Irish Rowing University Championships

Stunning yet hot conditions in Lough Rinn set the scene for the 2021 University Championships. Rowers were topping up their suncream and dunking hats all day to stay cool between races.

The University Championships were organised by the University Committee (chaired by Shauna Fitzsimons, UCD), supported by the Lough Rinn Regatta Committee (chaired by Martin Hogan), and Rowing Ireland. The traditional 24 events are split evenly between men’s and women’s races. There were strong performances by all universities during the day and some tightly contested races, with some crews facing off again next weekend at Lough Rinn Regatta.

The Wylie Cup and Bank of Ireland Cup were both won by UCD. Full results can be found on the Rowing Ireland website under Event Listings. 

Photographs of racing at Universities can be found on the Rowing Ireland Facebook page. Many thanks to the support of local Gardaí, Leitrim County Council, Leitrim Civil Defense, and Carrick on Shannon RC for their support providing additional volunteers, food, water and ensuring a safe and enjoyable event.

Additionally, Mark Kelly (Carrick on Shannon Rowing Club) took some fantastic videos and photos of the event which can be found on his Flickr page here.

Recreational Tour 

On a sunny Saturday, 30 recreational rowers took to the water in Wicklow for a tour of Blessington Lake. The event saw a mix of juniors and seniors, coastal and river rowers come together for a day out in the sun.

The flotilla of boats did a lap of the course before heading south by Avon Rí, the Blessington Sailing Club and on towards Valleymount. At the south of the lake, the six boats pulled in on the sandy beach for some shade and refreshments before heading back to the Blessington Boat House, completing the 20km spin. 

Massive thanks to John O’Keefe, Pat Feerick, Eunan Dolan, the Metro Committee and the Recreational Rowing Committee for making it a successful event. 

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Event results can be found on the Events Tab on the Rowing Ireland website. Upcoming domestic events can be found on the Domestic Calendar which is also available on the Events tab of the Rowing Ireland website. Upcoming Events include Lough Rinn Regatta this weekend, on Saturday 24th July, held in Lough Rinn, Leitrim. Also on Saturday the 24th is Portmagee Beach Sprints Offshore Regatta.  

If you have any event queries please contact either the regatta secretary in the first instance or events@rowingireland.ie