Displaying items by tag: Ireland
Kenny and Women's Four Join Lambe in A Finals at World University Rowing
# ROWING: Ireland will have three A Finalists at the World University Rowing Championships in Kazan in Russia. Niall Kenny joined Claire Lambe in the last six of the lightweight single sculls by finishing second in his semi-final this morning, and the all-Queen’s University women’s four took third in their repechage to secure their place at the top table.
The men’s four finished third in their repechage, missing out on a place in the A Final. Italy and Russia secured the top two spots.
World University Rowing Championships, Kazan, Russia – Day Two (Irish interest)
Men
Four – Repechage (First Two to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Italy 6:45.36, 2 Russia 6:47.49; 3 Ireland (S O’Driscoll, S O’Connor, E Mullarkey, T Lynam) 6:55.40, 4 Czech Republic 7:03.36, 5 Ukraine 7:15.06.
Lightweight Single Sculls – Semi-Final Two (Three to A Final): 2 Ireland (N Kenny).
Women
Four – Repechage (First Four to A Final): 1 Poland 7:28.96, 2 Ukraine 7:32.44, 3 Ireland (A Greene, E Kerrigan, H Lavery, C McIlwaine) 7:39.82, 4 New Zealand 7:40.17; 5 Norway 7:43.28.
#CANOEING: Ireland’s Eoin Rheinisch and Ciaran Heurteau will be in the hunt for an Olympic place in tomorrow’s semi-finals of the K1 canoe slalom at the European Championships in Augsburg in Germany. Rheinisch finished 17th and Heurteau 23rd in the heats on Thursday. The top two boats from countries which have not already qualified will book their places for London. Croatia (8th) and Slovakia (12th) had boats ahead of Ireland in the heats. The heat times will not count in tomorrow’s semis.
Rheinisch and Heurteau combined with Patrick Hynes to place Ireland 10th in the semi-final of the team event.
Ireland’s three women competitors go into action today.
European Canoe Slalom Championships, Augsburg, Germany
Day One (Selected Results)
Men, K1 Heats (1st and 2nd runs): 1 Germany (P Boecklemann) 88.10 (first run); 8 Croatia (D Mulic) 91.4 (second run); 12 Slovakia (M Halcin) 92.09 (second run); 17 Ireland (E Rheinisch) 92.93 (second run); 23 Ireland (C Heurteau) 93.78 (first run); 60 Ireland (P Hynes) 106.99 (first run).
K1 Team – Semi-Final: 1 France 100.19; 10 Ireland (E Rheinisch, C Heurteau, P Hynes) 108.2.
Marine Notice: East-West Interconnector Works in Irish Sea
#MARINE WARNING - The latest Marine Notice from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) advises on preliminary work on the East-West interconnector power cable in the Irish Sea between Ireland and Wales over the next few weeks.
Briggs Marine commenced pre-lay grapnel runs along the line of the cable route on Sunday 1 April, and this work will be carried out over three weeks from the vessel Kingdom of Fife (call sign 2BKR2).
This work will continue on a 24-hour basis, and the vessel will display appropriate day shapes and lights as required, with a continuous watch on VHF Channel 16 and DSC.
Complete details including co-ordinates of the work area are included in Marine Notice No 14 of 2012, a PDF of which is available to read and download HERE.
Ireland Could Join Effort to Battle Somali Pirates
#NAVAL SERVICE - Ireland could soon join the fight against Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, the Irish Independent reports.
Minister of State Fergus O'Dowd confirmed that the Department of Defence was considering sending a personnel detachment to assist the EU's naval mission in the area west of Africa.
The region has been blighted by pirate attacks on merchant vessels and pleasure cruisers for a number of years.
Most recently, as reported on Afloat.ie, the situation prompted an interruption to the Volvo Ocean Race - with the six yachts shipped on a secret route to the United Arab Emirates under armed guard.
Ireland's potential contribution to the EU's Operation Atalanta is known as an autonomous vessel protection detachment (AVPD), and would be used to protect the likes of food aid ships from the World Food Programme that sail without a naval escort.
The Irish Independent has more on the story HERE.
World Record Attempt by Irish-Raised Diver
#DIVING - Deep sea diver Sean McGahern is currently attempting the world record for cold water open sea diving in Malta.
The Times of Malta reports that McGahern - who was born in England but raised in Ireland before moving to Malta 17 years ago - entered the water at the Starfish Diving School before midnight last night, hoping to break the standing record of 11 hours and 46 minutes.
His previous attempt at the record was ended little more than an hour short of the record due to bad weather, but today's clear forecast has buoyed his confidence.
