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Displaying items by tag: Boomer

#Rowing: The new crew of Patrick Boomer and Fionnan Crowley beat Shane O’Driscoll and Mark O’Donovan in their second race of the day at the Ireland trial at the National Rowing Centre. Boomer, from Belfast Boat Club, and Castleconnell’s Crowley had just half a second to spare over the Skibbereen men.

The second session was run in bright sunshine and on good water. Chris Kirwan of St Michael’s and Grace Healy of Commercial were the top junior double – though racing from unfancied lane six. The men’s junior double was won by Andrew Sheehan of Lee and Aaron Keogh of Three Castles.

Denise Walsh and Aoife Casey, who may be the Ireland lightweight double for the season, looked impressive, while the under-23 four of Eimear Lambe, Claire Feerick, Emily Hegarty and Tara Hanlon also had a good win.

Sunday’s racing has been cancelled, because of a forecast of bad weather.

Ireland Trial, National Rowing Centre

Men

Pair: M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll. Under-23: S O’Connell, A Goff

Jun Pair: S Daly/M Campion

Single Sculls

Lightweight: P O’Donovan. U-23 Lwt: M Taylor. Under-23: N Hull. Jun: J Kearney

Women

Pair: A Keogh, M Dukarska. Under-23: C O’Brien, K Shirlow. Jun: C O’Sullivan, J Duggan.

Single: S Puspure. Lightweight: D Walsh. U-23 Lwt: K Dolan. Jun: M Curry.

Second Session

Men

Pair: Boomer, Crowley

Four, Under-23: Goff, O’Connell, O’Rourke, Nolan

Four – Jun: Hume, Reidy, Allen, Siltanen.

Double – Lwt/U23: Sutton, Taylor. Jun: A Sheehan, A Keogh

Single – P O’Donovan. Jun: A Christie.

Women

Four – Lambe, Feerick, Hegarty, Hanlon. Jun: O’Donoghue, Tyther, McInerney, Murphy

Double – Walsh, Casey. Jun: C Kirwan, G Healy

Single: Puspure. (Jun/U23 lwt): K Dolan (u23), E Loftus.  

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland crews reached multiple A Finals and had two fifth-place finishes at the World Coastal Rowing Championships in Sidney, Victoria in Canada.

 The Myross men’s coxed quadruple of Kenny McCarthy, Vincent Browne, Andy O’Sullivan and James Lupton, with cox Ciara Deasy, finished fifth in their A Final. The race was won by Italy, who were well clear of second-placed Monaco, with France One taking bronze.  

 In the final of the men’s single, Patrick Boomer was also well placed behind the winner Eduardo Linares Ruiz. The Peruvian took the lead before half way and held on to dethrone Italy’s defending champion, Simone Martini, who took bronze. Lars Wichert of Germany was second.

 Boomer, who was representing Loughros Point of Donegal, was fifth, well in touch with the medallists.  

 Ireland's women's crews also did well. Castletownbere's coxed quad of Emily Dulohery, Cliona O'Regan, Orla Gilsenan, Miriam Sheehan and cox Carmel Connolly finished sixth. Russia won from Spain and Monaco.

 Diana Dymchenko of the Ukraine won the women’s single. Sionna Healy of Arklow was eighth and Laura O’Neill of Kilmacsimon 12th.

World Coastal Rowing Championships, Sidney, Victoria, Canada (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Men

Quadruple, coxed: 1 Italy (CC Saturnia) 22 mins 14 secs, 2 Monaco, 3 France One; 5 Myross, Ireland (K McCarthy, V Browne, A O’Sullivan, J Lupton; cox: C Deasy) 23:46.9.

Single: 1 Peru (E Linares Ruiz) 26:30.2, 2 Germany Two, 3 Italy; 5 Ireland One, Loughros Point (P Boomer) 27:23.4.

Women

Quadruple, coxed: 1 Russia 25:18.0, 2 Spain One, 3 Monaco; 6 Castletownbere, Ireland (E Dulohery, C O’Regan, O Gilsenan, M Sheehan; cox: C Connolly) 27:56.

Single – 1 Ukraine (D Dymchenko) 28:56.7, 2 Netherlands, 3 France Two; 8 Ireland One (S Healy, Arklow) 31.38.2; 12 Ireland Three (L O’Neill, Kilmacsimon) 33:25.1.

Published in Coastal Rowing

#Rowing: Patrick Boomer won the single sculls at the Irish Offshore Championships at O’Carroll’s Cove near Caherdaniel in Kerry. Boomer represented Loughros Point in Donegal and hopes to go on to row for them at the World Coastal Rowing Championships in Canada in October.

