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Displaying items by tag: Ireland Team

#Rowing: Ireland will be represented by a team from 25 clubs at the Home International Regatta on Saturday, July 27th, at Strathclyde Park in Glasgow. The junior women’s team includes Holly Davis (14), the new junior single sculls champion of Ireland.

Home International Team (July 27th, Strathclyde, Glasgow)

Men, Senior

Sweep

J McAnallen, T O’Reilly, Pres, Cork; W Ronayne, S O’Neill, Shandon; A Kelly, J Ronaldson, UCD; S Bolger, E Jarvis, UCD; R Heaney, C Conway, NUIG; S O’Brien, F Dolphin, Waterford (Lwt); Cox: J Russell, NUIG.

Sculling

D Breen, UCC; A Christie, Bann; C Mulready, Castleconnell; H Moore, Queen’s; C Scanlon, UCD; L Sutton, New Ross.

Women, Senior

Sweep

S O’Donnell, C O’Brien, NUIG, Univ of Limerick; K Shirlow, L Murphy, Bann, NUIG; L Colclough, L McCarthy, Commercial; M Sullivan, Z Hyde, Killorglin; A Mooney, S Mannion, NUIG; Cox: C O’Connell, UCC.

Sculling

G O’Brien, Kenmare; E Buckely, UCC; E Crowley, Kenmare; J Legreasley, Shandon, Lwt; K Egan, Carlow, Lwt; E Brogan, Queen’s, Lwt; K O’Brien, UCD, Para.

Men, Junior

Sweep

A Murphy, Shandon; K O’Donovan, Shandon; T Hume, Col Iognaid; S Reidy, Col Iognaid; M Cronin, Cork; Paul Beechinor, Cork; C Feely, C’Connell; C Nolan, C’connell; R O’Gorman, St Michael’s; D Hartney, St Michael’s; cox: P Tannian, Col Iognaid.

Sculling

C Brennan, R Brennan, Neptune; B Kennell-Webb, New Ross; T McKnight, A Keogh, Three Castles; D Kelly, Lee; T Orlic, Neptune.

Women, Junior

Sweep

E Carney Frazier, E Forde, Col Iognaid; J Harrington, J Forde, Shandon; E Loftus, K Vandlik, Commercial; M O’Byrne, E Murphy, St Michael’s; E Zakarauskaite, M Quinn, Galway; Cox: CR O’Gorman, St Michael’s.

Sculling

H Davis, Lee Valley; H Gahan, Cork; L Crowley, Fermoy; A Moloney, Commercial; E Benson, St Michael’s; P Mullin, Belfast; M Kidney, Lee.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Seven Ireland crews have been chosen for the World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, from September 9th to 16th. There are four women’s crews, headed by Sanita Puspure in a single scull. Aifric Keogh and Emily Hegarty will compete in a pair and Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley in a double. The lightweight double of Aoife Casey and Denise Walsh, which competed at the European Championships, go forward.

 European silver medallists Paul and Gary O’Donovan will compete in Bulgaria, while there is a heavyweight double of Ronan Byrne and Philip Doyle, which will be competing together at this level for the first time. The heavyweight pair of Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll which finished 11th at the European Championships will compete in Plovdiv.

 Another crew may be added to the team this week.

Ireland Team for World Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, September 9th to 16th:

Men

Pair: M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll

Double Sculls: Ronan Byrne, Philip Doyle

Lightweight Double Sculls: Gary O’Donovan, Paul O’Donovan

Women

Pair: Aifric Keogh, Emily Hegarty

Double Sculls: Monika Dukarska, Aileen Crowley

Lightweight Double Sculls: Aoife Casey, Denise Walsh

Single Sculls: Sanita Puspure

Other crews may be added

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The team which will represent Ireland at the World Cup in Belgrade (June 1st to 3rd) has been chosen. The selection was made after trials at the National Rowing Centre in Cork last weekend.

 Belgrade is the first in a series of three World Cup regattas which culminate in the final World Cup in Lucerne from July 13th to 15th. This year, Rowing Ireland plans to send athletes to Belgrade and Lucerne.

