The August Bank Holiday Weekend included the Junior Festival of Rowing at O’Briensbridge, hosted by Limerick Regatta Committee. and Loughros Point Masters Offshore Regatta, held at Portnoo, Donegal.
Limerick Junior Festival of Rowing
On Saturday the 31st of July, the junior 14s, 15s, and 16s of Irish rowing descended on O’Briensbridge for some much anticipated racing. For 14s and 15s in particular, it was their first experience of racing. There was a high standard of racing throughout the day, with close finishes being commentated by Brian Richardson (St Michael’s Rowing Club), as well as a live stream of the finish line from 9am on facebook provided by Sean Willis and Aoife Willis (Limerick Boat Club).
Conditions were calm and flat, with the day starting out cloudy. The sun appeared at lunchtime, just in time for an ice-cream from the mobile van on site which the juniors all enjoyed (as did some adults!). Men’s J16 8+ closed out racing for lunchtime with St Joseph’s Rowing Club celebrating a thrilling close finish against St Michael’s Rowing Club, Muckross RC and Castleconnell Boat Club to win the event.
Other notable performances of the day included Ayla O’Neill (Kenmare RC) in the Women’s J16 1x final and Shane Rafferty (St Michael’s Rowing Club) in the Men’s J16 1x. Many thanks are extended to the volunteers who assisted in making the event safe and enjoyable, including slip stewards, traffic marshals, umpires and stakeboat holders.
Limerick Regatta Committee wishes to also thank neighbours and business owners in the village of O’ Briensbridge for their support in running the event, particularly in relation to traffic flow and car parking.
Loughros Point Offshore Regatta
Saturday 31st July saw Loughros Point Rowing Club hosting the Masters Regatta off beautiful Narin Beach. Inclement weather and threatening seas could not dim the spirits of organisers and competitors alike, and a card of eighteen races took place throughout a long fun day.
Teams from Cove, Donegal, Cairndu, Kincasslagh and Loughros point battled it out in quads, doubles, and singles throughout the day, with honours evenly spread.
Much thanks is due to so many great people, starters, safety boat crews, timers, commentators, covid officers, first aiders beach masters, ambulance personnel, tractor drivers, burger makers, sandwich creators and tea providers.
Special mention should be made of the younger crews who – apart from rowing – kept us laughing all day and still managed to organise the beach clean up at the end. They are a credit to themselves and their families alike.
We hope we can do it all again next year and we look forwards to even more crews and the opportunity to make even more new friends.
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 this weekend, the 7th of August, include Cork Regatta held at the National Rowing Centre and Wicklow/Arklow Offshore Regatta.
If you have any event queries please contact either the regatta secretary in the first instance or events@rowingireland.ie
