New Ross Boat Club travelled in force to the National Rowing Centre in Cork between Friday July 11th and Sunday 13th for the 2025 Irish Rowing Championships. 12 rowers were representing the club this year in what is one of the club’s largest entries in recent years. Taking to the water is Anna Brennan, Ben Cashman, Cormac Crotty, Darragh Dreelan, Jack Moylan, Janey Cashman, Katie Nolan, Kevin Phelan, Liam Crotty, Niamh Brennan, Órla Brennan and Sean Power. The regatta runs for 3 days with most races requiring rowers to go through time trials before the number of rowers is reduced to 18 across 3 semi-final heats with the top 2 from each semi qualifying for the final. The crews were supported over the weekend by coaches Ella O’Hanlon and Talitha Doran as well as help on hand from Captain Amy O’Hanlon, Masters rowers Carmel and Dave McCarthy, Anna and Mick O’Dwyer as well as many parents and family members to aid with boat rigging, launching, support and encouragement.
Darragh Dreelan and Ben Cashman lead out the New Ross crews on Friday in the MJ18 1x. Both Darragh and Ben achieved pb races on the water this morning and were delighted with their results. Unfortunately, they didn’t progress from the large field of rowers to make it into the next round but have a clear idea of where they are aiming for next season when they will compete in the same event again.
Next up was Órla Brennan in the WJ18 1x. Orla’s first year racing j18. She came 5th in the time trials giving her lane 2 in the 2nd heat. Órla came 2nd in her heat giving her a place in the final later in the afternoon. Less than 2 hours later Órla raced her 3rd 2k of the afternoon placing 6th overall out of the 40 j18 women. This was a very commendable performance again considering Órla will be in the same event next year.
Next up was Liam Crotty (Bow), Kevin Phelan (Stroke) in the MJ18 2-. The boys raced a tough semi-final on the day coming in a respectable 4th place just missing out on qualification for the final as it was only the top 2 crews to qualify. Kevin and Liam made a formidable team as a pair this season in what is a very technical event and their progress as a crew throughout the year was very clear for all to see.
On Saturday morning, the first crew on the water was MJ18 4x where New Ross were represented by Darragh Dreelan (Bow), Ben Cashman (2), Liam Crotty (3) and Kevin Phelan (Stroke). The boys raced their time trial on Saturday morning at 7:55am placing 14th out of 27 and earning them a place in the semi-final at 9:55am. They had a great race placing 5th in the semi. This unfortunately did not give them a spot in the final, but they really enjoyed the row together and the spirits were buoyant after the race.
Next up was one of New Ross’s most notable scullers, Jack Moylan in the Men’s inter 1x. Jack placed 12 out of 28 in the time trials giving him a place in the 3rd semi-final where he performed well placing 5th. Unfortunately, this meant Jack missed out on a place in the final later but Jack more than belongs here and with their proven capability there’s every reason to believe he’ll climb even higher in the standings next season.
Niamh Brennan (Bow), and Janey Cashman (Stroke) were up next in the WJ16 2x. These girls recently raced and won gold at Lough Rinn where they then decided to step up an age grade and race as a crew at champs. Janey races j14 Niamh races j15 so the girls are both out of age. In the time trials at 8:30am the girls delivered a fantastic 8th place finish giving them qualification in heat 2 of the semis at 10:25. They recovered well and put in a trojan effort in the semi placing 3rd and narrowly missing out on a spot in the final later that morning. We cannot wait to see what next year brings for these 2 in this boat.
Anna Brennan warmed up for her Saturday in a composite crew with girls from Tralee boat club in the W Senior 4x-. This was a welcomed race for her as it eased her into the 2025 champs as part of a crew boat. This was a straight final and the girls placed 4th overall which was commendable considering their limited time to prepare as a crew.
