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Displaying items by tag: St Michaels Rowing Club

Dun Laoghaire Harbour's St. Michael’s Rowing Club Regatta took place on Sunday, the 17th of July and brought together a large community of heritage skiff rowers from all along the east coast writes St. Michael’s Simone Sav

Coastal rowing at St Michael’s Rowing Club combines all the positive aspects of team sport, seamanship, fitness, competition and the great outdoors. The club caters for men, women and children with all levels of aspiration, from the recreational to the serious athlete.

Traditionally held every year at Seapoint, the event drew hundreds of spectators on SundayTraditionally held every year at Seapoint on Dublin Bay, the event drew hundreds of spectators on Sunday

With more than 100 crews, 17 races on the cards and participation of all age categories (from youth rowers as young as 10 to ‘vets’ in their 50s and 60s), the event was the largest coastal rowing regatta in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown in 2022. Traditionally held every year at Seapoint, the event drew hundreds of spectators on Sunday. This helps keep alive the tradition of the hobblers of old. With fixed seats, wooden oars, and clinker-built boats, the sport of heritage skiff rowing differs significantly from our freshwater ‘Olympic-style’ cousins.

"Heritage rowing is a sport for all ages - from youth rowers as young as 10 to ‘vets’ in their 50s and 60s"

St. Michaels welcomed Mary Hanafin, Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, who presented the medals to the youth rowers. In a thoughtful departure from the usual format, the club opted for eco-friendly wood medals. After all, heritage skiff rowing is truly a sport that leaves no trace, which draws on the savvy of wood craftsmanship, the power of the human body and the maritime knowledge to cross any waters.

St. Michael’s rowing medals were in hot dema at SeapointSt. Michael’s rowing medals were in hot dema at Seapoint

Club members were also delighted to see several elected councillors and TDs stop by or promote the event via their social media: TD Barry Ward; TD Cormac Devlin; Councilor Justin Moylan and Councillor Peter O’Brien.

St. Michaels welcomed Mary Hanafin, Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, who presented the medals to the youth rowersSt. Michaels welcomed Mary Hanafin, Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, who presented the medals to the youth rowersd

The event was supported by local businesses: Access Hearing Centre, Dun Laoghaire; Acorn Landscaping; Ardcolts Supervalu Dun Laoghaire SC; Cafe du Journal & Bearhug Clothing, Monkstown; Cinnamon, Monkstown; Elephant & Castle, Monkstown; Georges Fish Shop, Monkstown; McKenna’s Bar; Specialist Orthodontic Practice, Glenageary; The Graduate Pub, Killiney.

The St. Michael’s Rowing Club committee, and in particular Captains Nicola Fitzgerald and Gareth Whittington, would like to thank all sponsors, supporters, club members and friends for their contribution to making the event a great success.

St. Michael’s Rowing Club was founded in Dun Laoghaire Harbour in the early 1920s. Today the club consists of over 100 members, from all walks of life, with all abilities catered for, from complete beginners to experienced rowers.

Crews train Monday to Friday from March to September, from 6 pm to sundown, in traditional wooden skiffs, as well as Celtic Longboat, with an offshore boat to be added to the fleet during the 2022 season.

St. Michael’s Home Regatta results - 17th July 2022

Intermediate Ladies
1st - Fingal
2nd - Stella Maris
3rd - Dalkey

Junior Ladies
1st - Dalkey
2nd - St Patrick’s
3rd - Stella Maris

Junior Men
1st - St Patrick’s
2nd - St Michaels
3rd - Stella Maris

Mixed crew
1st - Dalkey
2nd - St Michaels
3rd - Stella Maris

Senior Men
1st - St Patrick’s 
2nd - Wicklow 
3rd - St Michaels 

U12 boys
1st - Wicklow 
2nd - St Patrick’s 
3rd - Wicklow 

U12 girls
1st - St Patrick’s 
2nd - St Patrick’s 
3rd - St Michaels 

U14 boys
1st - St Patrick’s 
2nd - Wicklow 
3rd - Stella Maris 

U14 girls
1st - Stella Maris A
2nd - Stella Maris B 
3rd - Greystones 

Novice Men
1st - Fingal 
2nd - Bray 
3rd - Dalkey 

U21s Mens race
1st - St Michaels 

Senior Ladies
1st - St Michaels 
2nd - Wicklow 
3rd - Fingal 

Intermediate Men
1st - Wicklow 
2nd - Stella Maris 
3rd - Greystones 

U16 girls
1st - Stella Maris A
2nd - Stella Maris B
3rd - Wicklow 

U16 boys
1st - Bray
2nd - St Patrick’s 
3rd - Skerries 

U18 girls
1st - Skerries
2nd - Greystones
3rd - Bray?

