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Displaying items by tag: Justin Ryan

#Rowing: Cork Boat Club’s intermediate eight proved the fastest crew at the Muckross Head of the River at the National Rowing Centre. Shandon, who had a set of good results, saw their eight finish just five seconds off that pace – and their junior 18 quadruple took just nine minutes and 48 seconds to cover the course, placing them seventh overall. Justin Ryan of Skibbereen was the fastest single sculler.

 The adult women’s ranks were thinner in numbers. Monika Dukarska was the fastest single sculler. A masters women’s crew from Lady Elizabeth and Dublin University Ladies Boat Club won: it featured well-known names, including former internationals Vanessa Lawrenson and Heather Boyle.  

Muckross Head of the River – Selected Results

Overall: 1 Cork BC intermediate eight 9 mins 20 sec, 2 Shandon inter eight 9:25, 3 UCC senior quadruple 9:35.

Men, Eight – Intermediate: Cork 9:20. Club One: UCC 9:35. Club Two: UCC 9:44. Jun 16: Fermoy 10:35. Masters: Castleconnell 13:25.

Four – Sen: Shandon 9:56. Inter, coxed: Skibbereen 10:36. Club One: UCC 10:33. Jun 18, coxed: Presentation Col (D Murphy) 11:07

Pair – Sen: Skibbereen 10:54. Jun 18: Shandon 10:55.

Sculling, Quadruple – Sen: UCC 9:35. Club One, coxed: UCC 13:05. Club Two, coxed: Workmen’s 11:05. Masters, coxed: Clonmel 13:26. Jun 18: Shandon 9:48. Jun 16, coxed: Lee 10:56.

Double – Sen: UCC 11:33. Inter: UCC 10:37. Club One: Shandon 11:09. Jun 18: Skibbereen 11:11. Jun 16: Shandon 11:28.

Single – Sen: Skibbereen (J Ryan) 11:26. Inter: Castleconnell (P Silke) 12:00. Club One: Castleconnell 12:15. Club Two: Cork (R Povey) 12:16. Jun 18: Shandon (E Gaffney) 11:39. Jun 16: Tralee (B Winde) 12:57. Masters (H, adjusted): Lee Valley 13:40 (11:36).

Women,

Eight – Club One: Lee Valley 13:08. Club Two: Shandon 11:12. Jun 16: Muckross 12:28. Masters: Lady Elizabeth, Trinity 12:35.  

Four – Sen: Skibbereen 11:36. Inter, coxed: Skibbereen 12:53. Club Two, coxed: Cork 12:22.

Pair – Sen: UCC/Skib 11:58.

Sculling, Quadruple - Sen: Workmen’s 10:50. Club One, coxed: Fermoy 12:14. Club Two, coxed: Lee 12:35. Jun 18: Workmen’s 11:12. Jun 16, coxed: Lee 12:29.

Double – Sen: Cork 11:41. Club One: Workmen’s 12:00. Jun 18: Workmen’s 11:49. Jun 16: Killorglin 12:19.

Single – Sen: Killorglin (M Dukarska) 11:54. Inter: Skibbereen (L Heaphy) 13:09. Club One: Lee Valley 13:08. Club Two: Killorglin (E O’Donovan) 13:35. Jun 18: Kenmare (E Crowley) 13:19. Jun 16: Killorglin (R O’Donoghue) 13:19. Masters: Clonmel (F, adjusted) 14:54 (13:26)

Published in Rowing

#ROWING: Skibbereen won the men’s senior four and the intermediate coxed four at Limerick regatta at O'Brien's Bridge. Sam McKeown won the senior single sculls, beating Justin Ryan of Skibbereen, who has international experience as a lightweight sculler. Damien Kelly of Garda, who had finished second to McKeown in the intermediate final, was third. Portora had a day of wins at junior level, including the men’s and women’s junior 18 eights, the men’s junior 16 eight and the men’s junior 18 coxed quad and the women’s junior four and pair.

Limerick Regatta, O’Brien’s Bridge, Selected Results:

Men

Eight – Intermediate: 1 St Joseph’s, 2 St Michael’s. Junior 18: 1 Portora, 2 St Joseph’s, 3 St Michael’s. Junior 15: 1 St Joseph’s, 2 Shandon, 3 Portora.

Junior 16: 1 Portora, 2 Col Iognáid, 3 St Joseph’s. Masters: St Michael’s.

Four – Senior: 1 Skibbereen, 2 St Michael’s. Inter, coxed: 1 Skibbereen, 2 Portora, 3 St Michael’s. Jun 18A, coxed: 1 Portora A, 2 Athlunkard, 3 St Michael’s A.

