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The Jes on the Water 2010
All crews 2010. Back row from left, Liam Mooney, Luke Rigney, Ciaran Coen, Ailbhe Murphy, Clara Sherry, Olivia Forde, Ian Murphy, Amy Naughton, Andrew Bell, Amy Phelan, David Noone, Paddy Kellehan, Eoin Murphy, Una Phelan, Matthew Kelly, Áine Gavin and Sinéad Lowry.
Middle Row from left, Reuben Cruise, Ruth McMorrow, Ailbhe NíGriofa, Sarah Sheridan, Aifric Henry-Bruen, Naomi Lawless, Nicole Cooke, Cora Lenihan and Niamh Doran.
Front Row from left, Frank O'Neill, Luke Sheridan, Alex Burke, Darragh McCarthy, Daniel Coughlan, Oisin Cunningham, Callum Kerin, David Burke (kneeling), Brett Hartmann and Eoghan Finn (kneeling).
Senior Girls Crew 2010: Back row L to R: Niamh Doran, Ailbhe Murphy, Cora Lenihan, Olivia Forde, Amy Naughton, Amy Phelan, Clara Sherry, Sinéad Lowry and Una Phelan. Front row L to R: Ailbhe Ní Griofa, Ruth McMurrow, Sarah Sheridan, Aifric Henry-Bruen, Nicole Cooke, Naomi Lawless and Áine Gavin.
Senor Boys Crew 2010: Back row L to R: Liam Mooney, Andrew Bell, Peter Collins, Ian Murphy, David Noone, Eoin Murphy. Front row left to right: Ciaran Coen, Paddy Kellehan, Matthew Kelly, Reuben Cruise and Seán Cahalan.
Intermediate Boys Crew 2010: Back row L to R: Simon Caulfield, Robert Flynn, Michael Lawless, Dylan Luddy, -? Front row L to R: Patrick Higgins,-?, Conor Coughlan, Luke Coughlan and Danny Brehony.
Junior Boys Crew 2010: Back row from left, Eoghan Finn, Luke Rigney, Oisin Cunningham, Alex Burke, David Burke, Brett Hartmann. Front row from left, Luke Sheridan, Darragh McCarthy, Daniel Coughlan, Callum Kerin and Frank O'Neill.
Corrib Time Trials 2010
The fifth and final Time Trial in the Corrib Sculling Series took place on Saturday 11th December.As in each previous trial, entries swelled showing the appetite for this type of racing in Galway. Former Coláiste Iognáid Olympian, Cormac Folan stole the show and beat fellow former Jes Rower Liam Molloy and NUIG’s Dave Mannion in the Senior Single Sculling event.
In the intermediate event Jes coach Martin Cassidy, and former Jes oarsman and current Senior 8’s champion of Ireland Eddie Mullarkey were both pipped on the last day by NUIG’s Evin Donnelly.
In the Junior ranks, Jes oarsmen picked up silver and bronze in both the under 18 and under 16 events. Ian Murphy and Eoin Coughlan were beaten by a very slick Conor Egan from the Bish in the under 18 event, while Matthew Kelly and Andrew Bell were just behind Fionnan Tolan of the Bish in the Under 16 event. This result was all the more gutting for Andrew as he was between by just 2 points over the entire series. To give an idea how small this margin is, Tolan and Bell had accumulated over 230 points each! Conor Coughlan continued his strong run of form and won silver in the Junior 15 event.
The organisers want to thank all coaches, rowers and volunteers from the Jes who helped make this Sculling series a success. We will look forward to next year when we believe the event will become even more popular.
Results of the 5th time Trials and Overall Results
Note: The overall championship points for each rower were based on his or hers best three scores across the five races.
Events 2010
Congratulations to Eddie Mullarkey, a Coláiste Iognáid student who took his Leaving this year. Eddie sat in the bow seat of the NUI Galway Men’s Senior Eight in the blue ribbon event of the Irish National Rowing Championships on 17th July. The eight were three-quarters of a length down at 1,000m, and pulled off a remarkable finish to win by .13 of a second. Three feet was the official result.
