#Rowing: Ireland's Paul O'Donovan is the new champion of the world in the lightweight single sculls. The UCD clubman won the A Final in Rotterdam by clear water from Peter Galambos of Hungary in difficult, windy, conditions.

 O'Donovan was sixth at the 500 metre mark, but was already moving. He simply outclassed the field from there. Rajko Hrvat of Slovenia valiantly tried to match him, but repeated pushes by Skibbereen's finest left him behind. O'Donovan then drove on to win. The crowds rose to the new star of world rowing.

#Rowing: The Rowers of the Month for July are Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll of Skibbereen. The Irish Championships offered a list of great performances: the Commerical senior eight won a thrilling final; the Cork Boat Club junior pair of Amy Mason and Tara Hanlon impressed and would go on the take silver at the Coupe de la Jeunesse;  the rising star that is Daire Lynch took three titles. However, O’Donovan and O’Driscoll had the outstanding run, taking five titles: together they won the senior pair and senior double, while O’Donovan won the senior single sculls and O’Driscoll the lightweight single. They also teamed up with Fintan McCarthy and Kenny McCarthy to win the senior quadruple. The combined efforts of all the Skibbereen crews brought them 13 titles, lifting the west Cork club to 163 in total, clear at the top of the rankings as the most successful Irish club.

 Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll will represent Ireland in the lightweight pair at the World Championships in Rotterdam in late August.

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 2016. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2016 champions list grow.

It was a good year for Irish rowing: among the highlights were an Ireland eight taking bronze at the World University Championships; John Keohane winning the single sculls title at the World Coastal Rowing Championships; Siohan McCrohan and Claire Lambe reaching A Finals at World Cup and European Championship level. At home, NUIG won the senior eights title after another great battle with Queen's. Standing out above the rest, however, is the achievements of the four men who made up the Lightweight Quadruple Scull which took silver at the World Under-23 Championships. Niall Kenny, Michael Maher, Mark O'Donovan and Justin Ryan (pictured below) are the Afloat Rowers of the Year 2010.

Rower of the Year award: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times, President of Rowing Ireland Anthony Dooley and David O'Brien, Editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year have appeared on afloat.ie. The overall national award goes 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 2010. Thanks for your interest!

Mark O'Donovan of the Skibbereen quadruple tells the story of how the crew won the title at the National Championships. The crew of Richard Coakley, Gearoid Murphy, O'Donovan and Justin Ryan are the Afloat Rowers of the Month for September.