Last weekend the club travelled en masse to the gorgeous town of Bantry in West Cork to partake in the  Irish Coastal Rowing Federation All-Ireland Championships. We had 50 rowers taking part in races on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in 19 different crews in what promised to be a very busy weekend for the club.

Friday:
Action got underway early on Friday, where we had four crews take part in the first day of the bumper weekend. Our U16 Mixed race featured two very strong crews who rowed their hearts out in their heat:

Then later in the day in race 19, we had 2 crews taking part in the Novice Mixed Final. This turned out to be a cracking race with our Novice B crew fighting bravely to the finish line.

 
Meanwhile our A Crew placed third after a trojan effort, winning the first club medals of the All Ireland Championships weekend! 

Saturday:
Then on Saturday there was an early start with the action getting underway from 8am as crews descended on the marina for another action packed day of racing.

Our U16 girls got the action underway for Fossa where we had two crews entering, with the top 6 finishers making it into the final on Sunday. Both crews did the club so proud, with the A Crew qualifying for the final. Very well done to both crews!

Then it was the turn of our Sprint ladies to hit the water. They did brilliant in a very closely fought race over the 800m.

In race 14 we had our very own Alison Coffey represent the club in a composite crew - a masterclass!

In race 20 our U18 mixed crew put on a heck of  a show to put the other crews under pressure in the U18 Mixed Final. Another fantastic showing by this crew.

In the final race with club representation, it was the turn of the U14 boys to hit the water in heat 2 of the U14 Boys. The boys finished very strongly and qualified for the U14 Boys Final on the Sunday, finishing a very busy but superb day of racing in Bantry.

Sunday:
Again the action got underway at 8am, and the water was calm, no wind and conditions perfect for a days rowing. Little did we know the rain would roll in and conditions stiffen as the day went on.

First up it was the turn of our Pre-Veteran mixed crew to get the action underway. Another great display by this crew to get the day started.

Then it was the turn of our Senior Mixed crew, who did themselves and the club very proud.

Our U12 Girls were up next, in race 5 and they were superb. A huge congratulations to our youngest crew to take part, they were fantastic and really powered it home.

U18 Boys were up next and they had a strong showing in the water, in a very strong race.

Our Novice ladies crew were next in Race 8, battling through a very tough competition.

In race 9 our Novice men were up and brought home the silverware, winning Silver in a very tough race, as conditions started to become a bit choppier than earlier in the morning. A superb row by one and all and a huge congratulations!

In Race 14 our U16 boys fought the bad conditions as the rain fell heavy, and the conditions deteoriated quickly. The lads did themselves and the club proud.

In race 16 the Prevet Ladies battled the worsening condtions and put on a fantastic fight in their race.

In race 19 our Veteran Mixed suffered a long delay in the cold and blustery conditions, behind the start line, putting on a fantastic row.

Our U14 boys were in their final and put in a well fought display.

In race 21 we saw our U16 girls take part in their final, having also qualified through their heat on Saturday. They rowed their hearts out in the final and the whole club was so proud of them all.

Our Intermediate ladies were up next, and braved the worsening conditions to put in another mighty display. Well done Ladies.

Our final ladies crew then took to the water - our Junior Ladies Crew. Well done ladies.

Our Junior men took part in the second last race of the day, another super effort as the lads contended with a crash and a lost steer!

Finally it was the turn of our Senior Men who took on a hardy multiturn race and did the club very proud once more.

A fantastic weekend in Bantry, topped off with some celebrations to top the weekend. Well done to all our crews who took part, a truly fantastic turn out on the water by everyone. We are exceptionally proud of every single crew who took part, in our medal winners and especially proud of those rowing for the first time at the All Irelands. Thanks to our fantastic coxes for your guideance and hard work over the weekend as well as to our fantastic coaches for your hard work and dedication to get the crews ready for this fantastic weekend.

A huge thanks to everyone who helped out over the weekend getting the boats to Bantry, helping pitch the tent, supporting the crews and making as much nosie as possible to shout the crews on. Thanks to everyone who took photos over the weekend also. It was great to see so many at the interview representing the club!

A huge thank you to Mary B and all at the Irish Coastal Rowing Federation for running another fantastic event. We had a lot of club supporters watching the footage at home and the race footage as well as the drone footage was just superb.

Below are some more photos from the weekend: