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#Rowing: Castleconnell won the award as best junior club at Ghent International Regatta today. Their boys and girls reeled off a set of impressive results over the two days: on Sunday, the women’s junior pair won, while there were second places for the junior men’s four, pair and double and the junior women’s quadruple, which took on international-class Belgian opposition. The women’s under-23 double also won.  

 Saturday had been good for a number of Ireland clubs. Forty-one crews competed in the men’s junior single sculls – and Irish crews filled the first two places. Jack Butler of King’s Hospital won, with Rory O’Neill of Castleconnell just two seconds slower. The Castleconnell junior men’s four won and their women’s junior double of Niamh Kiely and Lauren O’Brien took second amongst 51 crews which competed.  

 Over the two days, other Irish crews to record wins included Skibbereen – which won both the women’s senior pair and the men’s junior 16 quadruple – and Commercial, which on Saturday won the junior women’s pair through Aoife Molony and Grace Healy and the junior women’s eight.

 At Lee Regatta on Saturday, Shandon won the junior men’s 18 eight and Cork the women’s junior 18 eights.

Ghent International May Regatta (Irish interest, selected results)

Saturday

­Men

Four – Junior: 1 Castleconnell.

Pair – Jun: 2 Castleconnell (J O’Donovan, C Mulready); 3 Castleconnell (B Frohburg, D Ryan)

Sculling, Quadruple – Jun 18: 3 Skibbereen (D Kavanagh, E O’Connor, F O’Reilly, F O’Regan). Jun 16: 1 Skibbereen (Kavanagh, O’Connor, O’Reilly, Regan).

Single – Jun: 1 King’s Hospital (J Butler), 2 Castleconnell (R O’Neill).

Women

Eight – Jun: 1 Commercial, 2 Carlow. Pair – Jun: 1 Commercial (A Molony, G Healy).

Sculling, Quadruple – Jun: 2 Castleconnell (N Kiely, L O’Brien, N Silke, S Byrnes).

Single – Under-23: 3 Castleconnell (P Silke).

Double – Jun: 3 Castleconnell (N Kiely, L O’Brien).

Single – Under-23: 2 Castleconnell (C O’Brien). Lightweight Single – Sen: 3 Skibbereen (O Hayes).  

Sunday

Men

Four – Jun: 2 Castleconnell (B Frohburg, J O’Donovan, C Mulready, D Ryan)

Pair – Jun 18: 2 Castleconnell (O’Donovan, Mulready), 3 Castleconnell (Frohburg, Mulready), 3

Sculling

Double – Jun: 2 Castleconnell (J Desmond, R O’Neill). Jun 16: 3 Skibbereen (E O’Connor, F O’Reilly)

Women

Eight: 2 Commercial, 3 Carlow.

Pair – Sen: 1 Skibbereen (A McCarthy, N Casey), 2 Commercial (H O’Neill, R Morris). Jun: 1 Castleconnell (N Silke, S Byrnes); 3 Commercial (A Moloney, G Healy).

Sculling, Quadruple: 2 Castleconnell.

Double – U-23: 2 Castleconnell (C O’Brien, S Gilmore). Jun 16: 2 Carlow (S Scully, K Egan).

Single – Lightweight: 3 Skibbereen (O Hayes).

Published in Rowing

Naval Visits focuses on forthcoming courtesy visits by foreign navies from our nearest neighbours, to navies from European Union and perhaps even those navies from far-flung distant shores.

In covering these Naval Visits, the range of nationality arising from these vessels can also be broad in terms of the variety of ships docking in our ports.

The list of naval ship types is long and they perform many tasks. These naval ships can include coastal patrol vessels, mine-sweepers, mine-hunters, frigates, destroyers, amphibious dock-landing vessels, helicopter-carriers, submarine support ships and the rarer sighting of submarines.

When Naval Visits are made, it is those that are open to the public to come on board, provide an excellent opportunity to demonstrate up close and personal, what these look like and what they can do and a chance to discuss with the crew.

It can make even more interesting for visitors when a flotilla arrives, particularly comprising an international fleet, adding to the sense of curiosity and adding a greater mix to the type of vessels boarded.

All of this makes Naval Visits a fascinating and intriguing insight into the role of navies from abroad, as they spend time in our ports, mostly for a weekend-long call, having completed exercises at sea.

These naval exercises can involve joint co-operation between other naval fleets off Ireland, in the approaches of the Atlantic, and way offshore of the coasts of western European countries.

In certain circumstances, Naval Visits involve vessels which are making repositioning voyages over long distances between continents, having completed a tour of duty in zones of conflict.

Joint naval fleet exercises bring an increased integration of navies within Europe and beyond. These exercises improve greater co-operation at EU level but also internationally, not just on a political front, but these exercises enable shared training skills in carrying out naval skills and also knowledge.

Naval Visits are also reciprocal, in that the Irish Naval Service, has over the decades, visited major gatherings overseas, while also carrying out specific operations on many fronts.

Ireland can, therefore, be represented through these ships that also act as floating ambassadorial platforms, supporting our national interests.

These interests are not exclusively political in terms of foreign policy, through humanitarian commitments, but are also to assist existing trade and tourism links and also develop further.

Equally important is our relationship with the Irish diaspora, and to share this sense of identity with the rest of the World.