Last Saturday, October 2nd, at 5pm on the River Shannon in the heart of the city, the idea of a significant international rally and rowing race event for traditional craft was realised.

It’s a developing concept, an event in the making that has the potential to promote to the wider world the special pleasures of rowing Limerick’s many hidden waterways.

Thirty boats gathered on O’Callaghan Strand slip. They were all wonderful vernacular craft of the best traditional types, imbued with their owners’ characters, and manned with equally characterful crews who had travelled with their beloved boats from Cork, West Clare, Limerick and the adjacent boat-beds of Clarina, Coonagh, Ringmoylan and Askeaton, to make up a generous inaugural King’s Island Race fleet. The best of October weather came out in support as the rowers pulled east towards Thomond Bridge, to begin a wonderful inaugural King’s Island Race in warm sunshine.

"Visiting rowers to the city were more than surprised with the splendour of the city’s river environment, and particularly with how being in a small boat can so quickly put it in a fresh context” said Gary MacMahon, director of the Ilen School which hosted the event. “In fact” he added, "they were a bit disappointed we had not shared this metropolitan rowing pearl with them earlier…….At any rate, the secret has now escaped the city, as we at the Ilen.ie School plan to develop this King’s Island Race as a quality international annual river event for Limerick.” he confirmed.

Kings Island on the north side of central Limerick provides an ideal course for a rowing race, but you need to time it such that you take the last of the flood tide going northeast, and the first of the ebb returning southwest. Photo: Google

From time immemorial, the waterways of metropolitan Limerick have been noted for their turbulent character, a dynamic confluence of strong Atlantic tides and flooding land-waters. This can make making it an implacable waterway, indifferent to the locomotion of local boats and their pilots. Accordingly, the sagacious Limerick boater will always go with the favourable tides and floods, the great elemental currents that in synchronised use will sweep a boat and her crew 'like the clappers' around King’s Island.

For the few who take pleasure in Limerick City’s local boats, their construction, maintenance and handling, a row around the city's King’s Island is an eagerly awaited seasonal outing which they now wish to share with others. For the energetic boater, it is a magnificent 45 minute dash over fast water, along ever changing river topography. And for the leisurely rower, which seems the greater number of city boaters, it is an inimitable row to another world - one that lies where the built city surrenders to the wild river banks, near the meeting of the Shannon and the Abbey Rivers.

The Ilen School and Network for Wooden Boat Building in Limerick City has for many years taught the craft of building local boats, and it also diffuses the skills of boat handling, particularly as they map on to waters that flow uniquely through the city. The Ilen.ie school also serves as a network for local river folk, a sort of assembly for new ideas and conversations around all things to do with local boats, and which from time to time has entertained the idea of an around Kings Island boat race.

For many of the crews taking part, it was more of a reasonably briskly-paced row-in-company than an out and-out-race. But some were undoubtedly very competitive, none more so than the winners, Michael Grimes and his crew of currach men who hail from Coonagh, a secret little “boat bed” on the north bank of the Shannon Estuary just a mile west of Limerick City. None could match the Coonagh crew.

In the end it was Michael Grimes’ currach from Coonagh which won, and the fleet included a good selection of classic black currach types, with four of them here together with three grey Shannon gandelows. Photo: Gary MacMahon

#Rowing: Ailish Sheehan, the Limerick rower who was badly injured in a fall on Sunday after the World University Rowing Championships in Poznan, has died. BUCS, the British university and colleges sports organization, said in a statement:

British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is deeply saddened to report the death of Ailish Sheehan on 9th September 2016.

 Ailish, a postgraduate student at Goldsmiths, University of London representing the University of London Boat Club, was involved in an accident after the culmination of the 2016 FISU World University Championships for Rowing in Poznan, Poland on Sunday evening, 4th September. Ailish had been competing in the Women’s Four (W4) at the Championships, where she won a bronze medal.

 BUCS, British Rowing and Rowing Ireland are providing support to her family during this difficult time and ask for their privacy to be respected.

On behalf of everyone at BUCS, I wish to extend our condolences to the family and friends of Ailish and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.

#Rowing: Limerick rower Ailish Sheehan (23) is in critical condition after a fall after she had competed at the World University Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.

 Sheehan apparently fell on a footpath when celebrating taking a bronze medal while competing with the Britain team. With crewmates Rebecca Edwards, Annie Withers and Gillian Cooper, she finished third in the women’s four.

 Sheehan, from St Michael’s rowing club, had rowed in an Ireland four at the World Under-23 Rowing Championships in 2013 with Lisa Dilleen, Emily Tormey and Aifric Keogh. They finished fourth.

