowable catches are supplemented by various technical measures to control effort, such as the size of net mesh for various species.

The west Cork harbour of Castletownbere is Ireland's biggest whitefish port. Killybegs, Co Donegal is the most important port for pelagic (herring, mackerel, blue whiting) landings. Fish are also landed into Dingle, Co Kerry, Rossaveal, Co Galway, Howth, Co Dublin and Dunmore East, Co Waterford, Union Hall, Co Cork, Greencastle, Co Donegal, and Clogherhead, Co Louth. The busiest Northern Irish ports are Portavogie, Ardglass and Kilkeel, Co Down.

Yes, EU quotas are allocated to other fleets within the Irish EEZ, and Ireland has long been a transhipment point for fish caught by the Spanish whitefish fleet in particular. Dingle, Co Kerry has seen an increase in foreign landings, as has Castletownbere. The west Cork port recorded foreign landings of 36 million euro or 48 per cent in 2019, and has long been nicknamed the "peseta" port, due to the presence of Spanish-owned transhipment plant, Eiranova, on Dinish island.

Most fish and shellfish caught or cultivated in Irish waters is for the export market, and this was hit hard from the early stages of this year's Covid-19 pandemic. The EU, Asia and Britain are the main export markets, while the middle Eastern market is also developing and the African market has seen a fall in value and volume, according to figures for 2019 issued by BIM.

Fish was once a penitential food, eaten for religious reasons every Friday. BIM has worked hard over several decades to develop its appeal. Ireland is not like Spain – our land is too good to transform us into a nation of fish eaters, but the obvious health benefits are seeing a growth in demand. Seafood retail sales rose by one per cent in 2019 to 300 million euro. Salmon and cod remain the most popular species, while BIM reports an increase in sales of haddock, trout and the pangasius or freshwater catfish which is cultivated primarily in Vietnam and Cambodia and imported by supermarkets here.

The EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), initiated in 1983, pooled marine resources – with Ireland having some of the richest grounds and one of the largest sea areas at the time, but only receiving four per cent of allocated catch by a quota system. A system known as the "Hague Preferences" did recognise the need to safeguard the particular needs of regions where local populations are especially dependent on fisheries and related activities. The State's Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, based in Clonakilty, Co Cork, works with the Naval Service on administering the EU CFP. The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and Department of Transport regulate licensing and training requirements, while the Marine Survey Office is responsible for the implementation of all national and international legislation in relation to safety of shipping and the prevention of pollution.

Yes, a range of certificates of competency are required for skippers and crew. Training is the remit of BIM, which runs two national fisheries colleges at Greencastle, Co Donegal and Castletownbere, Co Cork. There have been calls for the colleges to be incorporated into the third-level structure of education, with qualifications recognised as such.

Safety is always an issue, in spite of technological improvements, as fishing is a hazardous occupation and climate change is having its impact on the severity of storms at sea. Fishing skippers and crews are required to hold a number of certificates of competency, including safety and navigation, and wearing of personal flotation devices is a legal requirement. Accidents come under the remit of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, and the Health and Safety Authority. The MCIB does not find fault or blame, but will make recommendations to the Minister for Transport to avoid a recurrence of incidents.

Fish are part of a marine ecosystem and an integral part of the marine food web. Changing climate is having a negative impact on the health of the oceans, and there have been more frequent reports of warmer water species being caught further and further north in Irish waters.

Brexit, Covid 19, EU policies and safety – Britain is a key market for Irish seafood, and 38 per cent of the Irish catch is taken from the waters around its coast. Ireland's top two species – mackerel and prawns - are 60 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, dependent on British waters. Also, there are serious fears within the Irish industry about the impact of EU vessels, should they be expelled from British waters, opting to focus even more efforts on Ireland's rich marine resource. Covid-19 has forced closure of international seafood markets, with high value fish sold to restaurants taking a large hit. A temporary tie-up support scheme for whitefish vessels introduced for the summer of 2020 was condemned by industry organisations as "designed to fail".

Sources: Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Marine Institute, Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, Department of Transport © Afloat 2020