Irish Rowing Clubs were successful at the 2026 European Coastal & Beach Sprint Rowing Championships which took place between 16th and 20th September, with Cork native Ronan Byrne (Irish Defence Forces RC) emerging as a double European Club Champion in the Coastal Endurance section having won gold in the Men’s Solo and Men’s Doubles event alongside partner Kealan Mannix of Dunmanway  Rowing Club. Neil O’Sullivan of Ring Rowing Club also took home a medal as he won Bronze in the Men’s Solo event.

Coastal Endurance

In the Men’s Doubles event, Mannix and Byrne teamed up to race against nineteen other international crews in the ‘A’ final. Leaving the line in 12th place, they stuck to their gameplan and trusted their fitness and technical ability to navigate the gruelling 6K course in 1.5 metre waves and gusting force 6 wind. The first five marks were taken wide as they moved up through the field to 4th position, and then with a clear path they advanced upon the three boats holding medal positions, surpassing them in a 200m push to take the outright lead which they continued to extend until they hit the beach first to win take the gold home.

In the Men’s Singles event, a strong Irish contingent saw Mannix, Byrne, O’Sullivan and John Barry (Kilmacsimon RC) qualify from their heats to reach the final 18. Mannix took an early lead in the final but was unfortunate to lose an oar in a collision with the Spanish sculler in second, and it was Byrne who then passed the Spaniard with a ten-stroke burst to claim victory and take gold once more, with O’Sullivan also coming through to win bronze behind him and Barry finishing in 10th place.

In the Women’s solo event, Miriam Sheehan (Castletownbere RC) finished 9th with Kate Dunne of Wicklow RC finishing in 11th place, while in the Men’s ‘B’ finals, David Hussey (Portmagee RC) finished in 2nd place ahead of Wicklow RC’s Fionn O’Neill in 3rd.

Irish Coastal Endurance finishers in full:

Men’s Solo A Finals

Ronan Byrne (Irish Defence Forces RC) – 1st

Neil O’Sullivan (Ring RC) – 3rd

John Barry (Kilmacsimon RC) – 10th

Men’s Doubles

Ronan Byrne (IDF RC) and Kealan Mannix (Dunmanway RC) – 1st

Aidan Crowley and Luke Nixon (Kilmacsimon RC) – 6th

Noel Creedon and Neil O Sullivan (Ring RC) – 7th

Fionn O’Neill and Sean Power (Wicklow RC) – 18th

Women’s Solo A Finals

Miriam Sheehan (Castletownbere RC) – 9th

Kate Dunne (Wicklow RC) – 11th

Women’s Doubles

Ella Cialis (Castletownshend RC) and Mary Ann Kent (Arklow RC) – 13th

Kate Dunne and Maeve Mcloughlin (Wicklow RC) – 15th

Women’s Quad

Celine Kavanagh, Freya Doyle, Maria Murphy, Fianaid O Gorman, Kate Mc Mahon (Killorglin RC) – 8th

Mike Feen, Mary Anne McCarthy, Ciara Rahilly, Eden O’Donovan, Aisling Feen (Galley Flash RC) – 11th

Peter Doyle (Wicklow RC), Miriam Sheehan and Sinead Murphy (Castletownbere RC), Niamh and Siobhan Lordan (Kilmacsimon RC) – dnf

Men’s Quad

Kate Dunne, Peter Doyle, Thomas Sheridan, Sean power, Fionn O’Neill (Wicklow RC) – 12th

Masters Quad 

Peter Doyle, Kate Dunne, Shay Dunne (Wicklow RC) David Hussey (Portmagee RC), John Harrington (Galley Flash) – 6th

Men’s Solo B Finals

David Hussey (Portmagee RC) – 2nd

Fionn O’Neill (Wicklow RC) – 3rd

Member Federation Finals

Men’s Solo

Barry Hooper – 11th

Florence Fitzgerald – 12th

Women’s Solo

Monika Dukarska – 13th

Maeve McLoughlin – 14th

Mixed Doubles

Thomas Sheridan and Kate Dunne – 6th

Sean Power and Maeve McLoughlin – 7th

Beach Sprints

Ireland missed out on a medal in the Beach Sprint section, however three junior crews progressed from the time trials to the Last 16:

  • Junior men’s single: Shane O’Flaherty lost to Austria’s Nikolas Roidmayer, 3:05.83 to 2:48.93.
  • Junior women’s single: Kate Dunne was narrowly beaten by Spain’s Marina Lopez Sempere, 3:19.34 to 3:16.57. The Spaniard subsequently won silver.
  • Junior mixed double: Conor Kelly and Isabella Monahan lost to Austria, 2:59.75 to 2:50.92. The Austrian crew also went on to win silver.

The Senior Irish entries did not progress beyond the second time trial:

  • Patrick Boomer: 10th in men’s single TT2, 2:52.04.
  • Miriam Sheehan: 10th in women’s single TT2, 3:12.37.

Thomas Sheridan and Monika Dukarska: 14th in mixed double TT2, 2:41.72