 She had won a scholarship to Notre Dame in the United States in 2011 and completed a degree there in design. She stroked the Notre Dame crew to sixth in the Head of the Charles in 2014. She returned and moved to Britain and switched to the British system.

#Rowing: Monika Dukarska took a bronze medal for Ireland at the World University Rowing Championships in Poland today. The Ireland single sculler took a third place behind Germany’s Julia Leiding and Lisa Farthofer of Austria, who just beat her in the battle for silver. The Killorglin woman had been in the Ireland high performance programme until earlier this year.

World University Rowing Championships, Poznan, Poland (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Men

Double - B Final: 3 Ireland (P Doyle, T Oliver) 6:42.56.

Lightweight Single - B Final: 6 Ireland (C Beck) 7:36.15.  

Women

Four - B Final: 2 Ireland (A Feeley, A Crowley, S Bennett, E Lambe) 7:14.68.

Double Sculls - B Final: 3 Ireland (O Bouanane, O Blundell) 7:44.83.

Lightweight Double Sculls: 3 Ireland (D Synott, J McCarthy) 6:49.87.

Single Sculls - A Final: 1 Germany (J Leiding) 7:33.73, 2 Austria (L Farthofer) 7:35.35, 3 Ireland (M Dukarska) 7:35.99.

#Rowing: Monika Dukarska qualified for the A Final of the women’s single sculls at the World University Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland. The Killorglin woman finished a clear second in her repechage, with two going through to the A Final. There were B Final places for five other Irish crews: the men’s double sculls and lightweight double sculls and lightweight single sculler Chris Beck and for the women’s four and women’s double. Andrew Goff was set for the C Final in the men’s single.

#Rowing: Thousands turned out tonight for the official return of Olympic silver medalists Paul and Gary O'Donovan to Skibbereen, West Cork

The duo and members of team and management travelled in an open-topped bus through the town.

#Rowing: Paul O'Donovan talks about winning the World Championships with Proteus Paparazzi. The European gold medalist and Olympic silver medalist with his brother Gary will be welcomed back to Skibbereen in a special ceremony on Monday.Thousands are expected to attend.

#Rowing: Paul and Gary O'Donovan won silver for Ireland at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro today. The young men from Lisheen in Cork produced an outstanding finish, taking the middle place between France and Norway in a three-boat sprint to the line.

 As is their way, the O'Donovans hung off the leading group through the early stages, but they were wise enough to not lose touch. By 1500 metres they were second behind eventual winners France. And then the O'Donovans went hunting for gold. France held out as both Ireland and Norway closed on them. Less than three-quarters of a second covered the three crews at the finish.

Olympic Silver Medal winners Paul and Gary O'Donovan celebrate Ireland's first ever Olympic rowing medal

Olympic Games Regatta, Rio de Janeiro

Men

Lightweight Double Sculls - A Final: 1 France (P Houin, J Azou) 6:30.70, 2 Ireland (G O'Donovan, P O'Donovan) 6:31.23, 3 Norway 6:31.39. B Final (places 7 to 12): 1 Britain (W Fletcher, R Chambers) 6:28.81.

Single Sculls - Semi-Final (Three to A Final; rest to B Final):

4 Britain (A Campbell) 7:09.54.

Women

Lightweight Double Sculls - A Final:

Netherlands 7:04.73, 2 Canada 7:05.88, 3 China 7:06.49; 6 Ireland (C Lambe, S Lynch) 7:13.09.

Ireland's junior rowing team are racing in Poznan, Poland, where the 2016 Coupe de la Jeunesse will take place this weekend. The Coupe de la Jeunesse is an international rowing regatta for rowers under the age of 18, and rowed over 2000m every year. Ireland have 4 crews entered in the event: a men’s quadruple, men’s four, women’s four and women’s pair. The 11 nations that Ireland will be up against are Austria, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.

Three of Ireland's Rowing Ireland Olympians who are headed for Rio next week have competed in the Coupe in recent years, with this event being a great stepping stone for future success for many athletes. The 14–strong rowers from all around the island of Ireland will travel to the World Rowing renowned course at Lake Malta in Poznan this morning (Thursday), after a week-long training camp at the National Rowing Centre in Cork. Pat McInerney, Lead Junior Coach has said “The Coupe team are drawn from a wide range of clubs and have had a very good training camp at the NRC. We are looking forward to seeing them compete in Poznan on what for many is their first step towards International Rowing.”

