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#Rowing: A young Queen’s University lightweight quadruple were the fastest crew at the Shannon Head of the River at Carrick-on-Shannon on Saturday. The under-23 crew of Jordan Wilson, Miles Taylor, Ewan Murray and Harry Mahon took 11 minutes and 53 seconds to complete the course. Portora’s junior 16 eight also did well. Tiernan Oliver and Sam McKeown, in a senior double, almost matched their time. See Attached Results.

Head of the Shannon, Carrick-on-Shannon (Selected Results)

Head One:

Men

Eight – Jun 16: Portora 12 minutes 43 seconds.

Four – Jun 18, coxed: Portora 13:13.

Sculling, Quadruple – Jun 16, coxed: Carrick-on-Shannon 14:24. Double – Sen: Queen’s 12:46

Women

Eight – Club One: Commercial 14:29. Jun 18: Commercial 13:39

Sculling, Quadruple – Jun 18A: Portora 14:08.

Head Two:

Men

Eight – Novice: Commercial 14:55.

Sculling – Quadruple – Sen: Queen’s 11:53. Jun 18A, coxed: Portora 12:28

Single – Sen: Queen’s (T Oliver) 14:03. Jun 18A Carrick-on-Shannon (T Earley) 14:48.

Women

Eight – Inter: Commercial B 13:40. Jun 16: Portora 13:57.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: NUIG overtook Commercial and won the men's senior four at the Irish Rowing Championships in Cork today. The other senior title on offer in the second session of finals at the National Rowing Centre went to Mark O'Donovan in the single sculls. The 26-year-old Skibbereen man, rating much higher than his rivals, established an early lead and was not caught. It was his first senior singles sculls crown.

 Portora also took the lead early and won the junior 18 eights - but the Cork Boat Club challenge was severe. This fine race lasted right to the line and was decided by under half a second.

 Neptune added the women's novice coxed quadruple title to their men's title, won earlier in the day, while UCD won the women's intermediate eight. The Dublin college also took the men's club eight.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork, Day One (Selected Results)

Men

Eight - Club: UCD 5:56.392. Junior: 1 Portora 5:59.419, 2 Cork 5:59.84, 3 St Joseph's A 6:10.731.

Four - Senior: 1 NUIG 6:03.081, 2 Commercial 6:05.925, 3 Portora 6:09.284. Inter, coxed: 1 NUIG 6:26.811.

Sculling, Quadruple - Novice, coxed: Neptune 6:44.559.

Double - Senior: 1 Skibbereen 6:32.773, 2 UCD 6:34.914, 3 Castleconnell 6:39.727.

Single - Senior: 1 Skibbereen (M O'Donovan) 7:04.162, 2 UCD (T Hughes) 7:10.256, 3 Portadown (S McKeown) 7:12.256. Junior: 1 Clonmel (D Lynch) 7:04.040, 2 Shandon (R Byrne) 7:04.462, 3 Shandon (S O'Sullivan) 7:23.197.

Women

Eight - Intermediate: UCD 6:38.722. Four - Senior: 1 UCD 6:54.652, 2 Skibbereen/UCC 6:58.902, 3 Trinity 7:04.715. Club, coxed: Fermoy 7:16.116.

Four - Junior: 1 Skibbereen 7:05.645, 2 Shandon A 7:13.661, 3 Galway 7:19.145.

Pair - Intermediate: Cork 7:36.488

Sculling, Quadruple - Novice, coxed: Neptune A 7:55.460.

Double - Junior: 1 Skibbereen B 7:19.682, 2 Bann 7:91.995, 3 Neptune 7:33.305.

 

 Skibbereen brought their tally of title for the day to four with a win in the women's junior four.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Ireland team for the Home International Regatta in Cardiff Bay on July 23rd has been chosen. The men’s senior four is an all-Portora unit and these rowers go into a strong-looking senior eight, with UCC.

Ireland senior team for Home International Regatta, Cardiff Bay, July 23rd. Not necessarily in crew order.

Men

Eight: D Keohane, B Keohane, B Rix, R Ballantine, L Seaman, C McLaughlin, R Thompson, N Farrell; cox: G Connolly. Four: Rix, Ballantine, Seaman, McLaughlin. Four, coxed: B Keohane, D Keohane, Farrell, Thompson; cox: Connolly. Pair: L McCann, M Taylor. Lightweight Pair: C Higgins, S Kearney.

Sculling – Quadruple: T Dillon, A Prendergast, D Begley, D Kelly. Double: Prendergast, Begley. Lightweight Double: A O’Connor, H Sutton. Single: Kelly. Lightweight Single: Dillon.

Women

Eight: G Crowe, H O’Neill, A Keogh, C Joyce Hearne, D Maguire, K Shirlow, L McHugh, S Higgins; cox: G Canham. Four: Keogh, Joyce Hearne, A Feeley, R Maguire. Four, coxed: McHugh, Higgins, R Davidson, S Corr; cox: Canham. Pair: D Maguire, Shirlow. Lightweight Pair: Crowe, O’Neill.

Sculling

Quadruple: O Blundell, M Piggott, S Bouanane, A Byrne. Double: Blundell, Bouanane, Lightweight Double: C Nolan, Byrne. Single: Piggott. Lightweight Single: L Heaphy.

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Paul O'Donovan was far and away the fastest single sculler at Cork Regatta at the National Rowing Centre today. The 22-year-old UCD man had a clearwater lead by halfway and beat his younger brother, Gary into second by over eight seconds. The O'Donovans form the Ireland Olympic lightweight double. Paul will go on to represent his country as a lightweight single sculler at the World Championships.

 Denise Walsh was a convincing winner of the women's senior single, well ahead of Siobhan McCrohan, while the very promising Cork Boat Club junior crew of Amy Mason and Tara O'Hanlon won the Division One women's pair. Shane O'Driscoll and Mark O'Donovan took the men's senior pair, ahead of the Portora intermediate crew of Ryan Ballantyne and Barney Rix.

 The New Ross junior 16 crew had a stirring victory in the women's division two coxed quad, while UCD's club two crew won the men's division two eight.

Cork Regatta (Coillte Grand League), National Rowing Centre, Day One

Men

Eight - Div Two - A Final: 1 UCD (Club 2) 6:10.51; 3 Neptune (jun 18B) 6:26.949; 5 UCD (nov) 6:35.449; 6 Shandon (jun 16) 6:36.01.

Pair - Div One - A Final: 1 Skibbereen (M O'Donovan, S O'Driscoll; sen) 6:47.31, 2 Portora (inter) 7:00.21, 3 Portora (sen) 7:03.97. B Final: UCC 7:09.969; 4 Methodists (jun 18A) 7:27.72. C Final: 1 Commercial B (sen) 7:19.64; 5 Cork (Club 1) 7:39.03.

