New Ross rowers run riot at first regatta of season in Dublin
NEW ROSS had great success at the start of the regatta season competing at Neptune and commercial competitions held in Island Bridge in Dublin.
The Neptune regatta saw a record number of entries with more than 300 crews from all over Ireland competing over a long day’s racing.
The first medals were awarded to New Ross women’s J18 4X team of Laura Brown, Jess Doyle, Aoife Coughlan and Lily O’Keefe, who had a convincing win over King’s Hospital.
Next up was the J16 2X team of Faye Prendergast and Shona Tierney who made it through a number of heats to come out on top winning their category.
The men’s club 4X+ of Luke Sutton, Ben Webb, Luke Harrigton and Jacob Ferguson brought home the last medals of the day with a strong win over club neighbours Graiguenamanagh, who also rowed exceptionally well on the day.
The following day brought even more success as members of New Ross Boat Club competed at Commercial Regatta. Again a strong field of clubs from all over Ireland competed over the long day’s racing.
The first win of the day came from the women’s J18 2X team of Laura Brown and Shona Tierney which was followed up by a convincing win by their team mates Faye Pendergast, Jess Doyle, Aoife Coughlan and Lily O’Keefe in the womens J18 4x+.
There was great excitement as the club’s junior 14s competed in their very first regatta and walked away with three wins in the mens J14 2X of Sam Furlong and Ronan Gibbon, women’s J14 2X of Aoibhinn Slater and Amy Barrett and the J14 4x+ of Aoibhinn Slater, Amy Barrett, Jane Sutton, Ella O Hanlon.
The last win of the day for New Ross Boat Club came from Luke Sutton winning the J18 1X event with a convincing win over Killorglin Sculler.
Credit has to be given to the coaches of all the athletes at New Ross Boat Club who give their time and commitment week in, week out, to prepare these group of athletes to compete and win against the best in the country. MORE than eighty people attended a fascinating talk on the New Ross Riot of 1887 at New Ross Library recently.
Guest speaker Professor Virginia Crossman travelled from the UK to give the talk, which was attended by the Cathaoirleach of Wexford County Council, Cllr Paddy Kavanagh.
The Professor of Modern Irish History at Oxford Brookes University was invited to New Ross to give the talk by New Ross Municipal District council and the library service.
Prof Crossman outlined how the riots began on February 17, 1887, when inmates of the workhouse in New Ross rioted and attacked the master and vice-guardians of the facility who were put in charge of the union after the dissolution of the board of guardians the previous year. It was reported that the riots began with a chorus of female voices accompanied by bells ringing and the banging of doors. The majority of the ‘rioters’ were women and they pursued one of the vice-guardians into the town and another guardian had to barricade himself into a boardroom in the workhouse.
Reports from local newspapers at the time described women running ‘ hither and tither’ with young girls apparently dancing on tables in the dining hall.