Rowing Ireland
| File:Rowing Ireland Logo 2016.jpg | |
| Sport | Rowing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1899 |
| Affiliation | FISA |
| Headquarters | National Rowing Centre, Cork |
| President | Con Cronin |
| Official website | |
| www | |
 | |
Rowing Ireland, formerly the Irish Amateur Rowing Union, is the governing body of rowing for Ireland.[1][2] It is a cross-border organisation administering the sport in both the Republic of Ireland[1] and Northern Ireland.[2]
Rowing Ireland is a member of the Olympic Council of Ireland[3] and the Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d’Aviron (FISA).[4]
Membership
80 clubs are affiliated to Rowing Ireland.[5] These are from every part of the island and include schools, third level institutions and open clubs. The Irish Coastal Rowing Federation is affiliated to Rowing Ireland.[6]
Championships
Established in 1899 as the Irish Amateur Rowing Union, the association hosted its first championship in 1912.[3] At the 1912 AGM, which was held in February, it was agreed that a cup be purchased for £100 for the Union to be presented for annual competition amongst senior eights. This would in time become known as "The Big Pot". The inaugural Senior eights championship took place at Metropolitan Regatta in Ringsend on the Lower Liffey in July 1912 and City of Derry Boating Club were the winners.[7] It would be 1934 before the Junior (Intermediate) eights championship was added.[8] Since then many additional championships have been added and 44 are now contested each year at the Championship Regatta.[9]
National Rowing Centre
The National Rowing Centre (NRC) in Farran Wood, Cork is the headquarters of Rowing Ireland and is also the base of the High Performance team. The Centre has an eight lane Albano course and hosts a number of regattas and the Championship Regatta each year. Every four years it hosts the Home International Regatta.[10] In 1999 and 2008 it hosted the Coupe de la Jeunesse[11] and is scheduled to host it again in 2018.[12]
World Championships
Ireland has won 5 gold, 9 silver and 8 bronze medals at the World Championships.[13][14] The Gold winners were:
| Year | Event | Rower(s) | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | LM1X | Niall O'Toole | Commercial Rowing Club |
| 2001 | LM1X | Sam Lynch | St Michael's Rowing Club |
| 2001 | LW1X | Sinead Jennings | St Andrew Boat Club |
| 2001 | LM2- | Gearoid Towey, Tony O'Connor | Neptune Rowing Club |
| 2002 | LM1X | Sam Lynch | St Michael's Rowing Club |
Olympics
Ireland first participated at the 1948 Olympics when a men's eight represented Ireland. It participated at 10 subsequent games and has already qualified 2 crews for the Rio games[15] with the possibility of qualifying additional crews at the 2016 final qualifying regatta. Ireland has never won an Olympic medal in rowing. In 1976 Sean Drea came fourth in Montreal[16] and in 1996 the Lightweight four also finished fourth in Atlanta.[17]
References
- ^ a b Sport Ireland – List of Governing Bodies
- ^ a b Sport Northern Ireland – List of Governing Bodies
- ^ a b "Olympic Council of Ireland: Introduction to Rowing". Olympic Council of Ireland. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ^ World Rowing: National Federations: Ireland
- ^ Rowing Ireland: About Us
- ^ Irish Coastal Rowing Federation, Coastal Rowing Association, "About Us"
- ^ The Big Pot – The Irish Senior Championships 1912–1991 by Micheal Johnston, Shandon Books, 1992, ISBN 0-9519187-0-2
- ^ Irish Rowing Archives – List of championship winners
- ^ Irish Rowing Archives – List of Championship Events.
- ^ Home International Regatta Rules of the Regatta: Date and Venue
- ^ 2018 Coupe de la Jeunesse Awarded to Ireland, Rowing Ireland
- ^ Cork set to host prestigious Junior Regatta in 2018 Aifric Keogh 8 August 2015, Sportswoman.ie
- ^ Irish Rowing archives – FISA medal listing
- ^ FISA Athlete database
- ^ Irish Times – double success for Irish rowing as two boats seal Rio 2016 spot
- ^ Ireland at the 1976 Summer Olympics
- ^ Ireland at the 1996 Summer Olympics