Sculling, Single - Div One - A Final: 1 UCD (P O'Donovan; sen) 6:55.78, 2 Skibbereen (G O'Donovan; sen) 7:03.98, 3 Portadown (S McKeown; sen) 7:20.81; 4 Shandon (R Byrne; jun 18) 7:21.20; 5 St Michael's (D O'Connor; inter) 7:21.58. B Final: Clonmel (D Lynch; jun 18) 7:20.48; 6 NUIG (T Dillon; lwt) 7:39.37. C Final: Shandon (D Begley; inter) 7:29.43; 2 Carlow (L Keating; Club One) 7:30.86.

Women

Pair - Division One - A Final: 1 Cork A (jun) 7:49.19, 2 UCC (sen) 7:53.55, 3 Bann (inter) 7:59.863. B Final: Queen's/UCC (sen) 8:01.37. C Final: St Michael's (inter) 8:21.57.

Sculling, Quadruple - Div Two, coxed - A Final: 1 New Ross (jun 16) 7:40.26, 2 Cork B (Club 2) 7:41.14; 5 Carlow (jun 18B) 7:48.997. B Final: Waterford (jun 18B) 7:54.796. C Final: Commercial (club 2) 8:18.91; 3 Castleconnell (nov) 8:24.174.

Single - Div One - A Final: 1 Skibbereen (D Walsh; sen) 7:51.57, 2 Tribesmen (S McCrohan; sen) 8:04.30, 3 Skibbereen (O Hayes; sen) 8:09.94; 4 Belfast BC (O Blundell; inter) 8:21.16. B Final: Belfast BC (C Deyermond; club 1) 8:25.96; 2 Neptune (C Feerick; jun 18A) 8:28.71. C Final: Carlow (A Byrne; lwt) 9:05.89.

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Portora took the men’s senior four and men’s senior pair at the Queen’s Regatta on Saturday at Castlewellan. Damien Kelly of Garda and Micheál Bailey of Neptune finished first and second in the men’s senior single. Commercial took the men’s club one eight and coxed fours. The host club took the women’s club one eight.

 