U18 boys
1st - Wicklow 
2nd - St Michaels A
3rd - Skerries 

Vets
1st - Dalkey & Bray 
2nd - Dalkey 
3rd - Fingal 

Published in Coastal Rowing

As we emerge from what we hope will be the country's last lockdown, St. Michael's Rowing Club based a Dun Laoghaire Harbour, is nearing completion of its longest race yet. Inspired by Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg, over the last 80 days, members and friends of the club were invited to participate in a Round the World in 80 Days challenge, virtually of course, and log their progress online writes the club's Claire Sheehan

Healthy competitiveness ensued, with times and distances uploaded, from various disciplines- kayaking, cycling, running, walking, swimming, indoor and outdoor rowing, and even surfing, an unusual sight on the east coast! All while observing Covid restrictions.

Social distancing, 40-foot styleSocial distancing, 40-foot style

Sixty-three members and friends of the club participated, clocking up a total of 33,703.7 KM and providing much-needed distraction- as these pictures demonstrate, we have a tremendous amenity on our doorstep. 

Sonja Storm swimming in KillineySonja Storm swimming in Killiney

As we near the end of our journey this week, Seattle-based member Jon Phillips is speeding towards virtual victory, with locals Brendan White and David Cullen coming in for silver and bronze.

Club member Rob Collins, kayaking at dusk in Dun Laoghaire harbour   Club member Rob Collins, kayaking at dusk in Dun Laoghaire harbour  

After all that excitement, attention can at last turn to getting our youth section back in a skiff and on the water for real, and hopefully our grown-ups shortly after. It's been a long winter.

Paddleboarders doing their bitPaddleboarders doing their bit

Published in Coastal Rowing

#coastalrowing – St. Michael's rowing club, Dun Laoghaire, will host round six of the East Coast, Coastal Rowing Championships on Sunday 27th July, 2014. The regatta will take place from the West Pier to the North of Seapoint Tower. With more than 80 teams competing from all over the East Coast, this will be an action packed day.

There will be 14 races of all age groups with the first race beginning at 10.30am. This year's event will see hundreds of men, women and children compete over a gruelling circuit in a bid to be crowned 2014 champions in their respective field.

Viewing is best from the beach at Salthill DART station and will be an excellent opportunity to view, support and enjoy this traditional form of coastal rowing.

#celticchallenge – Over the coming May bank holiday weekend (2th-5th May), 12 men and women from of St Michael's Rowing Club, Dun Laoghaire and volunteers from Irish Charity GOAL, will take part in a biennial rowing race across the Irish Sea known as 'the Celtic Challenge' writes Gareth Whittington. The race sets off from Arklow, Co. Wicklow with the finishing line in Aberystwyth, Wales. At 150km, this relay race is billed as the longest 'true' rowing race in the world and draws together 27 teams from Wales, Ireland and beyond. The team is taking on this challenge to raise funds for a support project in the Philippines and a new skiff for St. Michael's Rowing Club.

Towards the end of last week, our challenge ambitions hung in the balance. 2 support boats that came forward to help us out, both had to pull out due to technical problems. However, following a PR campaign through Afloat.ie and other media channels, fellow Celtic Challenger, Robert Finglas put us in touch with Noel Rouroc who sails his stunning 48' yacht, Emiliya, out of Malahide. The news was good. After a nail biting 24 hours and a serious lack of sleep, Noel confirmed that he would be able to help us out.

On behalf of St. Michael's Rowing Club, Dun Laoghaire and GOAL, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody for their help. Later this week we'll be posting a live tracking link on our Facebook page, this will enable you to see an update every 15 minutes, of our epic journey across the Irish Sea. Now the real hard work begins....

Published in Coastal Rowing

#coastalrowing – Last Sunday saw the 8th and penultimate leg of the 2013 East Coast Rowing series. It was a fantastic day in Dun Laoghaire, and the heavy downpours, which at one stage saw 8mm of rain fall within 30 minutes, was not going to dampen the spirits of the spectators and the travelling clubs from up and down the East Coast.

There were 80 teams from 9 participating clubs, competing across the 12 categories on the day. This we believe is a possible record for our sport. What can be claimed as a record is the number of St. Michael's crews that were entered; 14 in all with crews from U16s to Senior Mens & Ladies.

There were plenty of activities going on within Dun Laoghaire on Sunday, including the Rainbow Run and a swimming event from Seapoint, which added to the excitement on the day. Excellent organisation by all parties ensured a smooth running of all events.

St. Michael's had an excellent day with the 2 main success stories being the Senior Ladies crew of Eloise O'Riordan, Suzy O'Keefe, Orla Stavely, Dee Friel, (Coxed by James Byrne) coming home with yet another Gold, making them the East Coast champions with 1 race to spare.

