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Displaying items by tag: Sanita Puspure

#Rowing: Sanita Puspure and two Ireland men’s crews took medals on the first day of the Memorial Paolo d’Aloja in Italy today. Puspure is world champion in the single sculls and she continued her run with a good win.

 The men’s double of Ronan Byrne and Philip Doyle were another success story from the World Championships in 2018 – they finished ninth. They took third place in their A Final, which was won by Romania.

 The bronze medal for Jake and Fintan McCarthy came in a lightweight doubles final won by Italy, with Belgium second – these crews took silver and bronze at last year’s World Championships.

 The Ireland pairs of Aifric Keogh and Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley and Emily Hegarty took fifth and seventh in their final.

 Lough Rinn Grand League Regatta, scheduled for tomorrow (Sunday), has been cancelled. The organisers had hoped to hold the event, and told clubs that some racing would not go ahead. But after receiving a forecast from Met Éireann of a powerful, gusting wind, they changed their decision.    

Memorial Paolo d’Aloja, Piediluco, Italy, Saturday Finals (Irish results; selected)

Men

Double – A Final: 3 P Doyle, R Byrne 6:33.90.

Lightweight Double Sculls – A Final: 3 F McCarthy, J McCarthy 6:38.43.

Women

Pair – A Final: 5 A Keogh, M Dukarska 7:33.3; 7 A Crowley, E Hegarty 7:42.36. B Final: 3 C Feerick, E Lambe 7:45.41.

Lightweight Double – A Final: 6 C Nolan, L Heaphy 7:48.91.

Single – A Final: 1 S Puspure 7:58.89.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Fingal Rowing Club has announced on International Women’s Day that it will host an evening with Sanita Puspure, the reigning world champion in the women's single scull. The event will be held at Rush Sailing Club on April 28th and will focus on competitive rowing and a mindset for winning. 

There will be a discussion on women in the sport of rowing and its growing popularity. There will also be a focus on health, fitness and endurance ahead of the Celtic Challenge and the Lambay Rowing Challenge, two long distance rowing races in which Fingal Rowing Club will be participating this year.

If time permits there will be a short Q&A following the talk. The bar will be open on the night and light refreshments will be available.


Tickets, which are €10, are available from Fingalrowingclub.ie

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Sanita Puspure and Paul O’Donovan are the Rowers of the Month for January 2019.

 The two world champions turned up for action at the Irish Indoor Rowing Championships at the University of Limerick – and both set new records for the event.

 O’Donovan set a new mark as a lightweight of six minutes 6.2 seconds, while Puspure recorded 6:35.9. This matched her best and also set a new Irish record.

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 2019 champions list grow.

Published in Rower of Month

#Rowing: UCD and Old Collegians celebrated their world champions at the UCD Boat Club dinner on the campus on Friday night.

Sanita Puspure, who has been with Old Collegians for a decade, received a special award. The world single sculling champion was also honoured by being named on a new perpetual trophy for the winner of the women’s intermediate single sculls at the Irish Championships.

coin tossWilliam Doyle, Trinity captain, and UCD captain Max Murphy look on as Sanita Puspure performs the coin toss for the 2019 Colours races. Photo: Liam Gorman

Puspure also performed the coin toss for the Colours Races, which will be held in early March. UCD men and women both won and opted for the north station. Puspure and her family travelled from their home in Cork for the occasion – and then back again, as Sanita had training in the morning.

David O’Malley and Shane Mulvaney, the under-23 world champions in the lightweight pair, and Andrew Gough, a medallist at the same championships, were honoured. These three, along with Shane O’Connell, formed the UCD four which won at the Irish Championships in 2018. The UCD intermediate eight also won.

In a well-received speech, club captain Max Murphy read out the testaments by UCD rowers recounting what the experience of rowing and interaction with their crewmates meant to them. “People” and “club” were the recurring themes.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Irish Indoor Rowing Championships at the University of Limerick featured a good collection of personal bests – and Irish records. Sanita Puspure, the world champion in the single scull, pushed the women’s record to a top-class six minutes 35.9 seconds. Aifric Keogh and Monika Dukarska, who placed second and third, also showed the benefits of the recent training camp in Italy as they set new personal best times.