Event NameCrew nameRace PositionResult Points
Mens Senior 4-Portora1st 50
Mens Senior 4-QUBBC2nd -10
Mens Senior 2-Portora1st 50
Mens Senior 2-QUBBC A2nd -10
Mens Senior 2-QUBBC BDid not start 0
Mens Senior 2XSligo1st 50
Mens Senior 2XPortora2nd -10
Mens Senior 2XGardaDid not start 0
Mens Senior 1XGarda, Kelly, D1st 50
Mens Senior 1XNeptune, Bailey, M2nd -10
Mens Senior 1XQUBBC, Stitt, J3rd -10
Mens Senior 1XGarda, Allen, RDid not start 0
Mens Intermediate 2-Commercial1st 50
Mens Intermediate 2-Belfast RC A2nd -10
Mens Intermediate 2-Belfast RC B3rd -10
Mens Intermediate 2-CGS4th -10
Mens Intermediate 1XBelfast BC, Mitchell, D1st 50
Mens Intermediate 1XQUBBC, Martin, P2nd -10
Mens Intermediate 1XC of Derry, D'Urso, G3rd -10
Mens Intermediate 1XQUBBC, Stitt, J4th -10
Mens Intermediate 1XGarda, Allen, RDid not start 0
Mens Intermediate 1XGarda, Maceoin, DDid not start 0
Mens Intermediate 1XPortadown, Laivins, ADid not start 0
Mens Intermediate 1XQUBBC, Taylor, RDid not start 0
Mens Club 1 8+Commercial1st 50
Mens Club 1 8+QUBBC2nd -10
Mens Club 1 4+Commercial1st 50
Mens Club 1 4+Belfast RC2nd -10
Mens Club 1 4+QUBBC A3rd -10
Mens Club 1 4+CGS4th -10
Mens Club 1 4+QUBBC B5th -10
Mens Club 1 4+Methodist6th -10
Mens Club 1 4X-QUBBC B1st 50
Mens Club 1 4X-Sligo2nd -10
Mens Club 1 4X-QUBBC ADid not start 0
Mens Club 1 2XSligo1st 50
Mens Club 1 2XGarda B2nd -10
Mens Club 1 2XQUBBC A3rd -10
Mens Club 1 2XQUBBC C4th -10
Mens Club 1 2XQUBBC B5th -10
Mens Club 1 2XBlackrock6th -10
Mens Club 1 2XCommercialCompeted -10
Mens Club 1 2XQUBBC DCompeted -10
Mens Club 1 2XRBAICompeted -10
Mens Club 1 2XGarda ADid not start 0
Mens Club 1 1XBelfast BC, Mitchell, D1st 50
Mens Club 1 1XGarda, Maceoin, D2nd -10
Mens Club 1 1XQUBBC, McNamee, M3rd -10
Mens Club 1 1XCommercial, Connolly, S4th -10
Mens Club 1 1XC of Derry, D'Urso, G5th -10
Mens Club 1 1XBlackrock, Riordan, P6th -10
Mens Club 1 1XBlackrock, Drennan, DCompeted -10
Mens Club 1 1XCommercial, Fowler, PCompeted -10
Mens Club 1 1XQUBBC, Foster, CCompeted -10
Mens Club 1 1XQUBBC, Holden, PCompeted -10
Mens Club 1 1XQUBBC, Stitt, JCompeted -10
Mens Club 1 1XPortadown, Laivins, ADid not start 0
Mens Club 1 1XSligo, Patterson, GDid not start 0
Mens Club 2 8+QUBBC1st 50
Mens Club 2 8+RBAI2nd -10
Mens Club 2 8+Methodist3rd -10
Mens Novice 4X+Sligo1st 50
Mens Novice 4X+Portadown B2nd -10
Mens Novice 4X+Portadown A3rd -10
Mens J18A 8+Portora1st 0
Mens J18A 8+Methodist A3rd 0
Mens J18A 8+Methodist B4th 0
Mens J18A 4+Portora1st 0
Mens J18A 4+Methodist2nd 0
Mens J18A 4+RBAI A3rd 0
Mens J18A 4+RBAI BDisqualified 0
Mens J18A 4X-Lee A1st 0
Mens J18A 4X-Lee B2nd 0
Mens J18A 4X-RBAI3rd 0
Mens J18A 4X-Portadown4th 0
Mens J18A 4X-Methodist5th 0
Mens J18A 2-Portora B1st 0
Mens J18A 2-Methodist2nd 0
Mens J18A 2-Portora ADid not finish 0
Mens J18A 2XLee A1st 0
Mens J18A 2XLee D2nd 0
Mens J18A 2XLee C3rd 0
Mens J18A 2XLee B4th 0
Mens J18A 2XPortadown B5th 0
Mens J18A 2XCGSCompeted 0
Mens J18A 2XPortadown ACompeted 0
Mens J18A 1XPortadown, Hull, N1st 0
Mens J18A 1XPortadown, Murtagh, D2nd 0
Mens J18A 1XPortadown, Morrow, R3rd 0
Mens J18A 1XBelfast RC, Moran, J4th 0
Mens J18A 1XPortadown, Tang, CDid not start 0
Mens J16 8+Portora1st 0
Mens J16 8+Methodist2nd 0
Mens J16 4X+Portora A1st 0
Mens J16 4X+Commercial2nd 0
Mens J16 4X+Methodist A3rd 0
Mens J16 4X+Portadown4th 0
Mens J16 4X+Blackrock5th 0
Mens J16 4X+Methodist B6th 0
Mens J16 4X+Methodist CCompeted 0
Mens J16 4X+Portora BCompeted 0
Mens J16 2XCommercial1st 0
Mens J16 2XBelfast BC2nd 0
Mens J16 2XPortora3rd 0
Mens J16 2XPortadown B4th 0
Mens J16 2XPortadown A5th 0
Mens J16 2XPortadown C6th 0
Mens J16 1XCGS, Moore, H1st 0
Mens J16 1XCommercial, Browne, K2nd 0
Mens J16 1XCommercial, Hickey, D3rd 0
Mens J16 1XCommercial, Holton, A4th 0
Mens J16 1XPortora, Blake, R5th 0
Mens J16 1XCommercial, Daly, ACompeted 0
Mens J16 1XRBAI, Lyons, TCompeted 0
Mens J15 4X+Blackrock1st 0
Mens J15 4X+Portora2nd 0
Mens J15 4X+Methodist B3rd 0
Mens J15 4X+Methodist A4th 0
Mens J15 2XBlackrock A1st 0
Mens J15 2XPortora2nd 0
Mens J15 2XMethodist A3rd 0
Mens J15 2XBlackrock B4th 0
Mens J15 2XPortadown5th 0
Mens J15 2XMethodist B6th 0
Womens Senior 1XBelfast BC, Turner, KDid not start 0
Womens Senior 1XGarda, Larsen, BDid not start 0
Womens Intermediate 2-QUBLBC A1st 50
Womens Intermediate 2-Bann2nd -10
Womens Intermediate 2-SMRC3rd -10
Womens Intermediate 2-QUBLBC C4th -10
Womens Intermediate 2-Portora A5th -10
Womens Intermediate 2-Portora B6th -10
Womens Intermediate 2-QUBLBC BDid not start 0
Womens Intermediate 1XGarda, Larsen, B1st 50
Womens Intermediate 1XNUIG, Pigott, M2nd -10
Womens Intermediate 1XBelfast BC, Turner, KDid not start 0
Womens Intermediate 1XGarda, Moore, MDid not start 0
Womens Intermediate 1XGarda, Ryan, JDid not start 0
Womens Intermediate 1XQUBLBC, Brown, RDid not start 0
Womens Club 1 8+QUBLBC A1st 50
Womens Club 1 8+Bann2nd -10
Womens Club 1 8+QUBLBC B2nd -10
Womens Club 1 4X-Bann1st 50
Womens Club 1 4X-Methodist2nd -10
Womens Club 1 4X-Belfast RCDid not start 0
Womens Club 1 2XBann1st 50
Womens Club 1 2XSMRC2nd -10
Womens Club 1 2XGarda3rd -10
Womens Club 1 2XQUBLBC A4th -10
Womens Club 1 2XQUBLBC BDid not finish 0
Womens Club 1 1XGarda, Ryan, J1st 50
Womens Club 1 1XGarda, Moore, M2nd -10
Womens Club 1 1XLee, Murphy, C3rd -10
Womens Club 1 1XLee, Nagle, N4th -10
Womens Club 1 1XQUBLBC, Potts, L5th -10
Womens Club 1 1XQUBLBC, Crouch, J6th -10
Womens Novice 4X+QUBLBC B1st 50
Womens Novice 4X+Portadown2nd -10
Womens Novice 4X+Sligo3rd -10
Womens Novice 4X+QUBLBC A4th -10
Womens Novice 4X+Belfast BCDisqualified 0
Womens J18A 8+Portora1st 0
Womens J18A 8+Methodist2nd 0
Womens J18A 8+Bann3rd 0
Womens J18A 8+Portadown4th 0
Womens J18A 4-Methodist1st 0
Womens J18A 4-Portora A2nd 0
Womens J18A 4-Portora B3rd 0
Womens J18A 4X-Bann1st 0
Womens J18A 4X-Lee2nd 0
Womens J18A 4X-Sligo3rd 0
Womens J18A 4X-Portadown4th 0
Womens J18A 2XBann1st 0
Womens J18A 2XLee A2nd 0
Womens J18A 2XNeptune3rd 0
Womens J18A 2XLee B4th 0
Womens J18A 2XSligo A5th 0
Womens J18A 2XPortadown A6th 0
Womens J18A 2XBelfast RCCompeted 0
Womens J18A 2XPortadown BCompeted 0
Womens J18A 2XPortadown CCompeted 0
Womens J18A 2XSligo BCompeted 0
Womens J18A 1XNeptune, Feerick, C1st 0
Womens J18A 1XBann, Odonovan, A2nd 0
Womens J18A 1XBann, Wylie, L3rd 0
Womens J18A 1XPortadown, McCann, K4th 0
Womens J18A 1XNeptune, Clark, ADid not start 0
Womens J16 8+Portora A1st (private race)0
Womens J16 8+Portora B2nd (private race)0
Womens J16 4X+Lee1st 0
Womens J16 4X+Portora2nd 0
Womens J16 4X+Sligo3rd 0
Womens J16 4X+Portadown4th 0
Womens J16 4X+Belfast RC5th 0
Womens J16 2XPortora B1st 0
Womens J16 2XPortora A2nd 0
Womens J16 2XMethodist3rd 0
Womens J16 2XBelfast RC4th 0
Womens J16 1XBelfast RC, Hall, A1st 0
Womens J16 1XPortadown, McCann, S2nd 0
Womens J16 1XBann, Blemmings, E3rd 0
Womens J16 1XPortora, Hutton, DCompeted 0
Womens J16 1XPortora, McComb, TCompeted 0
Womens J16 1XPortora, O'Doherty, MCompeted 0
Womens J16 1XBann, Carson, RDid not start 0
Womens J15 4X+Bann1st 0
Womens J15 4X+Portora A2nd 0
Womens J15 4X+Portora B3rd 0
Womens J15 4X+Portadown4th 0
Womens J15 2XPortadown A1st 0
Womens J15 2XBann A2nd 0
Womens J15 2XBann B3rd 0
Womens J15 2XPortadown B4th 0
Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Neptune won the club one eights, beating UCD in a close final, and the junior 18 coxed four at the Portadown Regatta on Saturday. Methodist College, Belfast, took the club one women’s quadruple sculls. Katie Shirlow of Bann was the best women’s intermediate single sculler.  

Portadown Regatta, Saturday (Selected Results):

Men

Eight – Club One: Neptune bt UCD ¼ l. Junior 18: Neptune bt Methodist College, Belfast 2½ l. Masters: Bann bt Belfast RC, bowball.  Jun 16: Methodist bt Coleraine GS 5l.  