Eddie Mullarkey with his Senior Eight pot, won while still a Jes student.
Congratulation also to ex-Jes rower Niall Kenny who was in Ireland’s lightweight men’s quadruple scull that took the silver medal at the World Under-23 Championships in Belarus on 25 July. Niall rowed for the Jes up to 2007, before moving on to row for NUI Galway.
Silver in Belarus: from R to L, Niall Kenny, Michael Maher, Mark O’Donovan and Justin Ryan (Photo: Afloat.ie)
The 2010 season
The 2010 season has now ended, with Jes crews having competed in a range of events around the country. (For a list of events see CURRENT REGATTAS).
The National Irish Rowing Championships
There was a change to the format for the Championships this year. Only the 8+’s and 4+’s for men and women were raced in July, with the 1x, 2x, 4x and pairs all taking place on the weekend of 25-26 September.
These two weekends are what all the hard training boils down to, a straight two kilometre race down the Innishcarra Lake.
The National Irish Rowing Championships: Second Weekend - 25th and 26th of September
The Jes men’s junior squad were entered in five events over the weekend. The first race, which kicked off very early Saturday morning, was a time trial for the Junior 16 single sculls, with Matthew Kelly and Andrew Bell participating for the Jes. Out of the 39 entries, only 18 were to make it through the time trial, to gain entry into the semi-finals and final, all of which were due to be completed in the Saturday morning session.
Because of a fault in the time-keeping, this time trial had to be cancelled. The new plan was to hold a new time-trial and take the top twelve times into A and B finals. This meant that the event now had to be carried over into the afternoon session and would thus put huge demands on some competitors who were competing in other events in the afternoon.
Matthew and Andrew went out again at lunchtime for this second attempt at the time trial. They had now been on their feet for six hours. Matthew finished in the middle of the field in 18th place. Andrew finished with the 8th fastest time, putting him into the B final. This final was to become Andrew’s fifth race of the day, and was held less than an hour after he had competed in the final of the Junior 18 quads. He rowed well in a fast field and finished second. His time in the B final was the fifth fastest time overall in the Junior 16 sculling category, the most competitive category of the weekend.
Junior 16 single sculls: Andrew Bell rowing to the start of the B Final
We had two boats entered in the afternoon’s heats of the Junior 18 quads (MJ184X). However, during the unpacking of the boats, one of the crew sprained his ankle and we had to scratch the second boat. Our remaining quad included Ian Murphy, Andrew Bell, Seán Cahalan and Paddy Kellehan. From the start it was a two boat affair between the Jes and Neptune. The Jes came second, qualifying comfortably for the final, and receiving complimentary remarks from the commentator over the PA, on their 'polished rowing'.
The Final was held just after four pm and was to be Andrew's fourth race of the day. It was a high quality field, and the lads pulled out a great finish to snatch the bronze off a strong Castleconnel crew. Neptune was second, three seconds ahead, and the ever impressive Skibereen won the event with a crew with four seasoned Irish Internationals. This was the Jes's first medal performance in this category in ten years.
The Jes Junior 18 quad: stroke, Ian Murphy, Andrew Bell, Seán Cahalan and Paddy Kellehan
The Junior 18 quad docking, assisted by coaches Shane Cawley (two-tone blue tracksuit) and Ciaran Glynn (gray tracksuit)
Jes Junior 18 quad: L to R Paddy Kellehan, Ian Murphy, Andrew Bell and Seán Cahalan receiving their medals
On Sunday morning we had four Junior 18 scullers competing with three qualifying spots from each heat entering the semi-finals. The four Jes rowers were Paddy Kellehan, Eoin Coughlan, Ian Murphy and Andrew Bell. All rowed well in their heats, but unfortunately did not make the qualifying spots. This category is hotly contested and includes athletes who row specifically in the single scull. The event was won by Turlough Hughes, a 6'4 heavyweight from Mayo who came tenth for Ireland at the Junior World Championships in the scull, just to give an indication of the quality of the competition.
