Cove Sailing Club has set this year's date for one of the most popular dinghy races in Cork Harbour - the Ballinacurra Cup. Its top prize is one of the oldest "All-In" dinghy racing handicap trophies in the country. The race brings sailors to the famous pub in Ballinacurra Village for the prizegiving - Creenan's – home of Jacko Creenan, where the family had owned the Brooklands, Ireland's last engineless freight-carrying schooner.
The Cup race from Cobh to the North/East corner of Cork Harbour, once a major port for the old sailing ships, has been fixed for Saturday, May 10,
The Irish Naval Service presented the race trophy to the Cove Sailing Club in 1947.
Cove SC says it has been won by a huge range of successful sailors, including Olympians, America's Cup sailors, Volvo Ocean Sailors, Admirals Cup winners, Commodore's Cup winners, European and National Champions.
Sailors outside Brooklands Bar at the conclusion of the 2022 Ballincurra Trophy race Photo: Bob Bateman
This year, the race is also being described as the "National 18 Master Cup," as this class is a strong supporter and participant in the race.
Ballinacurra is a short distance from the main East Cork marketing town of Midleton, and for many years, it was a port for coal, timber, iron, slate, flax for the linen industry, and barley. Sailing ships up to 300 tons used the port.
Ballinacurra from the Cork and County Archives
Ships took the finished malt mainly to Dublin for the brewing industry.. The last sailing ship in Cork Harbour was the schooner Brooklands, owned by the Creenan family.
Ballinacurra Port closed in 1962, as it was deemed too expensive to dredge.