Four – Jun 18, coxed: RBAI r/o Neptune. Masters, coxed: Belfast BC bt Belfast RC 1½ l

Sculling – Quadruple, Club One, coxed: Coleraine GS bt RBAI 5l. Novice, coxed: Neptune bt RBAI 3l. Jun 18: Bann bt RBAI 1¼ l. Jun 16, coxed: Portora bt Portadown 2¼ l.  Jun 15 coxed: Bann bt Portadown 2l.

Double – Club One: Portadown bt Coleraine GS, 5l. Jun 18: Bann bt RBAI B ½ l. Nov: UCD bt Portadown easily. Masters: Belfast BC bt Lady Victoria 3l. Jun 16: Neptune A bt RBAI 5l. Jun 15: Bann bt Coleraine GS 1¾ l

Single – Club: Carrick-on-Shannon (T Earley) bt RBAI (J Emery) 4l. Novice: RBAI (T Lyons) bt Carrick (F Early) 2½ l. Jun 18: Carrick-on-Shannon (T Earley) bt Portadown (N Hull) 1l. Masters: Portora (G Murphy) bt City of Derry (G D’Urso) 1½l. Jun 16: Portora (R Blake) bt Coleraine GS (H Moore) lft. Jun 15: Portora (M Stewart) r/0 Portora (C Stewart).

Women

Eight – Jun 16: Neptune bt Coleraine Grammar School 3½ l. Jun 15: Portora A bt Portadown easily.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club One, coxed: Methodist bt Belfast BC 2¼ l. Novice, coxed: Neptune bt Methodist 3l. Jun 18: Bann bt Portadown easily. Jun 16, coxed: Neptune bt Portadown A ¾ l. Jun 15, coxed: Bann bt Portadown A, easily.

Double – Inter: Bann bt Portadown 4l. Masters: Belfast BC bt Lady Victoria 3l. Jun 18: Bann bt Portadown A, 6l. Jun 16: Portora bt Belfast RC 3l.

Single – Inter: Bann (K Shirlow) bt Portadown (A Martin) easily. Club One: Bann (D Maguire) bt Portadown (A Martin) easily. Jun 18: Neptune (A Clark) bt Portadown (K McCann) 4l. Jun 16: Portadown (I Peyton) bt Carrick-on-Shannon (A O’Connor) easily. Jun 15: Portora (V Wilson) bt Portora (M O’Doherty) 1¼ l.