Junior 18 sculler: Eoin Coughlan
Junior 18 sculler: Paddy Kellehan
Junior 18 sculler: Ian Murphy
Matthew Kelly rowing towards the bridge and the start of the 2k course.
Next up were the Junior18 double sculls, with Seán Cahalan and Matthew Kelly in one heat and Paddy Kellehan and Eoin Coughlan in the other. Paddy and Eoin were in the fastest heat, and raced extremely well, but did not qualify for the semi-final. However, had they been drawn in any of the other heats, their time would have been easily good enough to qualify. Seán and Matthew also raced with vigour and came third to qualify comfortably for the semi final.
Following this race, David Noone competed in the Novice sculls. David put on an impressive performance, sculling well. He did not make a qualifying spot, but was giving away up to four stones in weight against the other rowers who ranged in age from seventeen to thirty eight.
Our next race was the semi-final of the Junior 18 double sculls. The lads had drawn the tough semi-final which consisted of two Skibereen crews, one of which was the silver medal winning juniors from the European Junior championships during the summer. After a valiant effort Seán and Matthew came fifth in the semi. The event was won by Skibereen.
The weekend was always going to be a tough challenge, as the rowers did not have much time off after the July championships. It was a big ask to get back to the fitness levels we had before July. Everyone raced to their maximum, and to come away with a medal in such a highly contested field as the Junior Quads was an excellent result.
It was the last racing Seán Cahalan, Paddy Kellehan and Ciarán Coen will see with the Jes. All three have been extremely dedicated oarsmen and if they choose to continue the sport, all have bright futures ahead of them. We would also like to give a further mention to Seán Cahalan, and thank him on behalf of the squad and club for the fantastic job he did as club captain this year.
We look forward to next season, and a tough winter's training -- although the lads might not be too excited when it comes to the winter training!
The National Irish Rowing Championships: First Weekend - 16th and 17th of July
The first weekend of the Irish National Championships took place at the National Rowing Centre on the Innishcarra Lake in Cork on the 16th and 17th of July.
The women's squad traveled to Cork in good form, with both a Junior 16 Eight and a Junior 18 Four hitting top speed in training and expecting to perform well in their respective races. The Women's Junior 18 Four was on Friday morning, with blustery conditions and a building tailwind. Unfortunately, after a good warm up, there was an incident above the starting blocks when another boat ran into the side of the Jes boat. This regrettable accident, which damaged the Jes boat, distressed the Jes crew and although they valiantly rowed the race to completion, they failed to qualify. This was not part of the plan. We are grateful to the vigilance of one of the fathers, Frank Phelan, whose intervention after the race avoided further distress to the crew.
Women's Junior 18 Four rowing to the start: L to R Amy Phelan, Aoife Barry, Clara Sherry, and Una Phelan (Photo: thewateredge.com)
The Men's Junior 18 Coxed Four was in the afternoon. The Jes crew included seasoned stroke Ian Murphy, Andrew Bell, club captain Sean Cahalan, bow Matthew Kelly and cox Eoin Murphy. This is a young crew, with Matthew and Andrew still eligible to race Junior 16. The crew performed very well in their heat and beat our friends Neptune to come second and book their place in the final. Coach Shane Cawley was pleased with his crew's progression to the final and believed every place gained in the final was a bonus as the rowers were gaining experience and would be around again next year. In the final the Jes finished a very credible fifth, with the event won by Skibbereen.
Men's Junior 18 Coxed Four: L to R Matthew Kelly, Sean Cahalan, Andrew Bell and Ian Murphy (Photo: thewateredge.com)
The next day, the Women's Junior 16 Eight was a straight final between Commercial, Portora, Galway Rowing Club and the Jes. The race was again in the early morning, with similar weather conditions to the previous day. The race started well, with the Jes, Portora and GRC off to a lightning start. After 500m it was bowball to bowball between Jes and Portora. Both crews had hit their stride well, but by 1200m Portora had managed to eke out a narrow lead over Jes, and stretched it to half a length by 1400m. With the crews beginning to power for the line Portora gradually pushed away from Jes, with GRC beginning to make inroads. The Jes just failed to hold a last minute push by GRC and were pipped for second at the line. Although third place was disappointing it was a great race and well rowed, with no regrets coming off the water.