 In addition to the senior team competing in Belgrade, a training squad of athletes to be based at the National Rowing Centre in Cork has been announced.

 Six rowers have also been selected to train for the Junior World Championships.

Ireland Team for World Cup Regatta, Belgrade, June 1st to 3rd:

Men

Pair: Mark O’Donovan, Shane O’Driscoll

Lightweight Double Sculls: Gary O’Donovan, Paul O’Donovan

Women

Pair: Emily Hegarty, Aifric Keogh

Double Sculls: Monika Dukarska, Aileen Crowley

Lightweight Double Sculls: Denise Walsh, Margaret Cremen

Single Scull – Sanita Puspure

Training Group to be based at National Rowing Centre:

Heavyweight Men: Andy Harrington, Patrick Boomer, Philip Doyle, Ronan Byrne.

Heavyweight Women: Tara Hanlon, Natalie Long.

Pre-Selected Rowers who will train for the Junior World Championships:

Men’s Quadruple: Jack Keating, Jack Dorney, Alex Byrne, Luke Nally-Hayes.

Women’s Double Scull: Ciara Moynihan and Ciara Browne.  

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Ireland team which brought the country glory at the World Rowing Championships in Florida are the Afloat Rowers of the Month for September. In that month, Ireland took two gold medals through Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll in the lightweight pair and Paul O’Donovan in the lightweight single sculls.

 The pair crowned the perfect season with their victory. They won gold at the three World Cup regattas and the European Championships. The pressure was on in World Championship final, with both Brazil and Italy rowing well on the day. But O’Donovan and O’Driscoll were peerless. They set a very high stroke rate, took the lead – and saw off their challengers.

 Paul O’Donovan retained the title he had taken with such an extraordinary set of performances in Rotterdam in 2016, just weeks after he had taken a silver at the Olympic Games in a lightweight double with his brother Gary. This time, Gary had to drop out of the lightweight double, as illness had restricted his training (he supported the team as a reserve). Paul was back in the lightweight single in a boat which was new to him. He won all four races (heat, quarter-final, semi-final and final), seeing off a new set of challengers in the lightweight single, including Matthew Dunham of New Zealand, who took silver, and Kris Brun of Norway (bronze).

 The rest of the Ireland team also gave the suppporters plenty to shout about. Sanita Puspure went on to take fourth in the single sculls and Denise Walsh reached the A Final of the lightweight single sculls, where she finished sixth. Two new heavyweight pairs gained experience of the top level as the team targets Tokyo 2020. Aileen Crowley and Aifric Keogh finished eighth and there was a 16th place for Patrick Boomer and Fionnán McQuillan-Tolan.

 Well done to all the members of the Ireland team, the Afloat Rowers of the Month for September.  

Rower of the Month awards: The judging panel is made up of Liam Gorman, rowing correspondent of The Irish Times, and David O'Brien, editor of Afloat magazine. Monthly awards for achievements during the year will appear on afloat.ie. Keep a monthly eye on progress and watch our 2017 champions list grow.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Ireland team for the first World Cup regatta, in Varese in Italy from April 15th to 17th, will feature seven crews. The Olympic-bound lightweight double sculls of Sinéad Jennings and Claire Lambe and Paul O’Donovan and Gary O’Donovan will be joined by the three boats which hope to find their way to Rio through the qualifiers in May – the  lightweight men’s four, the women’s pair and single sculler Sanita Puspure – and by Siobhán McCrohan and Denise Walsh in lightweight single sculls. McCrohan and Walsh were to trial for a single spot, but the trial was twice postponed and both will now travel.

 Pararower Karol Doherty will go out with the bulk of the team on April 12th, and will compete in the Paralympic Qualifier in Gavirate in Italy on April 20th to 23rd.   

 Ireland Team for World Cup, Varese, Italy, April 15th to 17th

 Men

 Lightweight Four: L Seaman, M O’Donovan, L Keane, S O’Driscoll. Lightweight Double Scull: P O’Donovan, G O’Donovan.