Pair – Senior: 1 St Michael’s, 2 Neptune, 3 Shannon. Junior 18: 1 Athlunkard A, 2 Athlunkard B, 3 CAI B.

Sculling – Quadruple – Club Two: 1 Cork B, 2 Shandon, 3 Cork A. Junior 18A: 1 Cork A, 2 Lee, 3 Commercial. Jun 16, coxed: 1 Lee, 2 St Michael’s C, 3 Cork A. Jun 15, coxed, Final One: 1 Shandon A, 2 St Michael’s, 3 Killorglin. Final Two: Castleconnell.

Double – Inter: 1 Skibbereen, 2 Garda, 3 St Michael’s. Jun 15: 1 St Michael’s B, 2 Lee A, 3 Workmens.

Single – Senior: 1 Portadown (S McKeown), 2 Skibbereen (J Ryan), 3 Garda (Kelly). Intermediate: 1 Portadown (S McKeown), 2 Garda (D Kelly), 3 St Michael’s (D O’Connor). Novice: 1 Castleconnell (A Mozdzer), 2 Waterford (S O’Brien), 3 Lee (H Sutton). Junior 18: 1 Athlone (P Munnelly), 2 Graiguenamanagh (A Lennon), 3 Castleconnell (N Meehan). Masters: 1 St Michael’s (S O’Donnell), 2 Lee Valley (T Corcoran), 3 Shandon (J O’Neill).

Women

Eight – Junior 18: 1 Portora, 2 St Michael’s, 3 Galway. Jun 16: 1 Shandon, 2 Commercial, 3 Portora. Jun 15: 1 Portora, 2 St Michael’s. Masters: 1 Shannon.

Four – Inter, coxed: 1 Garda, 2 Athlunkard. Junior 18: 1 Portora A, 2 Galway, 3 St Michael’s.

Pair – Junior: 1 Portora, 2 Lee, 3 St Michael’s A.

Sculling, Quadruple – Club Two: 1 Fermoy, 2 Athlunkard, 3 Sligo. Novice, coxed: 1 Fermoy, 2 Univ of Limerick, 3 Lee. Junior 18: 1 Lee, 2 Fermoy, 3 Offaly. Jun 15, coxed: 1 Cork A, 2 Fermoy A, 3 Workmens.

Double – Senior: 1 Castleconnell, 2 Sligo. Junior 15: 1 Workmens, 2 Fermoy, 3 Lee A.

Single – Inter: 1 St Michael’s (A O’Sullivan), 2 Garda (J Ryan), 3 Fermoy (S Bouanane). Novice: 1 Castleconnell (R Kilkenny), 2 Fermoy (A Collins), 3 Univ of Limerick. Jun 18A: 1 Lee (E Cummin), 2 Lee (C Maguire), 3 Fermoy (S Cotter). Jun 16: 1 Lee (C Synnott), 2 Workmens (S Burns), 3 Fermoy (A O’Sullivan).

Published in Rowing

# ROWING: Sanita Puspure was withdrawn from the A/B semi-final of the single sculls at the European Rowing Championships in Seville today. Ireland Performance Director, Morten Espersen said that the decision was made this morning because the 31-year-old had flu-like symptoms. Puspure was very unwell and could not race.

John Keohane finished fifth in his C Final, 17th overall, while the Ireland lightweight double of Niall Kenny and Justin Ryan finished 21st overall with third pace in the D Final behind Slovakia and the Czech Republic. In the C/D semi-final they were competitive early but lost out when the second half of the race became a scramble for second and third places behind dominant winners Hungary. Ireland struggled to deal with the head wind and finished fifth.

European Rowing Championships, Seville, Day Two (Irish interest)

 Men

Single Sculls – C Final (places 13 to 18): 1 Hungary 7:56.08; 5 Ireland (J Keohane) 8:03.54.

Lightweight Double Sculls – C/D Semi-Finals Two (First Three to C Final; rest to D Final): 1 Hungary 7:15.12, 2 Slovenia 7:18.43, 3 Bulgaria 7:18.64; 4 Slovakia 7:20.27, 5 Ireland (N Kenny, J Ryan) 7:26.76. D Final (places 19 to 22): 1 Slovakia 7:20.10, 2 Czech Republic 7:20.44, 3 Ireland 7:25.26, 4 Armenia 8:59.40.

Women

Single Sculls – A/B Semi-Final One: Ireland (S Puspure) Did not start.