The second success story of the day was the performance of the Inter Men's crew of Colm Crilly, Ger Ryan, Dave Cullen, Alan Quigley (Coxed by Rob Moloney), who brought home the first home Gold for a St. Michael's men's team for decades.  

St.PatsSeniortrophy

St. Pats Win Senior Trophy with Sponsor Arthur McKenna & Councillor Jane Dillon-Byrne

There were other super performances from the Junior Ladies crew taking silver behind a very strong Stella crew, a hard fought bronze for one of our Novice crews and strong performances from our 3 junior crews; U16 mixed, U18 Girls, U18 Boys.

St Michaels regatta 2013 results

The results from last weekend have pushed us up into 4th on the overall team standings, which is way above our expectations.

The final regatta will take place this bank holiday Monday in Wicklow. The season finale starts with a parade through the town with racing due to start from 2pm. 

 

Published in Coastal Rowing

Annalise Murphy, Olympic Silver Medalist

The National Yacht Club's Annalise Murphy (born 1 February 1990) is a Dublin Bay sailor who won a silver medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics. She is a native of Rathfarnham, a suburb of Dublin.

Murphy competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Women's Laser Radial class. She won her first four days of sailing at the London Olympics and, on the fifth day, came in 8th and 19th position.

They were results that catapulted her on to the international stage but those within the tiny sport of Irish sailing already knew her of world-class capability in a breeze and were not surprised.

On the sixth day of the competition, she came 2nd and 10th and slipped down to second, just one point behind the Belgian world number one.

Annalise was a strong contender for the gold medal but in the medal race, she was overtaken on the final leg by her competitors and finished in 4th, her personal best at a world-class regatta and Ireland's best Olympic class result in 30 years.

Radial European Gold

Murphy won her first major medal at an international event the following year on home waters when she won gold at the 2013 European Sailing Championships on Dublin Bay.

Typically, her track record continues to show that she performs best in strong breezes that suit her large stature (height: 1.86 m Weight: 72 kg).

She had many international successes on her road to Rio 2016 but also some serious setbacks including a silver fleet finish in flukey winds at the world championships in the April of Olympic year itself.

Olympic Silver Medal

On 16 August 2016, Murphy won the silver medal in the Laser Radial at the 2016 Summer Olympics defying many who said her weight and size would go against her in Rio's light winds.

As Irish Times Sailing Correspondent David O'Brien pointed out: " [The medal] was made all the more significant because her string of consistent results was achieved in a variety of conditions, the hallmark of a great sailor. The medal race itself was a sailing master class by the Dubliner in some decidedly fickle conditions under Sugarloaf mountain".

It was true that her eight-year voyage ended with a silver lining but even then Murphy was plotting to go one better in Tokyo four years later.

Sportswoman of the Year

In December 2016, she was honoured as the Irish Times/Sport Ireland 2016 Sportswoman of the Year.

In March, 2017, Annalise Murphy was chosen as the grand marshal of the Dublin St Patrick's day parade in recognition of her achievement at the Rio Olympics.

She became the Female World Champion at the Moth Worlds in July 2017 in Italy but it came at a high price for the Olympic Silver medallist. A violent capsize in the last race caused her to sustain a knee injury which subsequent scans revealed to be serious. 

Volvo Ocean Race

The injury was a blow for her return to the Olympic Laser Radial discipline and she withdrew from the 2017 World Championships. But, later that August, to the surprise of many, Murphy put her Tokyo 2020 ambitions on hold for a Volvo Ocean Race crew spot and joined Dee Caffari’s new Turn the Tide On Plastic team that would ultimately finish sixth from seventh overall in a global circumnavigation odyssey.

Quits Radial for 49erFX

There were further raised eyebrows nine months later when, during a break in Volvo Ocean Race proceedings, in May 2018 Murphy announced she was quitting the Laser Radial dinghy and was launching a 49er FX campaign for Tokyo 2020. Critics said she had left too little time to get up to speed for Tokyo in a new double-handed class.

After a 'hugely challenging' fourteen months for Murphy and her crew Katie Tingle, it was decided after the 2019 summer season that their 'Olympic medal goal' was no longer realistic, and the campaign came to an end. Murphy saying in interviews “I guess the World Cup in Japan was a bit of a wakeup call for me, I was unable to see a medal in less than twelve months and that was always the goal".

The pair raced in just six major regattas in a six-month timeframe. 

Return to Radial

In September 2019, Murphy returned to the Laser Radial dinghy and lead a four-way trial for the Tokyo 2020 Irish Olympic spot after the first of three trials when she finished 12th at the Melbourne World Championships in February 2020.

