Sunday 24 May saw the successful delivery of Rowing Ireland’s Annual General Meeting for 2026.
The meeting was held in hybrid format, with a number of delegates and board members attending in person at the Sport Ireland Campus Conference Centre in Dublin, in addition to a further cohort of club representatives attending from across the island of Ireland via Zoom. Over 70 delegates were in attendance, online and in person.
Also attending in person were the members of the newly formed Rowing Ireland Youth Commission, representing the next generation of governance and management for the sport.
Rowing Ireland Chair Barry McWilliams welcomed all to the meeting, and President Jane Williiams addressed the delegates with her reflections on the 2025 year.
All club representatives voted via an online platform Mi-Voice which provided effective in ensuring compliance in administration of required polls, which we were overseen by RI staff.
The minutes of the 2025 AGM and 2025 December 2025 EGM were accepted by the membership. The 2025 Annual Report was also presented and accepted via a vote of the delegates.
John Murphy, Director of Audit & Assurance at Grant Thornton presented the 2025 Financial Statements and advised the meeting a “full, clean Audit” was achieved in accordance with the relevant financial regulations. The Financial Statements including the Directors Report were approved by the delegates present.
Further updates were provided to the meeting regarding the election of an Athletes Director (election in progress with an appointment expected following the 31 May closing date), and the re-appointment of Barry McWilliams as NI appointee to the Board. Grant Thornton were re-appointed as auditors for 2026 via a poll of the delegates present.
The meeting considered a series of special resolutions regarding Rule 6.14/R7.22 and 2.4. Delegates present voted to remove these rules and for the inclusion of a new rule 1.13 in their place.
Interim CEO Matt McKerrow provided an operational update to the meeting, highlighting a number of strategic priorities including facilities and participation, and provided both the anti-doping and safeguarding reports – key integrity topics for the organisation. He also presented the current 2026 operational focuses, and thanked the staff, sponsors, funders and volunteers of the sport – who’s combined commitment and efforts allow the rowing community to operate as it does.
Chair Barry McWilliams closed the meeting with words of thanks for his board colleagues, the volunteers of the sport and the RI staff for their efforts in facilitating the meeting.