EventTypeLane 1: Portadown StationVerdictLane 2: Gilford StationNext
MJ18 2XHeat 1Portadown B RBAI B35
MJ18 2XHeat 2Methodist Portadown C35
WJ14 1xHeatPortadown, Pinkerton, R Portora, McComb, T72
WC1 1XSFCarrick, Duggan, T Bann, Maguire, D117
WN 4x+SF1Methodist QUBLBC71
WN 4x+SF2Neptune Portadown71
MN 1xHeatPortadown, McClenahan, B Carrick, Early, F44
no race     
MJ18 1XHeat 1Bann, Christie, A RBAI,Reid,N48
MJ18 1XHeat 2CGS, Moore,H Portadown, Tang,C48
MC1 2xHeatRBAI Portadown136
MC1 1XHeatCarrick, Earley, TReschedued to race 39Portadown, Laivins, A85
WJ14 4X+HeatBann Portadown57
MJ16 2XHeat 1Portadown A Neptune B88
MJ16 2XHeat 2Portora Portadown B88
WJ16 4X+Heat 1Belfast RC Methodist34
WJ16 4X+Heat 2Portadown A Portora34
MN 2xHeatUCDBC Bann65
WJ18 1xHeat 1Neptune, Clark, A Carrick, Duggan, T53
WJ18 1xHeat 2Portadown, Green, R Portadown, Henderson, A53
MN 4X+Heat 1Portadown A UCD BC86
MN 4X+Heat 2Portadown B Neptune86
MJ16 1XSF1Carrick, Early, F CGS,Moore,H80
MJ16 1XSF2Portora,Blake, R RBAI, Lyons, T80
WJ15 8+SF1Portadown CGS102
WJ15 8+SF2Portora A Portora B102
WJ18 2XHeat 1Methodist Bann77
WJ18 2XHeat 2Portadown B Neptune77
MJ15 1XSF1Portora, Stewart, C CGS, McCook, C74
MJ15 1XSF2Portora, Stewart, M Portora, Bell, A74
MM 4+SF1Belfast RC B (e 220) Belfast BC (f 247)103
MM 4+SF2Belfast RC A (f 251) Neptune (d 215)103
WJ16 4X+SF1Neptune Portadown B140
WJ16 4X+SF2Methodist Portadown A140
MJ18 2XQF1RBAI B Methodist67
MJ18 2XQF2RBAI A CGS67
MJ18 2XQF3Portadown A Portadown D68
MJ18 2XQF4Neptune Bann68
MC1 1XHeatCarrick, Earley, T Portadown, Laivins, A85
no race     
MM 2XFLVBC (e 116)Belfast BC (3 l)Belfast BC (f 128)-
MM 1XSFC of Derry, D'Urso, G (e) LVBC, Keown,P €70
MJ16 8+HeatPortadown Methodist141
MN 1xFCarrick, Early, FRBAI, Lyons,T (2.5 l)RBAI, Lyons,T-
WJ15 4x+SF1Bann CGS115
WJ15 4x+SF2Portadown A Portadown B115
MJ18 1XQF1RBAI, Patterson,D Carrick, Earley, T90
MJ18 1XQF2Bann, Christie, A CGS, Moore, H90
MJ18 1XQF3Portadown, Morrow,R Portadown, Murtagh, D91
MJ18 1XQF4Methodist, Young, X Portadown,Hull, N91
MJ15 2XSF1CGS Portadown110
MJ15 2XSF2Bann Portora110
WJ18 1xSF1Neptune, Clark, A Portadown, Green, R143
WJ18 1xSF2Bann, Scott,H Portadown, McCann, K143
WJ15 2XHeatPortadown A Bann B92
MJ18 8+Heat RBAI Neptune133
WJ14 4X+SF1Bann Portora B84
WJ14 4X+SF2CGS Portora A84
MJ14 2XHeatBann Portadown81
MJ18 4X-SFBann Portadown101
MM 8+SF1Bann (d 412) LVBC (f 498)132
MM 8+SF2Belfast RC (e 471) Neptune (d 419)132
MJ16 4X+SF1RBAI Portora144
MJ16 4X+SF2Methodist Portadown144
MN 2xFUCDBCUCDBC (6 l)Portadown-
MJ14 4X+FMethodistCGS (1l)CGS-
MJ18 2XSF1RBAI B CGS119
MJ18 2XSF2Portadown D Bann119
LunchLunchLunchLunchLunchLunch
MM 1XFC of Derry, D'Urso, G (e)Portora, Murphy, G (e ) 1.5 lPortora, Murphy, G (e )-
WN 4x+FMethodistNeptune (3 l)Neptune-
WJ14 1xFPortora McComb TPortadown, Patterson, L (2.5L)Portadown, Patterson, L-
WJ16 2XHeatPortadown Belfast RC94
MJ15 1XFPortora, Stewart, CPortora, Stewart, M (RO)Portora, Stewart, M-
no race     
no race     
WJ18 2XSF1Bann Neptune113
WJ18 2XSF2NeptuneNot run as Neputne double entry - PBC byePortadown A113
MC1 4X+HeatMethodist CGS116
MJ16 1XFCGS,Moore,HPortora,Blake, R (1ft)Portora,Blake, R-
MJ14 2XFBannCGS (Bann disq)CGS-
MJ15 4X+HeatMethodist A Portadown98
MJ15 4X+Heat 2Methodist B RBAI98
WJ14 4X+FPortora BPortora APortora A-
MC1 1XFCarrick, Earley, TCarrick, Earley, T (4l)RBAI, Emery, J-
MN 4X+SF1UCD BC Neptune114
MN 4X+SF2RBAI Methodist114
MJ16 2XQF1Portadown A Portora111
MJ16 2XQF2Neptune A Methodist111
MJ18 1XSF1Carrick, Earley, T Bann, Christie, A129
MJ18 1XSF2Portadown, Morrow,R Portadown,Hull, N129
WJ15 2XSF1Bann B Portadown B106
WJ15 2XSF2Bann A Portadown C106
WJ16 2XFBelfast RCPortora (3 l)Portora-
MJ16 2XQF3Portadown C CGS112
MJ16 2XQF4Belfast RC RBAI112
no race     
MJ15 4X+SF1PortadownRescheduled to race 120RBAI145
MJ15 4X+SF2Bann CGS145
MJ18 4+FRBAIRBAI (RO)Neptune-
MJ18 4X-FBannBann (1.25 l)RBAI-
WJ15 8+FPortadownPortora A (easily)Portora A-
MM 4+FBelfast BC (f 247)Belfast BC (f 247) (1.5 l)Belfast RC A (f 251)-
WJ18 4x-FPortadownRescheduled to race 130Bann-
WI 2XFPortadownBann (4 l)Bann-
WJ15 2XFPortadown BRescheduled to race 131Portadown C-
MJ14 1XHeatBann, Morelli, N CGS, McCook, S128
MC1 8+SF1RBAI Neptune126
MC1 8+SF2Methodist UCDBC126
MJ15 2XFCGSBann (1.75 l)Bann-
MJ16 2XSF1Portora Neptune A127
MJ16 2XSF2Portadown C RBAI127
WJ18 2XFBannBann (6 l)Portadown A-
MN 4X+FNeptuneNeptune (3 l)RBAI-
WJ15 4x+FBannBann (6 l)Portadown A-
MC1 4X+FCGSCGS (5 l)RBAI-
WC1 1XFBann Magurie, DBann Magurie, D (easily)Portadown, Martin, A-
WC1 4X+FBelfast BCMCB (2.25 l)Methodist-
MJ18 2XFRBAI BBann (0.5 l)Bann-
MJ15 4X+SF1Portadown RBAI145
no race     
WJ15 1XSF1Portora, Wilson, V Portadown, McCann, S142
WJ15 1XSF2Portora, O'Doherty, M Portora, Hutton, D142
WJ16 8+FNeptuneNeptune (3.5 l)CGS-
WJ16 1XFPortadown, Peyton, IPortadown, Peyton, I (7 l)Carrick, O'Connor, A-
MC1 8+FNeptuneNeptune (0.25 l)UCDBC-
MJ16 2XFNeptune ANeptune A (5 l)RBAI-
MJ14 1XFCGS, McCook, SCGS, McCook, S (3 l)Bann, McGillan, C-
MJ18 1XFCarrick, Earley, TCarrick, Earley, T (1 l)Portadown,Hull, N-
WJ18 4x-FPortadownBann (easily)Bann 
WJ15 2XFPortadown BPortadown C (RO)Portadown C 
MM 8+FBann (d 412)Bann (d 412) (bow ball)Belfast RC (e 471)-
MJ18 8+FNeptuneNeptune (2.5 l)Methodist-
no race     
no race     
MC1 2xFPortadownPortadown (5 l)CGS-
WI 1XFPortadown, Martin, ABann, Shirlow, K (easily)Bann, Shirlow, K-
MJ16 2XFNeptune ANeptune A (5 l)RBAI 
no race     
WJ16 4X+FNeptuneNeptune (0.75 l)Portadown A-
MJ16 8+FMethodistMethodist (5 l)CGS-
WJ15 1XFPortora, Wilson, VPortora, Wilson, V (1.25 l)Portora, O'Doherty, M-
WJ18 1xFNeptune, Clark, ANeptune, Clark, A (4 l)Portadown, McCann, K-
MJ16 4X+FPortoraPortora (2.25 l)Portadown-
MJ15 4X+FPortadownBann (2 l)Bann-
Published in Rowing
#Rowing: Portora’s junior 18A eight had exactly two seconds to spare over the Queen’s University intermediate eight in the second race at the Lagan Head of the River in Belfast. Club eights from Yarm School and Commercial were credited with the same time in third and fourth.
Lagan Head of the River 2015 - Race 2 4200m at 13:30hrs
RESULTS by Time - Provisional - Masters handicap not applied
POSITION CREW
NUMBER Club Class Cox/Steerer Time % of winning
time Comments
1 1 Portora Mens J18A 8+ R Farragher 14:35.4 100.00
2 7 QUBBC Mens Intermediate 8+ C Moorehead 14:37.4 100.23
3 15 Yarm School Mens Club 1 8+ O Cairns 15:08.7 103.81
4 14 Commercial Mens Club 1 8+ S Eustace 15:08.7 103.81
5 9 DUBC Mens Intermediate 8+ H Mulvaney 15:12.8 104.27
6 12 Portora Mens Senior 4X- B Rix 15:14.7 104.49
7 8 St Josephs Mens Intermediate 8+ C R Wanjau 15:14.7 104.49
8 2 Methodist A Mens J18A 8+ A Mawhinney 15:22.7 105.40
9 4 Commercial Mens J18A 8+ B McGuiness 15:28.6 106.08
10 29 Comm/OCBC/Neptune/BBC (d ) Mens Masters 8+ J Malloy 15:46.6 108.13
11 17 QUBBC Mens Club 1 8+ A Sloan 15:51.4 108.68
12 21 St Josephs A Mens J16 8+ E Finnegan 16:13.2 111.17
13 5 Neptune Mens J18A 8+ A Gillick 16:22.8 112.27
14 3 RBAI Mens J18A 8+ M Honan 15:22.7 105.40
15 10 Belfast RC / Lagan Mens Senior 4X- T McGivern 16:24.4 112.46
16 26 QUBLBC Womens Intermediate 8+ G Canham 16:32.1 113.33
17 25 DULBC Womens Senior 8+ N Williams 16:32.1 113.34
18 19 Neptune Mens Club 1 8+ P Dolan 16:36.0 113.78
19 18 DUBC B Mens Club 1 8+ A McCormick 16:44.4 114.74
20 16 DUBC A Mens Club 1 8+ C Keogh 16:47.2 115.06
21 22 Portora Mens J16 8+ B Corrigan 16:47.3 115.06
22 34 Bann Womens Senior 4X- A Odonovan 16:52.1 115.61
23 27 DULBC Womens Intermediate 8+ B Murphy 17:00.4 116.57
24 31 Belfast BC (f ) Mens Masters 8+ E Bell 17:00.6 116.59
25 40 Portora Womens J18A 8+ S Dolan 17:01.3 116.67
26 30 Belfast RC (f ) Mens Masters 8+ S Mairs 17:04.2 116.99
27 13 St Josephs Mens Senior 4X- F Vickers 17:07.0 117.31
28 24 Methodist Mens J16 8+ C Woods 17:12.9 117.99
29 28 Bann (d ) Mens Masters 8+ C Mitchell 17:13.3 118.04
30 11 Lagan Mens Senior 4X- P Cross 17:15.6 118.30
31 6 Methodist B Mens J18A 8+ D Morrow 17:25.5 119.43
32 20 DUBC C Mens Club 1 8+ J Davis 17:38.6 120.93
33 37 Commercial Womens Senior 4- K Curran 17:42.5 121.37
34 32 LVBC (f ) Mens Masters 8+ M Warnock 17:49.4 122.16
35 41 Commercial A Womens J18A 8+ S Carpenter 17:51.1 122.36
36 38 Methodist Womens J18A 8+ S McKeown 18:22.1 125.90
37 46 Belfast BC (e ) Womens Masters 8+ C Watters 18:28.4 126.62
38 45 Yarm School Womens Club 1 8+ J Dodds 18:31.6 126.98
39 36 QUBLBC Womens Senior 4- A Buck 18:32.0 127.03
40 43 DULBC A Womens Club 1 8+ C O'Donnell 18:34.1 127.26
41 35 Belfast RC Womens Senior 4X- L Taylor 18:50.0 129.09
42 49 Portora A Womens J16 8+ R Conway 18:56.0 129.77
43 42 DULBC B Womens Club 1 8+ S Oster 19:40.0 134.80
44 50 Commercial Womens J16 8+ K Hynes 19:49.4 135.87
45 39 Commercial B Womens J18A 8+ E Hoban 20:05.8 137.75
46 47 Belfast RC (c ) Womens Masters 8+ S Smith 20:21.0 139.48
47 23 St Josephs B Mens J16 8+ B Holland 20:22.8 139.68
48 33 Portadown Womens Senior 4X- A Martin 21:04.0 144.39
49 48 Portora B Womens J16 8+ D Hutton 21:47.1 149.31
50 44 Belfast BC Womens Club 1 8+ J Penman 23:30.1 161.08
51 51 Yarm School Womens 14 4X+ F Willmott 26:12.5 179.64
Lagan Head of the River is organised by Belfast Rowing Club
with assistance from Lagan Scullers Club, Methodist College Boat Club, RBAI Rowing Club
and Belfast Boat Club
and Belfast Harbour Commissioners, Belfast City Centre Regeneration Directorate
SSE Arena
Powerhouse Sport
Published in Rowing