Women's Junior 16 Eight preparing to race, aided by coach Aidan Hohnan: closest to camera Nicole Cooke, Naomi Lawless, Aine Gavin, Sinead Lowry, Sarah Sheridan, Olivia Forde, Ellen Rushe. Out of picture: Niamh Kelly and Ailbhe Murphy
The pinnacle of school-boy rowing, the Junior Men’s Eight followed. Buoyed by the performance in the coxed four, Ian, Andrew, Matthew, Sean and Eoin were joined by Eoin Coughlan, Liam Mooney, Ciaran Coen and Paddy Kellehan. In the semi-final the Jes rowed very convincingly to again beat Neptune to qualify for the final. The Jes started out very well in the final, but a very powerful Bann crew threw the gauntlet down to all crews and stormed to a great victory. The Jes were neck and neck with Presentation Cork until one of the Jes crew encountered a technical difficulty when his seat came off the rails. The crew were happy with their performance, aside from the sliding difficulty.
Men's Junior 18 Eight leaving the dock: cox Eoin Murphy, stroke Ian Murphy, Andrew Bell, Eoin Coughlan, Matthew Kelly, Sean Cahalan, Liam Mooney, Ciaran Coen and Paddy Kellehan
The Jes also entered younger men's crews, many of whom were racing in the Nationals for the first time. Though none of the crews managed to reach the finals, they all had an enjoyable weekend and gained the experience that is needed for successful racing in the coming years.
Men's Junior 16 Quad rowing to the start: L to R Michael Lawless, Robert Flynn, Reuben Cruise, Conor Coughlan and cox Daniel Brehony (Photo: thewateredge.com)
There were also a number of single scull races that were not part of the Championships -- the official sculls events are in September. The coaches took this opportunity to give some of our rowers the experience of sculling on the National course.
Junior 16 rower Michael Lawless (Photo: thewateredge.com)
Junior 16 rower Robert Flynn (Photo: thewateredge.com)
All in the club are looking forward to racing in the smaller boats in the second phase of the National Championships in Cork on 25-26 September.
Galway Regatta
The Galway Regatta (27th June) saw mixed weather with bright sunshine and a fresh breeze alternating with showers and culminating in a downpour. The water level was exceptionally low, which complicated getting into and out of boats at the slip.
One of the highlights of the day was the Women's Junior 16 eight race which proved to be a thrilling three boat contest between the Jes, Portora, and Galway Rowing Club.
The Jes Women's Junior 16 eight leaving the dock
Towards the end of the day's proceedings came the much coveted Anderson Cup. The Jes Men's Junior 18 eight was the only Galway crew to battle through the heats and ran a superb Portora crew a close second in the final.
The Jes Men's Junior 18 eight leaving the dock for the Anderson
The men's' Junior 16 quad, fresh from their win in Castleconnell, raced a very competitive Cork Lee crew and were beaten into second place in the semi-final. Andrew Bell and Matthew Kelly raced a junior 16 double scull but went out to local neighbours Galway Rowing Club in the semi-final.
The two Jes Junior 18 men's crews were drawn against each other in the final of the coxless quad. The crew stroked by Eoin Coughlan won out by half a length.
The winning Men's Junior 18 Coxless Quad: L to R Eoin Coughlan, David Noone, Ciaran Coen and Patrick Kellehan
The two Jes Men's Junior 18 double sculls crews both made it to the final after beating crews from Portora and Cork. In the final, the crew of Ian Murphy and Paddy Kelehan pipped David Noone and Liam Mooney at the finish line.
