Entries for the men’s senior events were scarce, culminating in the sculls being an NUIG one-two in which Dave Mannion dispatched clubmate Liam Molloy by four lengths.
In the junior section there has been much talk about the resurgence of Portora, who now have the services of a fulltime coach, Derek Holland. Derek’s name is well known in Irish international circles and he has been instrumental in returning the school, which has a famous history, to some of its former strength.
In particular, the men’s junior eight were being spoken of as possible champions later this season. However, arch rivals St Joseph’s of Galway went some way towards recalibrating those expectations, overcoming the Enniskillen boys by a length and a half.
The schools’ under-16 and under-15 eights served up two cracking races. St Joseph’s won the under-16 final by a foot, while Portora took the under-15 by six feet.
In the women’s section, the NUI Galway crews must feel that there is a Dublin conspiracy against them. They lost to Commercial in the senior eight and Neptune in the novice eight.
Portora juniors took the eights with a win over Commercial, while Tribesmen made a statement in the fours that they will be in contention for three in-a-row in that boat.
Full results here
