Four wins in Galway for Clonmel rowers as Sandra Wall rolls back the decades

Clonmel Rowing Club had their own version of Operation Epic Fury when they headed to the city of the tribes for the Galway HOR (Head of River).

The event was well attended, with international crews from as far as the Czech Republic taking part.

While the eyes of the world were focused on the Strait of Hormuz, the rowers and coxswain had quite a few significant challenges to negotiate on the four kilometres stretch of the River Corrib.

The Masters women F4x+ had a brush with the reeds, but it takes more than a glancing blow to bring these ladies to a halt and they were able to quickly regain their stride to race to victory.

The other women’s Masters crew of Michelle O’Halloran, Nicola Keating, Mary Jane Brassill and Ruth Hennessy had no mishaps on their way down the course. Their dedicated training is paying off when they had 23 seconds to spare over their nearest competitor.

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Sandra Wall rolled back decades at this event. Back in 2004 she successfully steered the Clonmel 4x- to victory here and she is still good enough to do it in 2026, this time with Kate Fogarty, Eimear Sweeney and Iola Cummins. 

The men’s Masters 4x + of Tom O’Donnell, Ken Hennessy, Paul Kelly and Ronnie Corbett, with Ruth Hennessy steering,  filled the runners-up spot for the second week running and if they can keep this up, the win is surely not too far away.

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Clonmel doesn’t often have a men’s J15 8 competing, but Stephen Ryan has pulled a group together and they had a great row, with an enthusiastic cox urging them on, which culminated in the fourth win of the day for the club. A fine haul indeed. 

There were a good few former Clonmel rowers, now rowing for UG in action on the day. The winning men’s Senior 4x was 75% Clonmel with Donnacha Keeley, James Hurley and Gerald Nugent in the boat. Hurley and Nugent were also in the fastest boat of the day, the men’s Senior 8.

Oisín Walsh is getting on well in the Rowing Ireland trials, taking place at the National Rowing Centre in Inniscarra.

Also down there is one of our own, Laura Meehan, now plying her trade with UL and we all hope for good news in the coming months from Rowing Ireland.

Jimmy Fennessy is taking a break at the moment but he can rest assured that the coaches are doing great work, taking care of all the crews and they must be commended for their efforts in keeping the wheels turning in Clonmel Rowing Club.

The club’s next Head of River will be Muckross, taking place at the National Rowing Centre in Inniscarra, and that will wrap up the heads for this season.