A special mention for Matthew Kelly who rowed seven times and Andrew Bell who rowed no fewer than eight times on the day. Andrew Bell battled through 15 other Junior 16 scullers to win the event. Matthew Kelly, Ruben Cruise and Patrick Higgins also raced this event, with Matthew progressing to the semi-final.
Some Photos from the Day
Women's Junior 18 eight
Women's Junior 16 eight
The Anderson eight preparing to race
Women's Junior 15 Double: Niamh Kelly (left) and Olivia Forde
Nice Shoes: and the Women's Junior 16 eight
A conference of coaches
Castleconnell Sprint Regatta
On the 20 June - a very hot day - there was a good attendance at this fun sprint regatta with all those participating enjoying a good day of racing.
Castleconnell is a very attractive setting
Winners of the Men's Junior 16 Quad. From left: Matthew Kelly, Andrew Bell, Reuben Cruise, Michael Lawless, Eoin Murphy
Senior rowers in a quad
Learning the skills of racing
Michel Lawless and Conor Coughlan
Knowing how to rig a boat is a necessary skill all must learn
Tribesmen Head of River
Most of the club participated in the Tribesmen Head of River on March 27th. The girls won two pennants. The first was won by the WJ16 8+ and the second by Aifric Keogh in the WJ18 1x. Unfortunately Aifric has left the crew since then due to the pressures of the Leaving Cert. We wish her every success in her upcoming exams.
The senior boys entered two doubles, two scullers, a pair, and a junior quad. Andrew Bell and Ian Murphy won the Junior 18 pairs event. This was all the more impressive given that Andrew is under 16 and Ian is under 17. The junior quad was second behind a very impressive Neptune junior quad.
Ian Murphy & Andrew Bell on their way to victory in the Tribesmen Head – picture courtesy of TheWaterEdge
Neptune Regatta
The senior boys and some of the girls’ crew traveled to the Neptune regatta on 17th April. As Islandbridge is the home of Irish single sculling, this was an opportunity to take on the Dublin clubs on their home-patch in the sculls. Eoin Coughlan drew first blood beating a Neptune sculler in the first round of the Junior 18 sculls. There were also wins in this category for Seán Cahalan and Paddy Kelehan. The second round saw Seán getting pipped on the line against the eventual winner of the event. Eoin and Paddy met each other in the second round, with Paddy progressing to the semi-final. In the semi, coming to the first corner of the race, with both scullers level, Paddy ploughed into an over-hanging tree on the course.
In the Junior 16 event, Andrew Bell took the honours, beating scullers from Galway R.C, Commercial and Fermoy on the way to gold on the podium. Matthew Kelly and Ruben Cruise were also in this event. Ruben went out to the GRC sculler while Matthew raced three rounds to the semi-final only to lose to the sculler from Fermoy. The last race of the day was the junior 18 quad final. The Jes quad comprised Ciarán Coen, Peter Collins, Liam Mooney and David Noone, who took a creditable second place behind Neptune.
Andrew Bell, winner of Junior 16 Scull, with coaches Ciaran Glynn (left) and Shane Cawley
The Womens Junior 14 crew at the Neptune regatta: Amy Phelan (cox), Aoife Cushen, Síle Lenihan, Kayleigh Power, Niamh Heskin and coach (perhaps) Redmond O'Brien ready at the "launch".
Cork Regatta
The Jes entered crews in 14 events at the Cork Regatta on 22nd May. The crew of Ian Murphy, Sean Cahalan, Ciaran Coen and Matthew Kelly were third in the MJ18 quad, coming in behind Skibbereen and Lee. Naomi Lawless made the final in the WJ16 scull. Andrew Bell made the A final in the MJ16 scull but unfortunately had to pull out because of illness.
Club Captain Seán Cahalan training on the Corrib.
At the Sligo Head, from left Stephen Gilligan,Liam Mooney, Matthew Kelly, Peter Collins, Patrick Oliver, Eoin Murphy, Ciarán Coen, David Mooney and Simon Caulfield.
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