#Rowers of the Month: The Afloat Rowers of the Month for November are Barney Rix of Portora and Ronan Byrne of Shandon. The two young men set new Irish records in indoor rowing. Byrne set a new junior record of six minutes 16.9 seconds at the Provinces Indoor Championships in Limerick. Rix, who had won the junior section at the Irish Indoor Championships early in the year, competed just two days after the Limerick test in Enniskillen – and lowered the record by .1 of a second to 6:16.8.

 Rower of the Month awards: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times and David O'Brien, Editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year will appear on afloat.ie and the overall national award will be presented to the person or crew who, in the judges' opinion, achieved the most notable results in, or made the most significant contribution to rowing during 2015. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2015 champions list grow.

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Trinity won the senior eights Championship of Ireland for the first time since 2008 at the National Rowing Centre today. They started well and pushed into a one-length lead at 1,000 metres over UCD/Old Collegians, with NUIG/Grainne Mhaol not far behind. Trinity saw off repeated pushes to win by just under a length from UCD/Old Collegians.

In the women’s senior eights UCD had a similar race pattern, but had a little more to spare over their rivals, UCC/Skibbereen and Trinity.

The men’s intermediate double gave Garda’s Damien Kelly and Ronan Allen a chance to impress. They dominated their race, as did Skibbereen in the women’s junior quadruple sculls – a win which brought Skibbereen up to 150 wins and level with Neptune on the Pots won at the Irish Championships. Fittingly, Aoife and Niamh Casey, daughters of Dominic Casey, were in the winning boat.

Dervla Forde won the women’s intermediate single sculls title – after a fine battle with Sarah Quinn of Belfast Boat Club, while Portora finished off a good Championships for them with wins in the men’s junior pair and women’s club eight.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork, Day Three (Selected results)

Men

Eight – Senior: 1 Trinity (G Mahon, I Hurley, J Magan, M Corcoran, P Moreau, M Kelly, L Hawkes, D Butler; cox: C Flynn) 5 mins 37.45 seconds, 2 UCD/Old Collegians 5:40.41, 3 NUIG/Grainne Mhaol 5:42.05, 4 UCC/Presentation 5:56.76.

Four – Club, coxed: 1 Queen’s 6:28.23, 2 UCD A 6:30.77, 3 NUIG A 6:36.48.

Pair – Intermediate: 1 Commercial A 6:47.94, 2 Skibbereen 6:55.20, 3 Portora 7:00.19. Junior: 1 Portora B 6:56.46, 2 St Joseph’s A 6:58.25, 3 Portora A 7:04.65.

Sculling, Double – Intermediate: 1 Garda 6:49.10, 2 Lee 6:41.24, 3 Waterford 6:42.64. Junior: 1 Shandon 6:40.27, 2 Castleconnell A 6:50.48, 3 Cork BC B 6:55.56.

Lightweight Single: 1 Skibbereen (J Ryan) 7:09.17, 2 Skibbereen (McCarthy) 7:12.63, 3 St Michael’s (D O’Connor) 7:15.40.

Women

Eight – Senior: 1 UCD (D Callanan, R Gilligan, C Harrison, B Larsen, O Finnegan, A Crowley, A O’Riordan, K O’Connor; cox: L Mulvihill) 6:25.85, 2 UCC/Skibbereen 6:30.31, 3 Trinity A 6:31.62. Club: 1 Portora 6:41.27, 2 Commercial A 6:46.19, 3 NUIG 6:47.67.

Four – Intermediate, coxed: 1 NUIG 7:09.66, 2 Commercial 7:18.28, 3 Shannon 7:23.16.

Pair – Junior: 1 Bann 7:42.60, 2 Portora 7:47.30, 3 Lee 7:51.35.

Sculling, Quadruple – Junior: 1 Skibbereen 6:50.32, 2 Bann A 6:57.37, 3 Bann B 6:59.29.

Single – Lightweight: 1 Tribesmen (S McCrohan) 7:46.48, 2 Commercial (Sarah Dolan) 7:50.22, 3 Skibbereen (O Hayes) 8:00.39. Intermediate: 1 Cork (D Forde) 7:50.85, 2 Belfast BC (S Quinn) 7:51.99, 3 Belfast BC (Mulligan) 8:00.32.

 

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: UCC’s Andy Harrington and David O’Leary won the men’s senior pairs title at the Irish Rowing Championships this morning. The young crew flew away from their opponents in the third quarter and won well from NUIG.

Trinity had a fine win in the men’s intermediate eights, finishing well under pressure from UCD, while Portora’s win in the men’s junior coxed four was even closer. They were caught by St Joseph’s of Galway coming up to the line, but pushed again and won – by .16 of a second.

The women’s races were won by clearer margins. Dervla Forde took the junior single sculls, Skibbereen’s Orla Hayes and Aoife Casey the intermediate double and Commercial the novice eights, all in impressive fashion.

Cathal Merz also led down the course to win the men’s club single sculls.

Irish Rowing Championships, National Rowing Centre, Cork (Day Two, Selected Results)

Men

Eight – Intermediate: 1 Trinity 5:46.51, 2 UCD A 5:49.27, 3 Queen’s 6:08.61.

Four – Junior, coxed: 1 Portora 6:36.84, 2 St Joseph’s 6:37.0, 3 Athlunkard 6:45.18.

Pair – Senior: 1 UCC 7:03.18, 2 NUIG 7:10.16, 3 Carlow 7:12.51.

Sculling, Single – Club: 1 Shandon (C Merz) 7:42.94, 2 Clonmel (D Lynch) 7:44.96, 3 Lee (D Larkin) 7:45.94.

Women

Eight – Novice: 1 Commercial 6:59.55, 2 Queen’s 7:13.67, 3 Trinity 7:13.67.

Sculling, Double – Intermediate: 1 Skibbereen 7:36.62, 2 St Michael’s 7:45.87, 3 Belfast BC 7:48.80.

Single – Junior: 1 Cork (D Forde) 8:07.98, 2 Skibbereen (E Hegarty) 8:18.01, 3 Offaly (A Mooney) 8:21.91.

Published in Rowing
Page 1 of 3

The Irish Coast Guard

The Irish Coast Guard is Ireland's fourth 'Blue Light' service (along with An Garda Síochána, the Ambulance Service and the Fire Service). It provides a nationwide maritime emergency organisation as well as a variety of services to shipping and other government agencies.

The purpose of the Irish Coast Guard is to promote safety and security standards, and by doing so, prevent as far as possible, the loss of life at sea, and on inland waters, mountains and caves, and to provide effective emergency response services and to safeguard the quality of the marine environment.

The Irish Coast Guard has responsibility for Ireland's system of marine communications, surveillance and emergency management in Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and certain inland waterways.

It is responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue and counter-pollution and ship casualty operations. It also has responsibility for vessel traffic monitoring.

Operations in respect of maritime security, illegal drug trafficking, illegal migration and fisheries enforcement are co-ordinated by other bodies within the Irish Government.

On average, each year, the Irish Coast Guard is expected to:

  • handle 3,000 marine emergencies
  • assist 4,500 people and save about 200 lives
  • task Coast Guard helicopters on missions

The Coast Guard has been around in some form in Ireland since 1908.

Coast Guard helicopters

The Irish Coast Guard has contracted five medium-lift Sikorsky Search and Rescue helicopters deployed at bases in Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo.

The helicopters are designated wheels up from initial notification in 15 minutes during daylight hours and 45 minutes at night. One aircraft is fitted and its crew trained for under slung cargo operations up to 3000kgs and is available on short notice based at Waterford.

These aircraft respond to emergencies at sea, inland waterways, offshore islands and mountains of Ireland (32 counties).

They can also be used for assistance in flooding, major inland emergencies, intra-hospital transfers, pollution, and aerial surveillance during daylight hours, lifting and passenger operations and other operations as authorised by the Coast Guard within appropriate regulations.

Irish Coastguard FAQs

The Irish Coast Guard provides nationwide maritime emergency response, while also promoting safety and security standards. It aims to prevent the loss of life at sea, on inland waters, on mountains and in caves; and to safeguard the quality of the marine environment.

The main role of the Irish Coast Guard is to rescue people from danger at sea or on land, to organise immediate medical transport and to assist boats and ships within the country's jurisdiction. It has three marine rescue centres in Dublin, Malin Head, Co Donegal, and Valentia Island, Co Kerry. The Dublin National Maritime Operations centre provides marine search and rescue responses and coordinates the response to marine casualty incidents with the Irish exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Yes, effectively, it is the fourth "blue light" service. The Marine Rescue Sub-Centre (MRSC) Valentia is the contact point for the coastal area between Ballycotton, Co Cork and Clifden, Co Galway. At the same time, the MRSC Malin Head covers the area between Clifden and Lough Foyle. Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) Dublin covers Carlingford Lough, Co Louth to Ballycotton, Co Cork. Each MRCC/MRSC also broadcasts maritime safety information on VHF and MF radio, including navigational and gale warnings, shipping forecasts, local inshore forecasts, strong wind warnings and small craft warnings.

The Irish Coast Guard handles about 3,000 marine emergencies annually, and assists 4,500 people - saving an estimated 200 lives, according to the Department of Transport. In 2016, Irish Coast Guard helicopters completed 1,000 missions in a single year for the first time.

Yes, Irish Coast Guard helicopters evacuate medical patients from offshore islands to hospital on average about 100 times a year. In September 2017, the Department of Health announced that search and rescue pilots who work 24-hour duties would not be expected to perform any inter-hospital patient transfers. The Air Corps flies the Emergency Aeromedical Service, established in 2012 and using an AW139 twin-engine helicopter. Known by its call sign "Air Corps 112", it airlifted its 3,000th patient in autumn 2020.

The Irish Coast Guard works closely with the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which is responsible for the Northern Irish coast.

The Irish Coast Guard is a State-funded service, with both paid management personnel and volunteers, and is under the auspices of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. It is allocated approximately 74 million euro annually in funding, some 85 per cent of which pays for a helicopter contract that costs 60 million euro annually. The overall funding figure is "variable", an Oireachtas committee was told in 2019. Other significant expenditure items include volunteer training exercises, equipment, maintenance, renewal, and information technology.

The Irish Coast Guard has four search and rescue helicopter bases at Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo, run on a contract worth 50 million euro annually with an additional 10 million euro in costs by CHC Ireland. It provides five medium-lift Sikorsky S-92 helicopters and trained crew. The 44 Irish Coast Guard coastal units with 1,000 volunteers are classed as onshore search units, with 23 of the 44 units having rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) and 17 units having cliff rescue capability. The Irish Coast Guard has 60 buildings in total around the coast, and units have search vehicles fitted with blue lights, all-terrain vehicles or quads, first aid equipment, generators and area lighting, search equipment, marine radios, pyrotechnics and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Community Rescue Boats Ireland also provide lifeboats and crews to assist in search and rescue. The Irish Coast Guard works closely with the Garda Siochána, National Ambulance Service, Naval Service and Air Corps, Civil Defence, while fishing vessels, ships and other craft at sea offer assistance in search operations.

