#Rowing: Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy hit the right mark in their first competitive race as the new Ireland lightweight double. At the World Cup Regatta in Rotterdam, they finished .39 seconds ahead of Australia in their time trial and qualified directly for the semi-finals.

The heats were run on a time trial basis as the regatta was buffeted by a storm and racing had to be delayed and the programme altered.

All six Ireland crews made it straight through in the changed system. The Ireland men's double of Philip Doyle and Ronan Byrne posted the best time in their heat, just ahead of Switzerland, who also qualified.

Aileen Crowley and Monika Dukarska also made it straight through. The Ireland pair finished second in their time trial to the outstanding New Zealand crew of Kerri Gowler and Grace Prendergast.

Jake McCarthy and Gary O'Donovan both qualified from their heats of the lightweight single sculls. McCarthy took second and O'Donovan third.

The one Irish crew which fell outside automatic qualification was the lightweight women's double of Lydia Heaphy and Denise Walsh. They finished fourth, but made it through as one of the fastest losers.

#Rowing: Skibbereen had a one-two-three in the men's single sculls at their own regatta at the National Rowing Centre today. Gary O'Donovan, who was returning to racing after a hand injury, won his heat, but finished second to Fintan McCarthy in the final, with Aodhan Burns third. Paul O'Donovan was absent because of exam pressures.

UCC's Margaret Cremen won the women's single, while Holly Davis of Lee Valley, a junior 14 competitor, finished an excellent third. Sanita Puspure, whose boat had not made it back from the training camp in Italy, missed the event.

A tricky wind made conditions difficult, although this improved as the day went on.

The pairs titles were claimed by proven internationals: Mark O'Donovan and Shane O'Driscoll and Aifric Keogh and Monika Dukarska.

Brian Colsh of Sligo and Shauna Murtagh of Carrick-on-Shannon came out on top in the junior 18 single sculls at Portadown. The junior 16 eights titles, boys' and girls', went to Enniskillen RGS.

#Rowing: The double of Philip Doyle and Ronan Byrne performed brilliantly for Ireland last year, culminating with a ninth-place finish at he World Championships. They took up where they left off at the the Ireland Trial at the National Rowing Centre today. The heavyweight crew beat the lightweight double of Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy in a fine race in the first session. McCarthy and O’Donovan had never raced together before, but still finished well and were just over four seconds behind Doyle and Byrne in dead calm conditions.

Some of the contests in this first of two sessions were handicapped to produce good racing and it worked. Sanita Puspure did not win her race but had a very good time, while the pair of Aifric Keogh and Monika Dukarska won in another impressive time.

The new junior coxed four of John Kearney, Jack Dorney, James O’Donovan and Matthew Gallagher, with cox Leah O’Regan were just pipped in their race – but again excelled in terms of time for this boat.

One of the more interesting crews to be trialled was the senior four of Eimear Lambe, Aileen Crowley, Emily Hegarty and Claire Feerick. Another four was to be trialled in the second session. This opens up a possibility of a single, a pair and a four going forward on the women’s heavyweight side.

The combination of Rory O’Neill of Castleconnell and Finn O’Reilly of Skibbereen were the top men’s junior double.

#Rowing: The top international seniors and a number of ambitious junior crews figured high in the rankings at the Ireland Trial at the National Rowing Centre today.

The battle of the men’s heavyweight pairs saw Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll come out on top over Patrick Boomer and Fionnan Crowley. The women’s pair of Aifric Keogh and Monika Dukarska were very impressive in their win, while Paul O’Donovan – after a fine race with Ronan Byrne – won the men’s single sculls and Sanita Puspure the women’s.

Two junior crews with their eyes on the World Junior Championships excelled in their wins. The coxed four of John Kearney, Jack Dorney, James O’Donovan and Matthew Gallagher, with cox Leah O’Regan, beat an under-23 crew coxed four, while Molly Curry (Coleraine GS) and Rhiannon O’Donoghue (Killorglin) also beat the under-23 coxed four in their race.

#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.  

#Rowing: Paul O’Donovan finished fifth overall in the single sculls at the Armada Cup, and Sanita Puspure third in the Gold Cup in Philadelphia, a race that was part of the Head of the Schuylkill event.

 At the Ireland trial at the National Rowing Centre, Shane O’Driscoll and Mark O’Donovan won the men’s pair on Sunday, with David O’Malley and Shane Mulvaney second. O'Driscoll and O'Donovan did not compete on the Saturday.

