2 Irish Records set at IIRC
Jan 19, 2025Eoghan Volz O’Dowd (M13-14 4min) & Grace Faherty (W13-14 2k)
Exceptional performances were seen from CIRC athletes, at the University of Limerick, during this years' National Indoor Rowing Championships. The tone was set in Race no.5 - the MJ14 4-minute time trial - where Eoghan Volz O’Dowd covered a distance of 1,228m, beating the currently published Irish record by 5m. Concept 2, who publish the Irish records for indoor rowing, have yet to confirm this new record.
Eoghan was in top form, that day. Despite possessing raced in this event, he went on to win the MJ14 500m sprint, with a time of 1m 28.6s - 4.4 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor and only 0.9s shy of the Irish record.
Toran Tighe later finished the Mens J15 1K, in a time of 3m 22.7s. In this tightly fought race, Toran had an impressive build in the last 250m to secure 3rd place, 2.7s ahead of his nearest rival and 1.2 seconds off 2nd place.
Two races later, we saw Grace Faherty win the WJ16 2k, 21.3 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. Her time of 7m 7.8s was fast enough to beat all but the winner of the Women's J18 2K race, and was 3.6 seconds slower than the Irish u16 record for that distance. But 14-year-old Grace's time will be compared to the current 13-14 year-old record for that distance, set by Niamh Cassidy (Enniskillen Royal Boat Club) in 2021 (07m 43.3s). Concept2 have yet to confirm this, but Grace should now hold the W13-14 2K Irish record, to go with the W13-14 500m World record that she set in late 2024.
Grace later raced the WJ15 500m, crossing the line 9.7 seconds ahead, in a time of 1m 34.1s. Her time was only 3.7s behind her own world record (1m 31.8s), set 2 months ago - an astonishing achievement, given she had raced a 2k, earlier that same day! Grace's time was 0.6 seconds faster than the current 15-16 Irish record for this distance but because Grace is 14, she cannot officially break this Irish record until after her next birthday.
In the WJ14 500m, Fay Fennel fought a tough race to take home a silver medal. Her time of 1m 44.6s staved off an Athlone rower by 0.9s to finish only 1.7 seconds behind the race winner.
The 2000m relays at the end of the day (always a fun event for the rowers) saw a CIRC crew (names to be confirmed) win the WTY1 (first year) event by 4.1 seconds.
And in the WTY3 (3rd years) relay, another CIRC crew (Ellie Shiel, Maeve Guckian, Lola-Mae McCormack, Liadán Heffernan, and Isabella Howley) comfortably won silver, in a time of 7m 21s, crossing the line 21.2 seconds ahead of the crew that was third and 6.7 seconds behind the winners.
By the end of the day, CIRC's athletes' achievements included five wins, two 2nd places, 1 third place, and 2 new Irish records (plus a third record's time beaten - even though the athlete is too young to claim that Irish record). CIRC also had our share of near misses, with 5 relay teams crossing the line in 4th place, to share the disappointment of Róisín Ní Chathmhaoil, who also just missed out on a medal earlier that day. Róisín was joint fourth in her WJ13 500m race, with a time that was only 0.8 seconds behind the bronze medalist's.
But these achievements were far from the only impressive thing we saw from CIRC athletes that day. The coaches and supporters were all struck by the level of sporting camaraderie displayed by each and every one of the CIRC rowers - their support for one another, during races, and the delight and pride they all took from fellow CIRC athlete's successes. The Jes rowers have certainly started 2025 off with a bang and everyone involved is immensely proud of them all.
Other Photographs
More images are available
View Images