The Irish Team is as follows:

Men’s Four: Aaron Johnston (Portora BC), Sam Armstrong (Portora BC), Ross Corrigan (Portora BC), Patrick Kennelly (Presentation College RC). Coach: Pat McInerney (St. Michael’s RC and Rowing Ireland Junior Coach)
Men’s Quadruple: Barry O’Flynn (Cork BC), Niall Beggan (Commercial RC), Barry Connolly (Cork BC), Stephen O’ Sullivan (Shandon BC). Coach: Fran Keane (Presentation College RC, Cork)
Women’s Quadruple: Margaret Cremen (Lee RC), Lucy Taylor (Belfast RC), Hannah Scott (Bann RC), Fiona Chestnutt (Bann RC). Coach: Dan Buckley (Lee RC)
Women’s Pair: Amy-Kate Mason (Cork BC), Tara Hanlon (Cork Boat Club). Coach: Fran Keane (Presentation College RC, Cork)
Team Manager: Michelle Carpenter (Commercial RC/Shannon RC)

#Rowing: Only six Russia competitors have been cleared by Fisa, the governing body of rowing, to compete at the Olympic Games. Twenty were ruled ineligible as records were scrutinised in line with the International Olympic Committee’s guidelines on drug testing. One Irish crew, the lightweight women’s double, is affected. The Russia crew of Alena Statagina and Anastasiia Ianina will not be allowed participate, and their place will be offered to Italy.    

 The full Fisa statement reads:

The FISA Executive Committee has made a final decision related to Russian participation for rowing in Rio 2016 in accordance with the IOC Executive Board’s decision, point 2.3.

IOC Decision, point 2.3 – “IFs should carry out an individual analysis of each athlete’s anti-doping record, taking into account only reliable adequate international tests and the specificities of the athlete’s sport and its rules, in order to ensure a level playing field”

Russia has qualified five boats and entered 26 rowers and two coxswains for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The athletes’ names were entered by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) by the deadline of 18 July 2016. Testing information collected from FISA, WADA, the Russian Rowing Federation (RRF), RUSADA and UK Anti-Doping shows that a total of 1679 blood and/or urine tests were carried out between 2011 and June 2016 on all Russian rowers. For the Russian rowers entered for Rio, 547 blood and urine tests were conducted since 2011. None of the 28 athletes entered on 18 July have tested positive in the last five years.All of these tests are fully documented in the WADA online documentation tool called ADAMS.

However, WADA’s Independent Person (IP) report reveals that the Moscow Laboratory was under the control of the Deputy Minister of Sport and was using the Disappearing Positive Methodology scheme to manipulate test results. It also states that the IP has “only skimmed the surface of the extensive data available.” Therefore,  the FISA Executive Committee reviewed each entered Russian rower in order to assess the adequacy and reliability of their “international” testing (the analysis of the samples performed at a WADA accredited lab other than Moscow), taking into account the specificities of the sport of Rowing.

IOC Decision, point 4. “The IOC will accept an entry by the ROC only if the athlete’s IF is satisfied that the evidence provided meets conditions 2 and 3 above, and if it is upheld by an expert from the CAS list of arbitrators appointed by an ICAS Member”

The FISA Executive Committee, due to the manipulation of the Moscow Laboratory tests, has determined, based on the assessment of independent testing of all rowers, the following will be permitted to enter:

CHAUKIN, Aleksandr

EFREMENKO, Georgy

KOSOV, Artem

MORGACHEV, Nikita

RYABCEV, Vladislav

ZARUTSKIY, Anton

The remaining 17 entered rowers and two coxswains (besides the three rowers revealed yesterday) are not at all considered to have participated in doping, but do not meet the conditions established by the IOC in their decision of 24 July 2016 for participation in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Effect of this decision

The effect of this decision is that Russia has six remaining eligible rowers - one lightweight and five open weight men - for competition in Rio 2016.

Therefore, four Russian boats (LM4-, LW2x, M8+ and W8+) will be withdrawn from participation in the Games and will be attributed to the next placing crews at the 2016 Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland, as follows:

LM4- to Greece, the Hellenic Rowing Federation

M8+ to the Italian Rowing Federation

W8+ to the Australian Rowing Federation

And in the 2016 European Continental Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland:

LW2x to the Italian Rowing Federation

Russia has the possibility to form a men’s four (M4-) with the eligible six rowers for competition in Rio 2016. We await the Russian Rowing Federation’s decision on this possibility.

Any issues with the Russian participation at the Paralympic Games will be dealt with at a later date.