 Jack Dorney of Shandon won both the junior single sculls and the junior double, with Castleconnell’s Rory O’Neill. Molly Curry had equivalent wins: she teamed up with Lauren O’Brien – also of Castleconnell – on the Sunday.

 UCD’s men’s senior eight were fastest at the Castleconnell Head of the River, and Enniskillen junior crews also shone.

Ireland Trial, National Rowing Centre (Provisional Results; winners) Saturday

Men

Pair - Senior: UCD (S Mulvaney, D O’Malley). Under-23: UCD (S O’Connell, A Goff).

Single - Senior: Shandon (A Harrington). Under-23: UCC (R Byrne)

Women

Pair: UCC, Skibbereen (A Keogh, E Hegarty). Under-23: Neptune, UCD (C Feerick, E Lambe). Jun: Cork Boat Club (C O’Sullivan, J Duggan).

Single – Sen: Killorglin (M Dukarska). Lightweight: Skibbereen (D Walsh). Under-23 Lightweight: Skibbereen (L Heaphy). Junior: Coleraine GS (M Curry).

Sunday

Men

Four – Under-23: O’Connell, Goff, Keating, Whittle. Jun 18: Gallagher, Daly, Butler, Murphy

Pair: M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll

Double – Sen: Haugh, Crowley. Lightweight: J McCarthy, F McCarthy. Lwt U-23: Sutton, Gaffney Jun 18: Dorney, O’Neill.

Single – Sen: Byrne. U-23: Bann (Christie). Lightweight: Sutton.

Women

Four – Under-23: Hanlon, Casey, Lambe, Feerick. Jun 18: O’Sullivan, Duggan, Tyther, O’Donoghue.

Pair – Hegarty, Keogh. Jun 18: McGrath, Gannon

Double – Sen: Dukarska, Crowley. Lightweight: Walsh, Casey. Jun 18: Curry, L O’Brien.

Single – Lightweight: Legresley. U-23: Heaphy. Jun 18: Gilmore.    

#Rowing: Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll finished fourth in the semi-final of the men’s pair at the World Cup in Lucerne today. The Skibbereen men missed out on an A Final place, but not by much. Serbia won the race well, and three other boats – Spain, Britain One and Ireland – disputed the next two qualifying spots. They finished in that order, with Ireland just over three seconds behind Britain One.

Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley finished fourth in the semi-final of the women’s double and are also set for a B Final. The pair of Tara Hanlon and Aifric Keogh needed to take a top-two place in their repechage to make the A Final. They took fourth and will compete in the B Final.

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

Men

Pair – A/B Semi-Final One (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Serbia 6:33.87, 2 Spain 6:36.65, 3 Britain One 6:38.90; 4 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:42.02.

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

Single Sculls – C Final (Places 13 to 18): 1 Australia 6:58.52, 2 Argentina 6:59.65, 3 Ireland (P Doyle) 7:00.39.

Women

Pair - Repechage (First Two to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Australia 7:18.62, 2 China One 7:19.86; 4 Ireland (A Keogh, T Hanlon) 7:29.63.

Double – Semi-Final (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 New Zealand 6:53.91, 2 Canada 6:57.71, 3 Netherlands 6:58.57; 4 Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:06.42.

#Rowing: Shane O’Driscoll and Mark O’Donovan took a fine second place behind France One in the quarter-final of the men’s pairs at the World Cup Regatta in Lucerne today and secured their place in the A/B Semi-Finals. The Skibbereen men moved from fourth to second as the race progressed, ensuring that they would stay in the hunt for the top spots in this heavyweight event. The second Ireland pair of Patrick Boomer and Andy Harrington finished sixth in the same quarter-final.

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

Men

Pair – Heat Two (First Four to Quarter-Final; rest to Quarter-Final or E Final): 1 Spain 6:40.29; 3 Ireland Two (P Boomer, P Harrington) 6:45.74

Heat Six (First Three to Quarter-Final; rest to Quarter-Final or E Final): 1 Croatia 6:37.66, 2 Ireland One (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:40.95. Quarter-Final Two (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; Fourth to C Final; rest to Final C or D): France One 6:38.22, 2 Ireland One (O’Donovan, O’Driscoll) 6:40.12; 6 Ireland (Boomer, Harrington) 6:54.89

Lightweight Double Sculls – Heat One (First two to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage): 1 Ireland (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan) 6:17.43, 2 Austria 6:17.79; 3 Poland 6:17.91.

