Kilkenny Paddlers busy making waves on the water around the county

The Thomastown Paddlers Canoe Club (TPCC) have made a busy start to their summer, taking on two events across one weekend.

The club had a great turnout for the third annual Brendan Fitzpatrick and Eoin Doyle Memorial Race, an event to honour two former TPCC members.

An out and back course the race began at the boat slip in Inistioge, headed downriver around the islands and back to the start line, one lap for the short course (5km), two laps for the long course (10km). Around 65 competitors took to the water between the two entry classes.

The Brendan Fitzpatrick Memorial Cup and first finisher in the 10K race was Cathal Treacy (TPCC) who finished strongly and kept ahead of competition over the closing stretch of water in a tight finish.

The Eoin Doyle Memorial Cup and winner of the 5K race went to Edie O’Flaherty of Metalman Paddle Sports Waterford.

An earlier bout of thundershowers had cleared prior to the race, much to the joy of the large crowd that had gathered to watch and stay around for prizegiving and post-race refreshments afterwards.

This is the third year that the memorial race has been held, with the support and number of boat entries up year on year.

Some of the younger TPCC paddlers also got their first taste of racing at this ‘home’ event. Darragh Brennan raced K2 with brother TJ, while Brandon Blanche raced K2 with brother Xavier. Ollie Brennan also completed the 5K course solo in K1, while younger brother Joe got his first taste of competitive racing with dad Donnacha in K2, all doing brilliantly and putting skills learned during the summer sessions into practice.

After a busy evening, paddlers were back in local waters the next day as Thomastown hosted the TPCC Marathon Ranking Race. Over 70 competitors representing nine different clubs from across the country travelled to compete in the event.

The Divisions One and Two long course races started above Bennettsbridge Weir and ran along a 23km course to Inistioge. All other divisions ran the shorter 11km course from Thomastown to Inistioge.

Conditions were ideal for downriver racing, helped by rainfall over the previous days. The atmosphere was great as from the Thomastown riverbank and Brownsbarn Bridge to the finish line at Inistioge, friends and family turned out to cheer on the competitors as they passed.

The club had a very successful day out with many notable performances and medals taken home in most categories.

In Division One Senan Forristal showed his class down the 23km, just missing out on the gold medal in a sprint finish despite trying to shake off competition down fast water sections.

In Division Two TPCC stalwarts Donnacha Brennan and Cathal Treacy took home medals, Donnacha finishing second and Cathal third.

Xavier Blanche put in another good performance in Division Four, finishing in second place. Stephan Green also had a good race, narrowly missing out on the medals when he finished in fourth place. John Walpole was next across the line in fifth place, with TJ Brennan seventh.

In the men’s Division Five Brendan Sheehan had a notable performance, leading from start to finish to take the gold medal.

Dave Comerford finished in fifth place. In the women’s Division Five race Millie Brennan paddled very well, finishing in second place. Joanne Fitzpatrick was third, with Ellen O’Sullivan and Katie Hobson-Shaw fourth and fifth respectively.

Stephen Tucker had a good race, taking home the silver medal in the Men’s GP Class.

In the Division Seven (under-15 boys) category, Will O’Gorman took first place with a great performance, extending a good lead over the 11km. Dara Wilson put in a solid effort, just finishing outside of the medals in fourth place.

Ollie Brennan and Nell Austin had a great day on the river and worked hard together with Dave McCormack leading the (K3) crew, to finish fourth in the K2 Short Course.

A very enjoyable weekend was had by competitors and supporters alike. Many thanks to all who helped out in any way over both days, which provided good preparation for the K1 National Marathon Championships in Kildare.