McGahern plans to pass the time by cleaning the seabed, assisted by a team of 16 safety divers, but he also intended to catch some sleep below the depths.
“I’ve slept underwater before," he said. "it’s not as difficult as you might think.”
McGahern, who previously held the warm water open sea dive record, is undertaking the challenge for Dar tal-Providenza, a home for the disabled on the Mediterranean island.
Irish 'Happy to Be a Part' of First SUP and Paddleboard Worlds
#SURFING - Team Australia proved that when it comes to watersports, they're a step above most of the competition at the inaugural ISA World Stand-Up Paddle (SUP) and Paddleboard Championships in Lima, Peru recently.
The paddleboarding duo of Brad Gaul and Jordan Mercer each won three gold medals, along with the team gold medal and the perpetual Club Waikiki Trophy, which will be awarded to the overall team champion every year.
But for every powerhouse team like Australia, the USA and South Africa, there were teams like Ireland who arrived at the world championships to represent themselves well, but also to be able to say they were there for the beginning of something big.
"The event was just amazing, such a positive vibe amongst all the competitors, everybody that we met from local organizers to everyone at our hotel or the drivers," said Finn Mullen, who competed along with teammates Dave Owens, Paul Byrne, Ed O'Farrell, Keith Gorman and Jane Downes.
"They were all so stoked to have the contest and see us all here," Mullen added "and there was like this amazingly friendly vibe in the water, because really they were being super gracious to us, giving us the break for the entire week, and they couldn't be more accommodating and I couldn't me more happy that I was able to be a part of it."
Video: West Coast is Winter Hotspot for Surf Pros
#SURFING - Conor Conlon of CMP has produced this wonderful video of top professional surfers taking on the Atlantic swells of the west coast this winter.
Setting up his gear on the shore during a window of clean swell, Conlon captured the likes of Aaron Dees, Conor Maguire, Easkey Britton and newly signed Ripcurl rider Noah Cohen catching the waves (more photos and video HERE).
'Podium Athletes' Face Funding Cuts in 2013
#OLYMPICS - Yesterday Ireland's Olympic hopefuls celebrated recognition of their success in the 2012 round of funding.
But cuts to the budget of the Irish Sports Council (ISC) have prompted a "major" review of high performance programmes from 2013 onwards, the Irish Independent reports.
Finbarr Kirwan, director of high performance at the ISC, said: "Changes are coming, things are tight and we will have to make strategic cuts in the next two years."
The result could be fewer grant awards of lesser value for athletes, as Olympic qualification standards are set to get tougher from here on out.
The two tiers below 'podium class' - in which individuals receive awards of €20,000 and €12,000 respectively - are expected to be hardest hit in the review.
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, canoeing's Eoin Rheinisch, swimmer Grainne Murphy and sailors Annalise Murphy, Peter O'Leary and David Burrows each received the top level of funding of €40,000 each, which is on a par with last year's support.
The Irish Independent has more on the story HERE.
Top German Surfer Tries Ireland's Waves for Size
#SURFING - One of Germany's top surfers was in Ireland last week to sample some of Ireland's biggest waves, InsideIreland.ie reports.
Sebastian Steudtner was in Sligo to films a series of online views for Tourism Ireland in Frankfurt to pique the interest of German surfers and holidaymakers.
As well as mountain biking at Knocknarea and Union Woods, Steudtner took on the monster swells at Mullaghmore Head - made popular among the world's big wave surfers by the Tow-In Surf Session that's now in its second year.
The 'teaser' videos for a larger TV and online project will be premiered next week at the Berlin International Film Festival before hitting the web later in spring.
Kristina Gauges of Tourism Ireland said: "This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the world-class surfing and adventure product available in this part of Ireland to a niche audience in Germany."
InsideIreland.com has more on the story HERE.
Surfing Novices Welcome in the Sunny Algarve
#SURFING - Rachel Collins writes in The Irish Times recently of her experiences learning to surf in Portugal's sunny Algarve.
"Thousands of hardy souls follow the waves around the Irish coastline," she writes, "but for rookies sacrificing themselves to the sea, the warmth of the Algarve makes it the perfect place to learn."
The "friendly, welcoming atmosphere" at Lagos, near Faro - with direct daily flights from Dublin - will surely put any surfing beginner at ease, as well as making for "a welcome break from the cold Irish winter".
And with plenty of other activities on offer, from the nightlife, shopping, fine dining and relaxing sandy beaches to kitesurfing, wakeboarding, mountain biking and rock climbing, there's something for all interests.
The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.