Anna Brennan was back on the water later that day when she went into the W inter 1x as one of the favourites to claim the title. Anna went into the race with a completely relaxed attitude soaking it all in as she enjoyed her last Irish Rowing Championships before her move to college in the US. Anna placed 2nd in her heat of the semis which helped her comfortably progress to the final in lane 2. In the final, Anna was up against some very tough and experienced competition. It was all fairly level until the sculler from Castleconnel in lane 4 made a big effort to go clear from the field just before the halfway mark. Anna was the only boat in the field to be able to keep pace with her and ensure she remained in contention for the title. Anna fought hard all the way to the finish line pushing the Castleconnel boat all the way to the line and finishing in a fantastic 2nd place overall in what was a very competitive women’s inter category. The New Ross Boat Club membership is very proud of what Anna has achieved and wish her all the best in the next stage of her life and rowing career as she begins college and joins the crew at University of Louisville, Kentucky, USA where she will commence studying a B.S. Exercise Physiology with Human Performance. Best of luck Anna.
One of the most exciting races of the day was delivered by Sean Power (Bow) and Cormac Crotty (Stroke) in the MJ16 2x. The boys rowed their time trial placing 17 out of 39 and giving them a place in heat 2 of the semi-finals. But in the semi the boys really through everything at it and rowed a powerful race placing 3rd and just missing out on a spot in the final as only the first 2 qualified from each heat. This is a high potential crew, and they will now step up to MJ18 2x next year with growing confidence and a growing reputation.
Sean Power and Cormac Crotty were first on the water on Sunday this time in single sculls in the MJ16 1x. Both boys had an early start having to row their time trials at 7:30am. The determination of these lads was great to see at their first ever national championships. Cormac placed 29 and Sean placed 41 out of 68 j16 rowers. This was the category with the largest entries over the whole weekend. A lot more to come from these 2 young men in single and double sculls.
Órla Brennan took to the water again on Sunday, hot on the heels of a final on Friday in WJ18 1x this time in the Women’s club 2 1x. This was a massive step up for Órla as she is only in year 1 of J18 and club 2 rowers would be older and more experienced. But Órla took no notice and rowed superbly to finish 5th out of 31 rowers giving her a prime spot in heat 2 of the semis at 10:05. In the semi, Órla took a commanding lead in her heat placing and finished 1st position which put her comfortably into the final. At 12:25 Órla once again took to the water for an extremely tough race where she placed 6th overall. A phenomenal achievement for Órla this weekend making finals in both the WJ18 1x and W club 2 1x covering 12,000m in 6 races. Well done Órla, it was great to see you perform so well in such strong fields.
One of New Ross’s best rowing prospects was next up in the WJ16 1x. Katie Nolan, who usually races j14, made a brave decision to take a massive step and race 2 years out of age in j16. At 2pm Katie took to the water for her time trial where she placed an impressive 21 out of 32. Unfortunately, this was the end of racing for Katie this weekend but there is more to come from her over the next few seasons in this event.
The final crews on the water for the weekend were the MJ18 2x with NR-A crew Darragh Dreelan (Bow) and Ben Cashman (Stroke) being joined by NR-B crew Liam Crotty (Bow) and Kevin Phelan (Stroke) in the double skull event. Once again, both crews were in time trials were on the cards with NR-B placing 14 and NR-A placing 20 out of 30 entries. Unfortunately, this was the end of racing for Ben and Darragh who didn’t make a semi, but Kevin and Liam progressed into heat 2 of the semis where they battled hard in a very exciting race where they placed 5th for a strong finish to their weekend. Kevin Phelan is another rower who departs New Ross at the end of this season after completing his leaving cert and now will go to college for the next part of his adventure. We all hope Kevin continues to keep rowing wherever he lands and wish him all the best for the future.
For anyone who wishes to watch some of the races from the Irish Rowing Championship 2025, you can tune in to the Rowing Ireland YouTube channel to see fantastic race footage:
Friday race coverage:
Saturday race coverage:
Sunday race coverage: