Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: aras an uachtarain

#Rowing: The President, Michael D Higgins, hosted Skibbereen Rowing Club at a special function on Saturday. “It is an immense pleasure for me to welcome members, supporters, distinguished Olympians, and community neighbours of Skibbereen Rowing Club to Áras an Uachtaráin, and in particular as it gives Sabina and I the opportunity to celebrate with you all today the historic achievements of an extraordinary club that, since its foundation has achieved so much,” the president said.

 

Published in Rowing

After decades of selfless service to the state, Dermot Ahern TD and Minister for Justice recently awarded long service medals to 96 voluntary search and recovery divers from all over Ireland at a ceremony in the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin. All the divers have given a minimum of 10 years service in the recovery of missing persons
throughout the country, with most having much more than that.

Presenting the medals, Mr Ahern said voluntary activity must be encouraged. "What these men and women are doing is vital because if somebody goes missing... they drop everything, they are given time off work by their employers and they basically spend 24/7 until the people are found and rescued". he said. After the awards ceremony the divers then attended a reception with President Mary Mc Alese in Aras an Uachtarain.

 

group_shot_with_medals

The divers who after receiving their medals from the minister were then afforded a reception in Aras an Uachtarain with President Mary Mc Alese Blackwater

diver_image

Blackwater Search Unit members receiving their long service medals from Mr Dermot Ahern Minister for Justice at the inaugural award ceremony in Dublin. (from left to right) Olan O Farrell, Finbarr Murphy (president Irish Underwater Council), David Carey, Denis Granville, Mr Dermot Ahern, Noel Hayes, Timmy Carey, Paul O Keeffe and Maurice Carroll.

Published in Diving

The Kingstown to Queenstown Yacht Race or 'K2Q', previously the Fastnet 450

The Organising Authority ("OA") are ISORA & SCORA in association with The National Yacht Club & The Royal Cork Yacht Club.

The Kingstown to Queenstown Race (K2Q Race) is a 260-mile offshore race that will start in Dun Laoghaire (formerly Kingstown), around the famous Fastnet Rock and finish in Cork Harbour at Cobh (formerly Queenstown).

The  K2Q race follows from the successful inaugural 'Fastnet 450 Race' that ran in 2020 when Ireland was in the middle of the COVID Pandemic. It was run by the National Yacht Club, and the Royal cork Yacht Club were both celebrating significant anniversaries. The clubs combined forces to mark the 150th anniversary of the National Yacht Club and the 300th (Tricentenary) of the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

Of course, this race has some deeper roots. In 1860 the first-ever ocean yacht race on Irish Waters was held from Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) to Queenstown (now Cobh).

It is reported that the winner of the race was paid a prize of £15 at the time, and all competing boats got a bursary of 10/6 each. The first race winner was a Schooner Kingfisher owned by Cooper Penrose Esq. The race was held on July 14th 1860, and had sixteen boats racing.

In 2022, the winning boat will be awarded the first prize of a cheque for €15 mounted and framed and a Trophy provided by the Royal Cork Yacht Club, the oldest yacht club in the world.

The 2022 race will differ from the original course because it will be via the Fastnet Rock, so it is a c. 260m race, a race distance approved by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club as an AZAB qualifier. 

A link to an Afloat article written by WM Nixon for some history on this original race is here.

The aim is to develop the race similarly to the Dun Laoghaire–Dingle Race that runs in alternate years. 

Fastnet 450 in 2020

The South Coast of Ireland Racing Association, in association with the National Yacht Club on Dublin Bay and the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Cork, staged the first edition of this race from Dun Laoghaire to Cork Harbour via the Fastnet Rock on August 22nd 2020.

The IRC race started in Dun Laoghaire on Saturday, August 22nd 2020. It passed the Muglin, Tuscar, Conningbeg and Fastnet Lighthouses to Starboard before returning to Cork Harbour and passing the Cork Buoy to Port, finishing when Roches's Point bears due East. The course was specifically designed to be of sufficient length to qualify skippers and crew for the RORC Fastnet Race 2021.

At A Glance – K2Q (Kingstown to Queenstown) Race 2024

The third edition of this 260-nautical mile race starts from the National Yacht Club on Dublin Bay on July 12th 2024 finishes in Cork Harbour.

Featured Sailing School

INSS sidebutton

Featured Clubs

dbsc mainbutton
Howth Yacht Club
Kinsale Yacht Club
National Yacht Club
Royal Cork Yacht Club
Royal Irish Yacht club
Royal Saint George Yacht Club

Featured Brokers

leinster sidebutton

Featured Webcams

Featured Associations

ISA sidebutton
ICRA
isora sidebutton

Featured Marinas

dlmarina sidebutton

Featured Chandleries

CHMarine Afloat logo
https://afloat.ie/resources/marine-industry-news/viking-marine

Featured Sailmakers

northsails sidebutton
uksails sidebutton
watson sidebutton

Featured Blogs

W M Nixon - Sailing on Saturday
podcast sidebutton
BSB sidebutton
wavelengths sidebutton
 

Please show your support for Afloat by donating