Single Sculls – Heat One (First Four to Quarter-Final; rest to Quarter-Final or E Final): 1 New Zealand (M Drysdale) 6:52.98; 3 Ireland (P Doyle) 6:55.18.

Women

Pair – Heat Two (First to A Final; rest to Repechage): 1 Canada 7:13.98; 6 Ireland (A Keogh, T Hanlon) 7:32.49.

Double Sculls – Heat Two (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechages): 1 United States 6:58.58, 2 Ireland (A Crowley, M Dukarska) 7:03.05.

Single Sculls – Heat One (First to A/B Semi-Final; rest to Repechages): 1 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:26.51; 2 United States 7:40.98.

#Rowing: Paul O’Donovan and Gary O’Donovan were tested in the men’s double sculls by Jake and Fintan McCarthy at Cork Regatta today. The two Skibbereen crews fought it out down the course with the twins not letting the O’Donovan brothers build a clear-water lead. At the end the McCarthy’s pushed, and there was less than a length in it.

UCD’s four were impressive winners. The crew of Shane O’Connell, Andrew Goff, Shane Mulvaney and David O’Malley left Commercial behind.

The Skibbereen/Lee combination of Denise Walsh and Margaret Cremen were also in charge in the women’s double. Behind them the junior double from Workmen’s won a battle for second.

Cork Regatta, Day Two (Selected Results)

Men

Four – Div One: 1 UCD (S O’Connell, A Goff, S Mulvaney, D O’Malley; sen) 6:33.45, 2 Commercial (sen) 6:38.28, 3 Shandon (sen) 6:46.05. Four, coxed – Div Two: 1 UCC (club two) 7:00.73; 6 St Joseph’s 7:19.29. C Final: 3 St Michael’s (jun 16) 7:40.34.

Sculling, Double – Div One: 1 Skibbereen A (G O’Donovan, P O’Donovan; sen) 6:46.14, 2 Skibbereen B (sen) 6:47.68; 4 Queen’s (inter) 7:15.57. B Final: Castleconnell (jun 18A) 7:19.86. C Final: 5 Belfast RC (club one) 7:57.44.

Single – Div Two: 1 Kenmare (T Kelly; jun 16) 8:01.71, 2 New Ross (jun 18B) 8:03.67, 3 Workmen’s (club two) 8:04.995.  

Women

Sculling, Double – Div One: 1 Skibbereen, Lee (M Cremen, D Walsh; sen) 7:42.97, 2 Workmen’s (jun 18A) 7:56.34, 3 Fermoy (inter) 7:57.45. B Final: 4 Fermoy Castleconnell (club one) 8:17.57.

#Rowing: The team which will represent Ireland at the World Cup in Belgrade (June 1^st to 3^rd) has been chosen. The selection was made after trials at the National Rowing Centre in Cork last weekend.

 Belgrade is the first in a series of three World Cup regattas which culminate in the final World Cup in Lucerne from July 13^th to 15^th. This year, Rowing Ireland plans to send athletes to Belgrade and Lucerne.

 In addition to the senior team competing in Belgrade, a training squad of athletes to be based at the National Rowing Centre in Cork has been announced.

 Six rowers have also been selected to train for the Junior World Championships.

Ireland Team for World Cup Regatta, Belgrade, June 1^st to 3^rd:

Men

Pair: Mark O’Donovan, Shane O’Driscoll

Lightweight Double Sculls: Gary O’Donovan, Paul O’Donovan

Women

Pair: Emily Hegarty, Aifric Keogh

Double Sculls: Monika Dukarska, Aileen Crowley

Lightweight Double Sculls: Denise Walsh, Margaret Cremen

Single Scull – Sanita Puspure

Training Group to be based at National Rowing Centre:

Heavyweight Men: Andy Harrington, Patrick Boomer, Philip Doyle, Ronan Byrne.

Heavyweight Women: Tara Hanlon, Natalie Long.

Pre-Selected Rowers who will train for the Junior World Championships:

Men’s Quadruple: Jack Keating, Jack Dorney, Alex Byrne, Luke Nally-Hayes.

Women’s Double Scull: Ciara Moynihan and Ciara Browne.