Rowathon in Tipperary will celebrate 150 years of rowing on the River Suir
Distance covered will be the same as rowing from Ireland to New York
Above: Enjoying the Annerville Awards presentation at the Talbot Hotel Clonmel last Saturday night were, standing, Niall Lynch, who accepted the Rowing Award on behalf of his son, Daire Lynch; Tom Fennessey, Clonmel Rowing Club. Seated, Jimmy Fennessy, Clonmel Rowing Club, who won the Jimmy Cooney Lifetime Achievement Award.
With the National Coursing Meeting taking place in Powerstown Park, Clonmel this weekend, it’s a good time to remember that great greyhound Master McGrath, bred down in Colligan,near Dungarvan.
He won the Waterloo Cup three times, the blue riband event for coursing greyhounds. His second win came in 1869, the same year that Clonmel Rowing Club was founded.
Since then, many crews have worn the club colours, (blue and white vertical stripes) with distinction both at home and abroad.
Just last weekend, Daire Lynch received the Annerville award for rowing from the Tipperary United Sports Panel and another award from Rowing Ireland for being part of the crew to win Ireland’s first heavyweight men’s Olympic rowing medal.
To celebrate 155 years of rowing in Clonmel, the club has hit upon the idea of a rowathon- getting all club members and dragon paddlers to clock up 5,000 metres a day on the rowing machine for the month of February.
With all the members getting on board, the total distance covered will be the equivalent of rowing across the Atlantic to New York.
No slouches when it comes to fundraising, the committee intend to have a GoFundMe drive, which can be accessed through the Clonmel Rowing Club Facebook page.
The plan is to use the funds to refurbish the equipment in the gym.
Clonmel Rowing Club hopes to take part in the St Michael’s Head Of River on Saturday February 8.