Paul O’Donovan, the world champion in the lightweight double scull, brought the Ireland lightweight record down to 6:06.2. Fionnan Crowley, the big heavyweight from Castleconnell, won the men’s open category – he was the one competitor to break the six-minute barrier on the day.

Alex Byrne of Shandon set a new record in the under-23 men’s grade, while Neptune’s Tristan Orlic won the junior men’s gold with a fine time of 6:16.7. Zoe McCutcheon of Enniskillen topped the junior women’s rankings.

Irish Indoor Rowing Championships, University of Limerick, Saturday (Selected Results)

Men

Open: F Crowley (Castleconnell) 5:59.6, 2 P Boomer (Belfast RC) 6:10.2, 3 G Patterson (Sligo) 6:14.5. Under 23: 1 A Byrne (Shandon) 6:04.6. 2 R Corrigan (Queen’s) 6:09.2, 3 D Breen (UCC) 6:11.8.

Lightweight: P O’Donovan (UCC) 6:06.2, 2 J McCarthy (Skibbereen) 6:17.1, 3 F McCarthy (Skibbereen) 6:18.6.

U-23 Lightweight: H Sutton (UCC) 6:22.4, 2 M Taylor (Queen’s) 6:24.2, 3 N Beggan (Commercial) 6:25.3.

Jun 18: 1 T Orlic (Neptune) 6:16.7, 2 J O’Donovan (Castleconnell) 6:19.3, 3 M Gallagher (St Joseph’s) 6:20.1. Jun 16: M O’Grady (Athlone) 6:43.6.

Women

Open: 1 S Puspure (Old Collegians) 6:35.9. 2 A Keogh (UCC) 6:45.4, 3 M Dukarska (Killorglin) 6:49.3. Under-23: 1 E Hegarty (UCC) 6:55.7, 2 E Lambe (UCD) 6:58.9, 3 T Hanlon (UCC) 7:08.7.

Lightweight: D Walsh (Skibbereen) 7:17.1. U-23 Lightweight: A Casey (UCC) 7:23.7, 2 L Heaphy (Skibbereen) 7:33.7, 3 A Keating (Skibbereen) 7:42.0.

Jun 18: 1 Z McCutcheon (Enniskillen) 7:12.4, C Kirwan (St Michael’s) 7:15.0, 3 R O’Donoghue (Killorglin) 7:15.1. Jun 16: A Moloney (Commercial) 7:30.2.

UCC were the top club overall.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Afloat Rower of the Year 2018 is Sanita Puspure. The Old Collegians competitor proved herself the best single sculler in the world. She took silver at the World Cup regattas in Belgrade and Lucerne, running the defending champion, Jeannine Gmelin of Switzerland, extremely close (.23 of a second) in the Lucerne final.

Working with coach Dave McKenzie McGowan and high performance director Antonio Maurogiovanni, who set a very heavy training schedule, Puspure decided to miss the European Championships so that she could concentrate on the World Championships in Plovdiv in Bulgaria in September. She won her heat and semi-final, and then overcame bobbly conditions in the final. She established a clearwater lead. Gmelin came back at her in the third quarter; Puspure was not for catching. She won by two lengths of clear water.

Sanita Gmelin glum Lobnig podiumSanita Puspure (centre) smiles after being presented with her gold medal at the World Championships. Jeannine Gmelin (silver) is on the left and Magdalena Lobnig (bronze) on the right. Photo: Liam Gorman

Sanita with Dani and Patrick and gold medalSanita with Daniella and Patrick, her children, after winning World Championship gold. Photo: Liam Gorman

The win was a twin highlight at the end of a wonderful year. The O’Donovan brothers, Gary and Paul, won the lightweight double sculls gold in Plovdiv, making history as the first Ireland crew to take World Championship gold in an Olympic boat. They overcame terrible conditions and a poor lane draw to win in the quarter-final. This was succeeded by a semi-final in which they looked tired and could only take third. The final saw them in the unfavoured lane six for the final.