 Women

Pair: L Kennedy, B O’Brien. Lightweight Double Scull: C Lambe, S Jennings. Single Scull: S Puspure. Lightweight Single Scull: S McCrohan, D Walsh.

 Crew for Paralympic Qualification Regatta, Gavirate, Italy, April 20th-23rd: K Doherty (Arms and Shoulders men’s single scull).

Published in Rowing

Ireland's offshore islands

Around 30 of Ireland's offshore islands are inhabited and hold a wealth of cultural heritage.

A central Government objective is to ensure that sustainable vibrant communities continue to live on the islands.

Irish offshore islands FAQs

Technically, it is Ireland itself, as the third largest island in Europe.

Ireland is surrounded by approximately 80 islands of significant size, of which only about 20 are inhabited.

Achill island is the largest of the Irish isles with a coastline of almost 80 miles and has a population of 2,569.

The smallest inhabited offshore island is Inishfree, off Donegal.

The total voting population in the Republic's inhabited islands is just over 2,600 people, according to the Department of Housing.

Starting with west Cork, and giving voting register numbers as of 2020, here you go - Bere island (177), Cape Clear island (131),Dursey island (6), Hare island (29), Whiddy island (26), Long island, Schull (16), Sherkin island (95). The Galway islands are Inis Mór (675), Inis Meáin (148), Inis Oírr (210), Inishbofin (183). The Donegal islands are Arranmore (513), Gola (30), Inishboffin (63), Inishfree (4), Tory (140). The Mayo islands, apart from Achill which is connected by a bridge, are Clare island (116), Inishbiggle (25) and Inishturk (52).

No, the Gaeltacht islands are the Donegal islands, three of the four Galway islands (Inishbofin, like Clifden, is English-speaking primarily), and Cape Clear or Oileán Chléire in west Cork.

Lack of a pier was one of the main factors in the evacuation of a number of islands, the best known being the Blasket islands off Kerry, which were evacuated in November 1953. There are now three cottages available to rent on the Great Blasket island.

In the early 20th century, scholars visited the Great Blasket to learn Irish and to collect folklore and they encouraged the islanders to record their life stories in their native tongue. The three best known island books are An tOileánach (The Islandman) by Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Peig by Peig Sayers, and Fiche Blian ag Fás (Twenty Years A-Growing) by Muiris Ó Súilleabháin. Former taoiseach Charles J Haughey also kept a residence on his island, Inishvickillaune, which is one of the smaller and less accessible Blasket islands.

Charles J Haughey, as above, or late Beatle musician, John Lennon. Lennon bought Dorinish island in Clew Bay, south Mayo, in 1967 for a reported £1,700 sterling. Vendor was Westport Harbour Board which had used it for marine pilots. Lennon reportedly planned to spend his retirement there, and The Guardian newspaper quoted local estate agent Andrew Crowley as saying he was "besotted with the place by all accounts". He did lodge a planning application for a house, but never built on the 19 acres. He offered it to Sid Rawle, founder of the Digger Action Movement and known as the "King of the Hippies". Rawle and 30 others lived there until 1972 when their tents were burned by an oil lamp. Lennon and Yoko Ono visited it once more before his death in 1980. Ono sold the island for £30,000 in 1984, and it is widely reported that she donated the proceeds of the sale to an Irish orphanage

 

Yes, Rathlin island, off Co Antrim's Causeway Coast, is Ireland's most northerly inhabited island. As a special area of conservation, it is home to tens of thousands of sea birds, including puffins, kittiwakes, razorbills and guillemots. It is known for its Rathlin golden hare. It is almost famous for the fact that Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, retreated after being defeated by the English at Perth and hid in a sea cave where he was so inspired by a spider's tenacity that he returned to defeat his enemy.