Published in Rowing

It was a good year for Irish rowing: among the highlights were an Ireland eight taking bronze at the World University Championships; John Keohane winning the single sculls title at the World Coastal Rowing Championships; Siohan McCrohan and Claire Lambe reaching A Finals at World Cup and European Championship level. At home, NUIG won the senior eights title after another great battle with Queen's. Standing out above the rest, however, is the achievements of the four men who made up the Lightweight Quadruple Scull which took silver at the World Under-23 Championships. Niall Kenny, Michael Maher, Mark O'Donovan and Justin Ryan (pictured below) are the Afloat Rowers of the Year 2010.

rower23

Rower of the Year award: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times, President of Rowing Ireland Anthony Dooley and David O'Brien, Editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year have appeared on afloat.ie. The overall national award goes to the person or crew who, in the judges' opinion, achieved the most notable results in, or made the most significant contribution to rowing during 2010. Thanks for your interest!

Published in Rower of the Year

Sharks in Irish waters

Irish waters are home to 71 species of shark, skates and rays, 58 of which have been studied in detail and listed on the Ireland Red List of Cartilaginous fish. Irish sharks range from small Sleeper sharks, Dogfish and Catsharks, to larger species like Frilled, Mackerel and Cow sharks, all the way to the second largest shark in the world, the Basking shark. 

Irish waters provide a refuge for an array of shark species. Tralee Bay, Co. Kerry provides a habitat for several rare and endangered sharks and their relatives, including the migratory tope shark, angel shark and undulate ray. This area is also the last European refuge for the extremely rare white skate. Through a European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) project, Marine Institute scientists have been working with fishermen to assess the distribution, diversity, and monthly relative abundance of skates and rays in Tralee, Brandon and Dingle Bays.

“These areas off the southwest coast of Ireland are important internationally as they hold some of the last remaining refuges for angel shark and white skate,” said Dr Maurice Clarke of the Marine Institute. “This EMFF project has provided data confirming the critically endangered status of some species and provides up-to-date information for the development of fishery measures to eliminate by-catch.” 

Irish waters are also home to the Black Mouthed Catshark, Galeus melastomus, one of Ireland’s smallest shark species which can be found in the deep sea along the continental shelf. In 2018, Irish scientists discovered a very rare shark-nursery 200 nautical miles off the west coast by the Marine Institute’s ROV Holland 1 on a shelf sloping to 750 metres deep. 

There are two ways that sharks are born, either as live young or from egg casings. In the ‘case’ of Black Mouthed Catsharks, the nursery discovered in 2018, was notable by the abundance of egg casings or ‘mermaid’s purses’. Many sharks, rays and skate lay eggs, the cases of which often wash ashore. If you find an egg casing along the seashore, take a photo for Purse Search Ireland, a citizen science project focusing on monitoring the shark, ray and skate species around Ireland.

Another species also found by Irish scientists using the ROV Holland 1 in 2018 was a very rare type of dogfish, the Sail Fin Rough Shark, Oxynotus paradoxus. These sharks are named after their long fins which resemble the trailing sails of a boat, and live in the deep sea in waters up to 750m deep. Like all sharks, skates and rays, they have no bones. Their skeleton is composed of cartilage, much like what our noses and ears are made from! This material is much more flexible and lighter than bone which is perfect for these animals living without the weight of gravity.

Throughout history sharks have been portrayed as the monsters of the sea, a concept that science is continuously debunking. Basking sharks were named in 1765 as Cetorhinus maximus, roughly translated to the ‘big-nosed sea monster’. Basking sharks are filter feeders, often swimming with their mouths agape, they filter plankton from the water.

They are very slow moving and like to bask in the sun in shallow water and are often seen in Irish waters around Spring and early Summer. To help understand the migration of these animals to be better able to understand and conserve these species, the Irish Basking Shark Group have tagged and mapped their travels.

Remarkably, many sharks like the Angel Shark, Squatina squatina have the ability to sense electricity. They do this via small pores in their skin called the ‘Ampullae of Lorenzini’ which are able to detect the tiny electrical impulses of a fish breathing, moving or even its heartbeat from distances of over a kilometre! Angel sharks, often referred to as Monkfish have a distinctively angelic shape, with flattened, large fins appearing like the wings of an angel. They live on the seafloor in the coastal waters of Ireland and much like a cat are nocturnal, primarily active at night.

The intricate complexity of shark adaptations is particularly noticeable in the texture of their skin. Composed of miniscule, perfectly shaped overlapping scales, the skin of shark provides them with protection. Often shark scales have been compared to teeth due to their hard enamel structure. They are strong, but also due to their intricate shape, these scales reduce drag and allow water to glide past them so that the shark can swim more effortlessly and silently. This natural flawless design has been used as inspiration for new neoprene fabric designs to help swimmers glide through the water. Although all sharks have this feature, the Leafscale Gulper Shark, Centrophorus squamosus, found in Ireland are specifically named due to the ornate leaf-shape of their scales.