The helicopters are designated as airborne from initial notification in 15 minutes during daylight hours, and 45 minutes at night. The aircraft respond to emergencies at sea, on inland waterways, offshore islands and mountains and cover the 32 counties. They can also assist in flooding, major inland emergencies, intra-hospital transfers, pollution, and can transport offshore firefighters and ambulance teams. The Irish Coast Guard volunteers units are expected to achieve a 90 per cent response time of departing from the station house in ten minutes from notification during daylight and 20 minutes at night. They are also expected to achieve a 90 per cent response time to the scene of the incident in less than 60 minutes from notification by day and 75 minutes at night, subject to geographical limitations.

Units are managed by an officer-in-charge (three stripes on the uniform) and a deputy officer in charge (two stripes). Each team is trained in search skills, first aid, setting up helicopter landing sites and a range of maritime skills, while certain units are also trained in cliff rescue.

Volunteers receive an allowance for time spent on exercises and call-outs. What is the difference between the Irish Coast Guard and the RNLI? The RNLI is a registered charity which has been saving lives at sea since 1824, and runs a 24/7 volunteer lifeboat service around the British and Irish coasts. It is a declared asset of the British Maritime and Coast Guard Agency and the Irish Coast Guard. Community Rescue Boats Ireland is a community rescue network of volunteers under the auspices of Water Safety Ireland.

No, it does not charge for rescue and nor do the RNLI or Community Rescue Boats Ireland.

The marine rescue centres maintain 19 VHF voice and DSC radio sites around the Irish coastline and a digital paging system. There are two VHF repeater test sites, four MF radio sites and two NAVTEX transmitter sites. Does Ireland have a national search and rescue plan? The first national search and rescue plan was published in July, 2019. It establishes the national framework for the overall development, deployment and improvement of search and rescue services within the Irish Search and Rescue Region and to meet domestic and international commitments. The purpose of the national search and rescue plan is to promote a planned and nationally coordinated search and rescue response to persons in distress at sea, in the air or on land.

Yes, the Irish Coast Guard is responsible for responding to spills of oil and other hazardous substances with the Irish pollution responsibility zone, along with providing an effective response to marine casualties and monitoring or intervening in marine salvage operations. It provides and maintains a 24-hour marine pollution notification at the three marine rescue centres. It coordinates exercises and tests of national and local pollution response plans.

The first Irish Coast Guard volunteer to die on duty was Caitriona Lucas, a highly trained member of the Doolin Coast Guard unit, while assisting in a search for a missing man by the Kilkee unit in September 2016. Six months later, four Irish Coast Guard helicopter crew – Dara Fitzpatrick, Mark Duffy, Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith -died when their Sikorsky S-92 struck Blackrock island off the Mayo coast on March 14, 2017. The Dublin-based Rescue 116 crew were providing "top cover" or communications for a medical emergency off the west coast and had been approaching Blacksod to refuel. Up until the five fatalities, the Irish Coast Guard recorded that more than a million "man hours" had been spent on more than 30,000 rescue missions since 1991.

Several investigations were initiated into each incident. The Marine Casualty Investigation Board was critical of the Irish Coast Guard in its final report into the death of Caitriona Lucas, while a separate Health and Safety Authority investigation has been completed, but not published. The Air Accident Investigation Unit final report into the Rescue 116 helicopter crash has not yet been published.

The Irish Coast Guard in its present form dates back to 1991, when the Irish Marine Emergency Service was formed after a campaign initiated by Dr Joan McGinley to improve air/sea rescue services on the west Irish coast. Before Irish independence, the British Admiralty was responsible for a Coast Guard (formerly the Water Guard or Preventative Boat Service) dating back to 1809. The West Coast Search and Rescue Action Committee was initiated with a public meeting in Killybegs, Co Donegal, in 1988 and the group was so effective that a Government report was commissioned, which recommended setting up a new division of the Department of the Marine to run the Marine Rescue Co-Ordination Centre (MRCC), then based at Shannon, along with the existing coast radio service, and coast and cliff rescue. A medium-range helicopter base was established at Shannon within two years. Initially, the base was served by the Air Corps.

The first director of what was then IMES was Capt Liam Kirwan, who had spent 20 years at sea and latterly worked with the Marine Survey Office. Capt Kirwan transformed a poorly funded voluntary coast and cliff rescue service into a trained network of cliff and sea rescue units – largely voluntary, but with paid management. The MRCC was relocated from Shannon to an IMES headquarters at the then Department of the Marine (now Department of Transport) in Leeson Lane, Dublin. The coast radio stations at Valentia, Co Kerry, and Malin Head, Co Donegal, became marine rescue-sub-centres.

The current director is Chris Reynolds, who has been in place since August 2007 and was formerly with the Naval Service. He has been seconded to the head of mission with the EUCAP Somalia - which has a mandate to enhance Somalia's maritime civilian law enforcement capacity – since January 2019.

  • Achill, Co. Mayo
  • Ardmore, Co. Waterford
  • Arklow, Co. Wicklow
  • Ballybunion, Co. Kerry
  • Ballycotton, Co. Cork
  • Ballyglass, Co. Mayo
  • Bonmahon, Co. Waterford
  • Bunbeg, Co. Donegal
  • Carnsore, Co. Wexford
  • Castlefreake, Co. Cork
  • Castletownbere, Co. Cork
  • Cleggan, Co. Galway
  • Clogherhead, Co. Louth
  • Costelloe Bay, Co. Galway
  • Courtown, Co. Wexford
  • Crosshaven, Co. Cork
  • Curracloe, Co. Wexford
  • Dingle, Co. Kerry
  • Doolin, Co. Clare
  • Drogheda, Co. Louth
  • Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin
  • Dunmore East, Co. Waterford
  • Fethard, Co. Wexford
  • Glandore, Co. Cork
  • Glenderry, Co. Kerry
  • Goleen, Co. Cork
  • Greencastle, Co. Donegal
  • Greenore, Co. Louth
  • Greystones, Co. Wicklow
  • Guileen, Co. Cork
  • Howth, Co. Dublin
  • Kilkee, Co. Clare
  • Killala, Co. Mayo
  • Killybegs, Co. Donegal
  • Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford
  • Knightstown, Co. Kerry
  • Mulroy, Co. Donegal
  • North Aran, Co. Galway
  • Old Head Of Kinsale, Co. Cork
  • Oysterhaven, Co. Cork
  • Rosslare, Co. Wexford
  • Seven Heads, Co. Cork
  • Skerries, Co. Dublin Summercove, Co. Cork
  • Toe Head, Co. Cork
  • Tory Island, Co. Donegal
  • Tramore, Co. Waterford
  • Waterville, Co. Kerry
  • Westport, Co. Mayo
  • Wicklow
  • Youghal, Co. Cork

Sources: Department of Transport © Afloat 2020