Tipperary rowers were successful on trip to East Clare
Victories for Clonmel at O’Brien’s Bridge
St Michael’s Head Of River (HOR) took place at O’Brien’s Bridge, Clare, over a 3.2 kilometres course.
As this was Clonmel Rowing Club’s first HOR of the 2024/2025 season, it was a bit like the first day back at school after the summer holidays, as everyone caught up with their friends in the rowing community.
A heavy rain shower greeted them on arrival at the course, but thankfully it cleared quickly and crews were able to take to the water in ideal rowing conditions.
O’Brien’s Bridge has proven over the years to be one of the more benign locations for rowing in Ireland and because it’s a rolling head, rowers get the opportunity to row in a couple of races during the day.
Wins came in the club 4x, the women’s 2x, Sandra Wall and Michelle Gregory; and the mixed 2x, Michelle Gregory and Paul Nugent.
The club 4x crew that was successful was Josh Kiely, Logan Murray, Cian Gregory, and Nicholas Connolly, with Eimear Sweeney coxing.
Edward Wall and Chris Kane are making steady progress in the 1x and 2x. They finished fifth in the 2x and Edward came third in the J14 1x.
The Clonmel men’s J13 4x were their youngest crew and they put in a credible performance when finishing fourth in an 11-boat field.
Clonmel’s Ciaran Hickey and Keelan Hogan went in a highly competitive J18 1x. Ciaran came in a commendable fifth place, with Keelan a further seven seconds behind.
It’s all about those seconds and Millie Crean lost valuable time when she visited the reeds, but she had a better row with Molly Fennessy in the 2x.
Clonmel’s next outing is the Castleconnell HOR on this Saturday, October 26.
The Clonmel club needs to recruit a cox. They say they are not looking for much, just somebody who is organised and responsible and who will steer the boat safely from A to B.
The ideal weight would be around 60kgs and there will be early morning starts at the weekends. The cox can be male or female and will be committed to being part of a team focused on achieving goals.
Contact the secretary or any of the members for more details.