 John Whooley of Skibbereen won a title – for Arklow. The Corkman teamed up with Alan Goodison to take the men’s double.

 Kerry club Killorglin won the women’s quadruple and Arklow the women’s double.

 The final of the men’s quadruple, the women’s single and the mixed double will take place on Sunday as the wind made conditions unsuitable on Saturday.

Irish Offshore Championships, Kerry

Men

Double: Arklow (J Whooley, A Goodison) 20.17.

Single: Loughros Point, Donegal (P Boomer).

Women

Quadruple: Killorglin (E O’Donovan, A Tyther, K Boyle, R O’Donoghue; D Leahy) 22:48.

Double: Arklow (R Ireson, MA Kent).

Published in Coastal Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s Patrick Boomer and Andy Harrington finished fifth in the D Final of the men’s pair at the World Cup Regatta in Lucerne this morning. Poland led from start to finish, and while Ireland moved out of the sixth as the race went on they did not break into the leading group of Poland, Switzerland and Australia.

World Cup Regatta, Lucerne, Day Two (Irish interest; selected results)

Men

Pair – D Final (Places 19 to 24): 1 Poland 6:40.95; 5 Ireland (P Boomer, A Harrington) 6:53.83.

Published in Rowing
Tagged under

#Rowing: Sanita Puspure and Paul O’Donovan were impressive winners of the single sculls tests at the Ireland trial at the National Rowing Centre today. Shane O’Driscoll and Mark O’Donovan won their pairs race, but only by 2.8 seconds from the very tall crew of Andy Harrington and Patrick Boomer.

Denise Walsh won the lightweight single sculls from Margaret Cremen. Aoife Casey was absent because of exams. The top women’s pair were Aifric Keogh and Emily Hegarty, while Aaron Keogh of Three Castles beat Rory O’Neill of Castleconnell in the junior single sculls.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland had to settle for sixth place in the first heat of the men’s pair at the World Rowing Championships in Sarasota-Bradenton in Florida today. The new crew of Fionnán McQuillan-Tolan and Patrick Boomer were never realistic contenders for one of the first two places,  which would have sent them directly to the A/B semi-finals. They are now set for a repechage on Tuesday (5.24 or 5.29 Irish time).

 Ireland’s three lightweight crews won their heats: single sculler Denise Walsh secured her win with a sprint finish, while Paul O’Donovan and the pair of Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll won relatively easily.  

World Rowing Championships, Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida – Day One – Irish Interest:

Men

Pair – Heat One (First two to A/B Semi-Final; rest to Repechage): 1 Italy 6:27.88, 2 France 6:33.03; 6 Ireland (F McQuillan-Tolan, P Boomer) 6:50.82.

Lightweight Pair – Heat One (First to A Final; rest to Repechage): 1 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:33.20, 2 Britain (J Cassells, S Scrimgeour) 6:38.57, 3 Italy 6:40.39.

Lightweight Single Sculls – Heat Three (First Four to Quarter-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 Ireland (P O’Donovan) 6:54.68, 2 Brazil 7:05.75, 3 Italy 7:09.88, 4 Thailand 7:17.50.

Women

Lightweight Single Sculls – Heat Three (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 Ireland (D Walsh) 7:43.87, 2 South Africa 7:44.38, 3 Italy 8:03.34.  

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s under-23 lightweight quadruple joined the under-23 lightweight pair at the A Final stage of the Under-23 World Championships in Rotterdam. The crew of Fintan McCarthy, Shane O’Connell, Stephen O’Connor and stroke Colm Hennessy finished second to Britain in a fine semi-final. Ireland and Sweden held the qualifying places behind Britain for a good part of the course, but New Zealand mounted an attack in the final third. Ireland upped their rate and held out for second, with Sweden also moving into the A Final.  

 The under-23 heavyweight quadruple finished fifth in their semi-final. The race was won by Australia, with New Zealand and Britain booking their A Final places by taking second and third. Ireland fought with Ukraine to avoid last and held out at the end to win this battle.

World Rowing Championships, Rotterdam (Irish interest; selected results)

Men

Under-23 Lightweight Pair - Semi-Finals (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final) - Semi-Final One: 1 Greece 6:39.18, 2 Switzerland 6:40.01, 3 China 6:44.52. Semi-Final Two: 1 Ireland (S Mulvaney, D O’Malley) 6:46.20, 2 Turkey 6:49.11, 3 United States 6:50.75.

