The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
KERRY DOMINATES ON THE NATIONAL STAGE
INCREDIBLE SUCCESS BETWEEN KERRY’S 11 CLUBS – BUT MUCH PRAISE, ALSO, FOR THEIR MANNER AWAY FROM THE WATERS
THE KERRY rowers were many miles from home and faced a loaded field of 500 crews and 3,000 rowers.
They weren’t even in the boats that suited them best; the All-Ireland Coastal Rowing Championships in Ferrybank, County Wexford, showcased one-design vessels, a boat type far from traditional to these waters.
The odds seemed to be against the Kingdom on all fronts – but our county prevailed emphatically.
Rare was the race that ended without a Kerry crew celebrating gold. Rarer still was the race in which Kerry did not medal.
In fact, more than one third of the weekend’s 42 contests saw Kerry lock-outs of the podium, the Kingdom finishing first, second and third in 17 of the races.
In total, Kerry’s 11 teams dominated the medal table with almost 80 top-three finishes, with 25 of their medals gold. Workmen’s rowing club alone took many of these golds, including one of the biggest races of the three-day regatta, the Ladies Senior Championship, with two Sneem Crews securing a ‘1-2-3’ in the race for Kerry.
The other highlight, the All-Ireland Senior Men’s Championship, also fell under Kerry ownership. Flesk Valley had a hugely successful weekend, winning a bundle of golds, silvers and bronzes, but their Senior Men scooped one of the most prestigious titles of all as they defeated Carnlough and Castle rowing clubs. Elsewhere, there were many gold, silver and bronze medals for Sneem, Cromane, and Fossa, while the newly reformed Commercials team roared back to national prominence with a pair of golds.
Callinafercy were phenomenal throughout the weekend, and combined with the similarly excellent Sive, Templenoe and Valentia clubs, they took 23 medals between them.
Fenit was another brilliant presence throughout the weekend and also received much praise for their trojan work behind the scenes, playing their part in a phenomenally successful and enjoyable weekend.
As if all this were not enough, there was further cause for celebration as a local stalwart – Mary B Teahan, a Cromane woman – was honoured for her vast contribution to Irish coastal rowing.
Ms Teahan knew beforehand from looking at the strength of the competition locally that Kerry had the potential to do something special, but she was just as impressed at how the Kerry crews and their fellow rowers from around the country carried themselves away from the waters.
“The spirit and behaviour of the crews was brilliant, and it really contributed to the enjoyment of what was a brilliant weekend’s rowing,” she said. “It was the largest attendance we ever had at this event,” she added of the occasion, graced by hundreds of crews and thousands of rowers and followers.
“It’s on now to the annual fund-raising ladies Seine Boat in Cahersiveen from 4.30pm on Saturday, raising funds for the Irish Pilgrimage Trust Group 135.”