Gary Paul podium Plovdiv with Italy and Belgium 1Ireland gold medalists Gary and Paul O'Donovan on the World Championship podium in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, with Italy (silver) and Belgium (bronze)

In a stirring race, the Skibbereen men saw off Italy. They would describe it as the best race they had ever rowed. They were outstanding in their steadiness, and over the second, third and fourth quarters they were the fastest crew. They took over the lead from Italy between 1200 and 1500 metres and rebuffed the charge by the men in blue to win by three-quarters of a length.

 In a first for a women’s sweep crew from this island in an Olympic boat, Aifric Keogh and Emily Hegarty, the Ireland women’s pair, also reached an A Final at the World Championships. The World Under-23 Championships were also laden with success, with four A Finalists, gold for Shane Mulvaney and David O’Malley in the lightweight pair and silver for Miles Taylor, Niall Beggan, Ryan Ballantine and Andrew Goff in the lightweight quadruple.

 Come the Fisa World Rowing Awards, Dominic Casey was honoured as the coach of the year.  

 In a season of success, Sanita Puspure is the Afloat Rower of the Year.

Afloat 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 appeared on afloat.ie.

Published in Rower of the Year

#Rowing: Dominic Casey has been chosen as the World Rowing Coach of the Year. The Skibbereen man, who coached Paul and Gary O’Donovan to a World Championship gold medal this year, received the award at a gala in Berlin. He had also been nominated in 2016 and 2017. In these years he oversaw the first Olympic medal for Ireland rowing, when the O’Donovan brothers took silver in Rio de Janeiro, and a string of gold medals for Mark O’Donovan and Shane O’Driscoll in the lightweight pair. In 2017, lightweight single sculler Denise Walsh also took silver in the European Championships and a World Cup silver.

  Other awards on a glittering night went to the Australian men’s four, who were named the male crew of the year ahead of Paul and Gary O’Donovan, and the Poland quadruple, who took the women’s crew of the year, an award for which Sanita Puspure was nominated.

 The 2018 World Rowing Para Crew of the Year is the Dutch PR2 mixed double of Annika van der Meer and Corne de Koning. The Sri Lankan oarsman and university student, Amidu Silva, won the 2018 Filippi Spirit Award.

 The World Rowing Sustainability Award was taken by Alan Robinson and Schuylkill Navy for Love Where you Row.

 The 2018 Distinguished Service to International Rowing award was won by Borge Kaas Andersen of  Denmark.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s gold medallists at the World Championships, Paul and Gary O’Donovan and Sanita Puspure, are the Afloat Rowers of the Month for September.

 The whole Ireland team performed with merit at the regatta in Plovdiv in Bulgaria and there were a number of outstanding placings. The men’s lightweight quadruple reached their A Final, while Philip Doyle and Ronan Byrne finished ninth overall in the men’s double sculls.

Gary Paul podium Plovdiv with Italy and BelgiumGary and Paul on the podium in Plovdiv with Italy and Belgium Photo: Liam Gorman

 The women’s pair of Aifric Keogh and Emily Hegarty swept into the A Final, one of the real shocks of the Championships. They took sixth.

 The O’Donovan brothers had to battle through a terrible lane draw on the Wednesday to reach Thursday’s semi-final. It left them tired and they made it through to the final by taking the third qualification place in the semi-final with just 1.52 seconds to spare over Poland. Come the final it was a step up; a step into history. They made light of their outside lane with a sweet and powerful row they deemed their best ever as a lightweight double. Italy could not live with it and Ireland had won their first ever gold medal in an Olympic event at a World Championships.