No. The Aran islands have a regular ferry and plane service, with ferries from Ros-a-Mhíl, south Connemara all year round and from Doolin, Co Clare in the tourist season. The plane service flies from Indreabhán to all three islands. Inishbofin is connected by ferry from Cleggan, Co Galway, while Clare island and Inishturk are connected from Roonagh pier, outside Louisburgh. The Donegal islands of Arranmore and Tory island also have ferry services, as has Bere island, Cape Clear and Sherkin off Cork. How are the island transport services financed? The Government subsidises transport services to and from the islands. The Irish Coast Guard carries out medical evacuations, as to the RNLI lifeboats. Former Fianna Fáíl minister Éamon Ó Cuív is widely credited with improving transport services to and from offshore islands, earning his department the nickname "Craggy island".

Craggy Island is an bleak, isolated community located of the west coast, inhabited by Irish, a Chinese community and one Maori. Three priests and housekeeper Mrs Doyle live in a parochial house There is a pub, a very small golf course, a McDonald's fast food restaurant and a Chinatown... Actually, that is all fiction. Craggy island is a figment of the imagination of the Father Ted series writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, for the highly successful Channel 4 television series, and the Georgian style parochial house on the "island" is actually Glenquin House in Co Clare.

Yes, that is of the Plassey, a freighter which was washed up on Inis Oírr in bad weather in 1960.

There are some small privately owned islands,and islands like Inishlyre in Co Mayo with only a small number of residents providing their own transport. Several Connemara islands such as Turbot and Inishturk South have a growing summer population, with some residents extending their stay during Covid-19. Turbot island off Eyrephort is one such example – the island, which was first spotted by Alcock and Brown as they approached Ireland during their epic transatlantic flight in 1919, was evacuated in 1978, four years after three of its fishermen drowned on the way home from watching an All Ireland final in Clifden. However, it is slowly being repopulated

Responsibility for the islands was taking over by the Department of Rural and Community Development . It was previously with the Gaeltacht section in the Department of Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht.

It is a periodic bone of contention, as Ireland does not have the same approach to its islands as Norway, which believes in right of access. However, many improvements were made during Fianna Fáíl Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív's time as minister. The Irish Island Federation, Comdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, represents island issues at national and international level.

The 12 offshore islands with registered voters have long argued that having to cast their vote early puts them at a disadvantage – especially as improved transport links mean that ballot boxes can be transported to the mainland in most weather conditions, bar the winter months. Legislation allowing them to vote on the same day as the rest of the State wasn't passed in time for the February 2020 general election.

Yes, but check tide tables ! Omey island off north Connemara is accessible at low tide and also runs a summer race meeting on the strand. In Sligo, 14 pillars mark the way to Coney island – one of several islands bearing this name off the Irish coast.

Cape Clear or Oileán Chléire is the country's most southerly inhabited island, eight miles off the west Cork coast, and within sight of the Fastnet Rock lighthouse, also known as the "teardrop of Ireland".
Skellig Michael off the Kerry coast, which has a monastic site dating from the 6th century. It is accessible by boat – prebooking essential – from Portmagee, Co Kerry. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions, it was not open to visitors in 2020.
All islands have bird life, but puffins and gannets and kittiwakes are synonymous with Skellig Michael and Little Skellig. Rathlin island off Antrim and Cape Clear off west Cork have bird observatories. The Saltee islands off the Wexford coast are privately owned by the O'Neill family, but day visitors are permitted access to the Great Saltee during certain hours. The Saltees have gannets, gulls, puffins and Manx shearwaters.
Vikings used Dublin as a European slaving capital, and one of their bases was on Dalkey island, which can be viewed from Killiney's Vico road. Boat trips available from Coliemore harbour in Dalkey. Birdwatch Ireland has set up nestboxes here for roseate terns. Keep an eye out also for feral goats.
Plenty! There are regular boat trips in summer to Inchagoill island on Lough Corrib, while the best known Irish inshore island might be the lake isle of Innisfree on Sligo's Lough Gill, immortalised by WB Yeats in his poem of the same name. Roscommon's Lough Key has several islands, the most prominent being the privately-owned Castle Island. Trinity island is more accessible to the public - it was once occupied by Cistercian monks from Boyle Abbey.

©Afloat 2020