Under-23 Quadruple - Semi-Finals (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final) - Semi-Final One: 1 Poland 5:51.05, 2 Italy 5:52.38, 3 Germany 5:52.53. Semi-Final Two: 1 Australia 5:54.34, 2 New Zealand 5:56.53, 3  Britain 5:56.93; 5 Ireland (D Buckley, J Casey, P Boomer, S McKeown) 6:12.94.

Under-23 Lightweight Quadruple - Semi-Finals (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final) - Semi-Final One: 1 Italy 6:07.44, 2 Canada 6:09.42, 3 Germany 6:10.05. Semi-Final Two: 1 Britain 6:06.01, 2 Ireland (F McCarthy, S O'Connell, S O'Connor, C Hennessy) 6:07.18, 3 Sweden 6:07.28.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s under-23 heavyweight quadruple qualified for the semi-finals at the World Rowing Championships in Rotterdam today. The crew of Daniel Buckley, Jack Casey, Patrick Boomer and Sam McKeown took the third qualification place behind Britain and Russia in their repechage. They join the Ireland under-23 lightweight pair and lightweight quadruple, which qualified from their heats.

World Rowing Championships, Rotterdam (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Men

Under-23 Quadruple - Repechage One (Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to C Final): 1 Britain 5:54.05, 2 Russia 5:56.18, 3 Ireland (D Buckley, J Casey, P Boomer, S McKeown) 5:57.67.

Published in Rowing

Ireland's offshore islands

Around 30 of Ireland's offshore islands are inhabited and hold a wealth of cultural heritage.

A central Government objective is to ensure that sustainable vibrant communities continue to live on the islands.

Irish offshore islands FAQs

Technically, it is Ireland itself, as the third largest island in Europe.

Ireland is surrounded by approximately 80 islands of significant size, of which only about 20 are inhabited.

Achill island is the largest of the Irish isles with a coastline of almost 80 miles and has a population of 2,569.

The smallest inhabited offshore island is Inishfree, off Donegal.

The total voting population in the Republic's inhabited islands is just over 2,600 people, according to the Department of Housing.

Starting with west Cork, and giving voting register numbers as of 2020, here you go - Bere island (177), Cape Clear island (131),Dursey island (6), Hare island (29), Whiddy island (26), Long island, Schull (16), Sherkin island (95). The Galway islands are Inis Mór (675), Inis Meáin (148), Inis Oírr (210), Inishbofin (183). The Donegal islands are Arranmore (513), Gola (30), Inishboffin (63), Inishfree (4), Tory (140). The Mayo islands, apart from Achill which is connected by a bridge, are Clare island (116), Inishbiggle (25) and Inishturk (52).

No, the Gaeltacht islands are the Donegal islands, three of the four Galway islands (Inishbofin, like Clifden, is English-speaking primarily), and Cape Clear or Oileán Chléire in west Cork.

Lack of a pier was one of the main factors in the evacuation of a number of islands, the best known being the Blasket islands off Kerry, which were evacuated in November 1953. There are now three cottages available to rent on the Great Blasket island.

In the early 20th century, scholars visited the Great Blasket to learn Irish and to collect folklore and they encouraged the islanders to record their life stories in their native tongue. The three best known island books are An tOileánach (The Islandman) by Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Peig by Peig Sayers, and Fiche Blian ag Fás (Twenty Years A-Growing) by Muiris Ó Súilleabháin. Former taoiseach Charles J Haughey also kept a residence on his island, Inishvickillaune, which is one of the smaller and less accessible Blasket islands.

Charles J Haughey, as above, or late Beatle musician, John Lennon. Lennon bought Dorinish island in Clew Bay, south Mayo, in 1967 for a reported £1,700 sterling. Vendor was Westport Harbour Board which had used it for marine pilots. Lennon reportedly planned to spend his retirement there, and The Guardian newspaper quoted local estate agent Andrew Crowley as saying he was "besotted with the place by all accounts". He did lodge a planning application for a house, but never built on the 19 acres. He offered it to Sid Rawle, founder of the Digger Action Movement and known as the "King of the Hippies". Rawle and 30 others lived there until 1972 when their tents were burned by an oil lamp. Lennon and Yoko Ono visited it once more before his death in 1980. Ono sold the island for £30,000 in 1984, and it is widely reported that she donated the proceeds of the sale to an Irish orphanage

 

Yes, Rathlin island, off Co Antrim's Causeway Coast, is Ireland's most northerly inhabited island. As a special area of conservation, it is home to tens of thousands of sea birds, including puffins, kittiwakes, razorbills and guillemots. It is known for its Rathlin golden hare. It is almost famous for the fact that Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, retreated after being defeated by the English at Perth and hid in a sea cave where he was so inspired by a spider's tenacity that he returned to defeat his enemy.