Sanita Podium Plovdiv relievedSanita Puspure on the podium in Plovdiv Photo: Liam Gorman

 The women’s single sculls has been a fascinating event for years. Australia’s Kim Crow (now Brennan) was the star who shone all the way to a golden show in Rio in 2016; latterly Switzerland’s Jeannine Gmelin has been a winner. And now the time had come for Ireland’s Sanita Puspure. She won the heat and the semi-finals with elan, as if impatient to take on and beat Gmelin. She did this despite having to deal with choppy conditions in the final and she clipped a buoy. However, Puspure was never headed from early on, and she won with over two lengths to spare. For seven minutes and 20.12 seconds she was, indeed, dominant.

 Congratulations to all the Ireland teams this season and to the Afloat Rowers of the Month, Sanita Puspure and Paul O’Donovan and Gary O’Donovan.   

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 2018 champions list grow.

Published in Rower of Month

#Rowing: A big and enthusiastic crowd greeted rowers from the Ireland World Championships team at the National Rowing Centre today. Aifric Keogh and Emily Hegarty, who reached the final of the women’s pair, joined gold medallists Sanita Puspure, Paul O’Donovan and Gary O’Donovan.

The Minister of State with responsibility for Sport, Brendan Griffin, told the rowers and the crowd that he was fighting for funding at cabinet level, while the Cork County Mayor, Patrick Gerard Murphy, made an eloquent speech about how the present team inspire others.

Outside, the All Ireland Youth and Irish Open Regatta reflected the enthusiasm and ambition of the contenders for top spots. Lee woman Margaret Cremen was a convincing winner of the single sculls, while Fintan McCarthy – who was exempt, as he had competed at the World Championships – went ahead and won the men’s single.

Earlier Jack Dorney of Shandon and Aoife Lynch of Lee won the junior singles.

Irish Open Regatta, National Rowing Centre, Cork, September 29th

Men

Four: UCD (senior). Under-23: Coláiste Iognáid (jun).

Pair: NUIG (D Buckley, E Whittle; sen). Under-23: UCD. Jun: Commercial.

Sculling

Double: St Michael’s/UCC (sen). Under-23: Three Castles (jun)

Single: Skibbereen (F McCarthy; sen). Under-23: Queen’s (M Taylor). Jun: Enniskillen (O Donaghy)

Women

Four: Colaiste Iognaid A (jun)

Pair: UCC/Skibbereen (T Hanlon, N Casey; sen). U-23: Bann/Neptune. Jun: St Michael’s A.

Sculling

Double: Neptune/Bann (sen). U-23: Killorglin (jun).

Single: UCC (M Cremen, Under-23). NUIG (O’Connor; first senior). Jun: Lee (A Lynch).

Youth Regatta (Selected)

Men

Sculling, Quadruple, Junior 16, coxed: St Michael’s. Single, Jun 16: Kenmare (Kelly)

Women

Sculling, Quadruple, Junior 16, coxed: St Michael’s. Single, Jun 16: Lee Valley (Davis)

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Sanita Puspure won Ireland’s second gold medal at the World Rowing Champinships at Plovdiv in Bulgaria today. She grabbed the lead in the single sculls final right from the start and never let it go. Defending champion Jeannine Gmelin moved to catch her in the third quarter, but the Ireland sculler stayed strong and extended her lead. She tired a little in the final quarter – and grew her advantage even more. She was clear by over two lengths at the finish.

World Rowing Championships, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, Day Eight (Irish interest):

Men

Double Sculls – B Final (Places 7 to 12): 1 Netherlands 6:05.10, 2 Poland 6:05.10, 3 Ireland (P Doyle, R Byrne) 6:08.81.

Women

Double Sculls – C Final (Places 13 to 18): 1 Ireland (M Dukarska, A Crowley) 6:54.55, 2 Chile 6:57.29, 3 Italy 6:58.17.

Single Sculls – A Final: 1 Ireland (S Puspure) 7:20.12, 2 Switzerland (J Gmelin) 7:25.93, 3 Austria (M Lobnig) 7:29.51.

Published in Rowing
Page 3 of 8

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.

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