Selection for Tokyo 2021

On June 11, Irish Sailing announced Annalise Murphy had been nominated in the Laser Radial to compete at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Murphy secured the Laser Radial nomination after the conclusion of a cut short trials in which rivals Aoife Hopkins, Aisling Keller and Eve McMahon also competed.

Disappointment at Tokyo 2021

After her third Olympic Regatta, there was disappointment for Murphy who finished 18th overall in Tokyo. On coming ashore after the last race, she indicated her intention to return to studies and retire from Olympic sailing.  

On 6th Aguust 2020, Murphy wrote on Facebook:  "I am finally back home and it’s been a week since I finished racing, I have been lucky enough to experience the highs and the lows of the Olympics. I am really disappointed, I can’t pretend that I am not. I wasn’t good enough last week, the more mistakes I made the more I lost confidence in my decision making. Two years ago I made a plan to try and win a gold medal in the Radial, I believed that with my work ethic and attitude to learning, that everything would work out for me. It didn’t work out this time but I do believe that it’s worth dreaming of winning Olympic medals as I’m proof that it is possible, I also know how scary it is to try knowing you might not be good enough!
I am disappointed for Rory who has been my coach for 15 years, we’ve had some great times together and I wish I could have finished that on a high. I have so much respect for Olympic sailing coaches. They also have to dedicate their lives to getting to the games. I know I’ll always appreciate the impact Rory has had on my life as a person.
I am so grateful for the support I have got from my family and friends, I have definitely been selfish with my time all these years and I hope I can now make that up to you all! Thanks to Kate, Mark and Rónán for always having my back! Thank you to my sponsors for believing in me and supporting me. Thank you Tokyo for making these games happen! It means so much to the athletes to get this chance to do the Olympics.
I am not too sure what is next for me, I definitely don’t hate sailing which is a positive. I love this sport, even when it doesn’t love me 😂. Thank you everyone for all the kind words I am finally getting a chance to read!"

Annalise Murphy, Olympic Sailor FAQs

Annalise Murphy is Ireland’s best performing sailor at Olympic level, with a silver medal in the Laser Radial from Rio 2016.

Annalise Murphy is from Rathfarnham, a suburb in south Co Dublin with a population of some 17,000.

Annalise Murphy was born on 1 February 1990, which makes her 30 years old as of 2020.

Annalise Murphy’s main competition class is the Laser Radial. Annalise has also competed in the 49erFX two-handed class, and has raced foiling Moths at international level. In 2017, she raced around the world in the Volvo Ocean Race.

In May 2018, Annalise Murphy announced she was quitting the Laser Radial and launching a campaign for Tokyo 2020 in the 49erFX with friend Katie Tingle. The pairing faced a setback later that year when Tingle broke her arm during training, and they did not see their first competition until April 2019. After a disappointing series of races during the year, Murphy brought their campaign to an end in September 2019 and resumed her campaign for the Laser Radial.

Annalise Murphy is a longtime and honorary member of the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire.

Aside from her Olympic success, Annalise Murphy won gold at the 2013 European Sailing Championships on Dublin Bay.

So far Annalise Murphy has represented Ireland at two Olympic Games.

Annalise Murphy has one Olympic medal, a silver in the Women’s Laser Radial from Rio 2016.

Yes; on 11 June 2020, Irish Sailing announced Annalise Murphy had been nominated in the Women’s Laser Radial to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021.

Yes; in December 2016, Annalise Murphy was honoured as the Irish Times/Sport Ireland 2016 Sportswoman of the Year. In the same year, she was also awarded Irish Sailor of the Year.

Yes, Annalise Murphy crewed on eight legs of the 2017-18 edition of The Ocean Race.

Annalise Murphy was a crew member on Turn the Tide on Plastic, skippered by British offshore sailor Dee Caffari.

Annalise Murphy’s mother is Cathy McAleavy, who competed as a sailor in the 470 class at the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988.

Annalise Murphy’s father is Con Murphy, a pilot by profession who is also an Olympic sailing race official.

Annalise Murphy trains under Irish Sailing Performance head coach Rory Fitzpatrick, with whom she also prepared for her silver medal performance in Rio 2016.

Annalise Murphy trains with the rest of the team based at the Irish Sailing Performance HQ in Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

Annalise Murphy height is billed as 6 ft 1 in, or 183cm.

©Afloat 2020

At A Glance – Annalise Murphy Significant Results

2016: Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Silver

2013: European Championships, Dublin, Ireland – Gold

2012: Summer Olympics, London, UK – 4th

2011: World Championships, Perth, Australia – 6th

2010: Skandia Sail for Gold regatta – 10th

2010: Became the first woman to win the Irish National Championships.

2009: World Championships – 8th

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