#ROWING: NUI Galway Rowing Club and members of Rowing Ireland executive board met recently to celebrate the outstanding achievements of the club in the last academic year and to establish formally the partnership with Rowing Ireland and NUI Galway. Rowing Ireland is the governing body for rowing in Ireland and represents over 80 clubs across the four provinces.

NUI Galway have in the past decade captured Irish Championship titles in the men’s senior, intermediate and novice eights and in fours at senior, intermediate and novice level. International success has been achieved racing in World Cup Regattas. At the 2007 World Championships Alan Martin and Cormac Folan were part of the men’s four which qualified for the Beijing Olympics. Folan was part of the Ireland four which raced at the 2008 Olympics.

The partnership with Rowing Ireland firmly cements the commitment of NUI Galway to rowing. The university recognises the need for improved watersports facilities with the new strategic plan specifically identifying the development of water based sports facilities including a new building.

Hamish Adams, the chief executive of Rowing Ireland said that the partnership with NUI Galway, was the first initiative of its kind at third level. “Our unique partnership provides expertise at both ends of the sport. It acknowledges the diversity and needs of the sport from excellence to recreational participation.”

NUI Galway boasts two positions for the development of rowing providing support for its elite rowers: Rowing Development Coach for High Performance, Dave Mannion, and a Schools Liaison Development Officer for Participation, Jenny Cunningham.

Dr. Pat Morgan, Vice President of the Student Experience, said: “This connection anchors firmly the continuing commitment of the university to our high performance athletes. The “Get Going Get Rowing” nationwide participation initiative, which introduces rowing to second level schoolchildren, has provided a wider reach for the university and further opportunities for connections with schools in Connacht. Partnership with the national governing body ensures that we continue our support for our athletes and enable them through structured pathways the opportunity to thrive and compete.”

Dr Morgan acknowledged the tremendous support and mentoring that is given unconditionally to students as part of the alumni club, Gráinne Mhaol. The funding provided by the University Foundation Office and Student Project Fund enables the purchase of equipment for training and competition. She said that the voluntary commitment of university staff over many years and of Ruadhán Cooke, current chairperson of Rowing Ireland’s university sub-committee, provided a constant link for the young athletes and connectivity with the university.

#ROWING: Portora won the Stephen Doran prize for best club at Athlone Regatta on Saturday. The Enniskillen club won a remarkable 11 finals, including clean sweeps of the men’s and women’s junior 18, junior 16 and junior 15 eights – with Bann of Coleraine coming in second in the junior 18 races. Portora also won the junior men’s coxed four and junior women’s coxless four.

The men’s senior single sculls winner was Turlough Hughes of UCD, with Damien Kelly of Garda second. Conor Carmody of Shannon won the junior 18 single sculls.

Kenmare celebrated their recent affiliation to Rowing Ireland by recording their first win – in the men’s noviced coxed quadruple sculls.

#RowingCoach: Rowing Ireland has announced that Mary McLachlan has joined its coaching team. McLachlan has been working with British Rowing for the last nine years and joins Rowing Ireland in a voluntary capacity as a High Performance Coach.

Having coached successfully in Schools for a number of years, Mary joined the British Start programme, which aims to identify and develop future Olympians. During this time she also worked with the Lead Coach for juniors as an assistant at trials, training weekends and races. She was the Lead Coach for the GB Coupe de la Jeunesse team in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

In early 2009, she was appointed Performance Coach with British Rowing, working with the Paralympic LTA four. Thirteen athletes raced at World Championships level during the following five years and the crews won all five of the World Cups they attended, with the B crew also winning bronze in Munich 2011. They also won the World Championships in 2009, 2011 and 2013 with a silver in 2010, plus Paralympic Gold at the London Games in 2012.

Mary is married to Rowing Ireland Lead Coach Don McLachlan.

"I’m really excited about working for Rowing Ireland," Mary McLachlan said. "There are some very talented athletes and coaches in Ireland and I will be trying to support these people wherever possible."

#Rowing: John Armstrong, who has been coaching the Ireland pararowing team, has been chosen as the new Northern Ireland Talent Development coach. Armstrong’s decorated career as a rower included a bronze medal at the World Championships in 1997 and gold and silver in World Cup regattas in 1999, all in a lightweight quadruple scull. He won eight Irish Championships as a lightweight single sculler and four as a senior single sculler. His son, Jason Armstrong, was part of the Queen’s University novice coxed four which won a dramatic final at the Irish Championships last month.

The announcement of his appointment said: Rowing Ireland is delighted to announce the appointment of John Armstrong as Northern Ireland Talent Development Coach.  John will be responsible for the co-ordination and development of the Northern Ireland Rowing Talent Development programme. This will encompass the co-ordination and delivery of coaching to athletes identified as having the potential to achieve ‘podium’ success. He will have lead responsibility for all matters pertaining to the successful delivery of the Talent Development programme, which will necessitate effective partnership working with a variety of partners that will include: clubs, schools, individual athletes, coaches, service providers, parents and/or guardians.

John will take up the position on September 2nd 2013.  We wish him every succcess in his new role.

# ROWING RESCUE: The Fisa Rowing Tour on the Shannon has been suspended a day before the scheduled finish after a number of boats were swamped during a squall on Lough Derg. Fourteen boats, which take a crew of five, were on the water at the time. All the rowers were accounted for and though some rowers were treated for hypothermia, none needed to go to hospital.

The full number on the tour, which is popular with retired people, was 101, but 31 had either taken the day off or were cycling alongside the Shannon.  

The organisers were surprised to hear reports that 18 boats were “capsized” and that rowers did not have life jackets. “All rowers were wearing lifejackets or had access to them,” one of the main support personnel said. For a time one boat was thought to be missing, but the rowers were on land.

# ROWING METROREGATTA: NUIG/Grainne Mhaol won the big one, the Division One eights A Final, in bright warm sunshine at Metropolitan Regatta in Blessington today. The crew which blended much-medalled Grainne Mhaol oarsmen with outstanding under-23 athletes from NUIG had less than a length at the finish over UCD, but this was a convincing win. UCD also had to give way in the women’s eight, this time to a surprisingly dominant St Michael’s, which featured an even wider age range – from a junior athlete in Hannah McCarthy all the way to former World Champion Sinead Jennings, who is 36.

UCD provided the top men’s coxless four on the day, while NUIG’s Rob O’Callaghan and Richie Bennett were the best pair. Paul O’Donovan was the best single sculler, while Denise Walsh won the women’s Division One single – ahead of Sinead Jennings, who had earlier teamed up with Sheila Clavin the win the women’s double.