No. The Aran islands have a regular ferry and plane service, with ferries from Ros-a-Mhíl, south Connemara all year round and from Doolin, Co Clare in the tourist season. The plane service flies from Indreabhán to all three islands. Inishbofin is connected by ferry from Cleggan, Co Galway, while Clare island and Inishturk are connected from Roonagh pier, outside Louisburgh. The Donegal islands of Arranmore and Tory island also have ferry services, as has Bere island, Cape Clear and Sherkin off Cork. How are the island transport services financed? The Government subsidises transport services to and from the islands. The Irish Coast Guard carries out medical evacuations, as to the RNLI lifeboats. Former Fianna Fáíl minister Éamon Ó Cuív is widely credited with improving transport services to and from offshore islands, earning his department the nickname "Craggy island".

Craggy Island is an bleak, isolated community located of the west coast, inhabited by Irish, a Chinese community and one Maori. Three priests and housekeeper Mrs Doyle live in a parochial house There is a pub, a very small golf course, a McDonald's fast food restaurant and a Chinatown... Actually, that is all fiction. Craggy island is a figment of the imagination of the Father Ted series writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, for the highly successful Channel 4 television series, and the Georgian style parochial house on the "island" is actually Glenquin House in Co Clare.

Yes, that is of the Plassey, a freighter which was washed up on Inis Oírr in bad weather in 1960.

There are some small privately owned islands,and islands like Inishlyre in Co Mayo with only a small number of residents providing their own transport. Several Connemara islands such as Turbot and Inishturk South have a growing summer population, with some residents extending their stay during Covid-19. Turbot island off Eyrephort is one such example – the island, which was first spotted by Alcock and Brown as they approached Ireland during their epic transatlantic flight in 1919, was evacuated in 1978, four years after three of its fishermen drowned on the way home from watching an All Ireland final in Clifden. However, it is slowly being repopulated

Responsibility for the islands was taking over by the Department of Rural and Community Development . It was previously with the Gaeltacht section in the Department of Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht.

It is a periodic bone of contention, as Ireland does not have the same approach to its islands as Norway, which believes in right of access. However, many improvements were made during Fianna Fáíl Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív's time as minister. The Irish Island Federation, Comdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, represents island issues at national and international level.

The 12 offshore islands with registered voters have long argued that having to cast their vote early puts them at a disadvantage – especially as improved transport links mean that ballot boxes can be transported to the mainland in most weather conditions, bar the winter months. Legislation allowing them to vote on the same day as the rest of the State wasn't passed in time for the February 2020 general election.

Yes, but check tide tables ! Omey island off north Connemara is accessible at low tide and also runs a summer race meeting on the strand. In Sligo, 14 pillars mark the way to Coney island – one of several islands bearing this name off the Irish coast.

Cape Clear or Oileán Chléire is the country's most southerly inhabited island, eight miles off the west Cork coast, and within sight of the Fastnet Rock lighthouse, also known as the "teardrop of Ireland".
Skellig Michael off the Kerry coast, which has a monastic site dating from the 6th century. It is accessible by boat – prebooking essential – from Portmagee, Co Kerry. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions, it was not open to visitors in 2020.
All islands have bird life, but puffins and gannets and kittiwakes are synonymous with Skellig Michael and Little Skellig. Rathlin island off Antrim and Cape Clear off west Cork have bird observatories. The Saltee islands off the Wexford coast are privately owned by the O'Neill family, but day visitors are permitted access to the Great Saltee during certain hours. The Saltees have gannets, gulls, puffins and Manx shearwaters.
Vikings used Dublin as a European slaving capital, and one of their bases was on Dalkey island, which can be viewed from Killiney's Vico road. Boat trips available from Coliemore harbour in Dalkey. Birdwatch Ireland has set up nestboxes here for roseate terns. Keep an eye out also for feral goats.
Plenty! There are regular boat trips in summer to Inchagoill island on Lough Corrib, while the best known Irish inshore island might be the lake isle of Innisfree on Sligo's Lough Gill, immortalised by WB Yeats in his poem of the same name. Roscommon's Lough Key has several islands, the most prominent being the privately-owned Castle Island. Trinity island is more accessible to the public - it was once occupied by Cistercian monks from Boyle Abbey.

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