15/04/2008 - Commercial Regatta - Congrats to everyone who competed at Commercial last Sunday - good days outing for the club all round with everyone competing doing extremely well in each of their respective events bar none. Pride of place goes to the ladies side of the club with the Womens Novice 4x of Adrianne, Edel, Louise, Aisling and Cox Conor Cunniffe having a great win in their event - after a slow start they managed to claw their way back into it by mid way and went on for a 3-4 length victory over Fermoy RC - hopefully the first win of many for them this year. Dympna won the Inter 1x while also coming a close second in the Senior 1x to a former World U23 Silver Medalist from Latvia. Liam and Paul done very well in the Junior 15 2x eventually losing the final to Neptune after winning their quarter and semi finals over Carlow and Castleconnell respectively. The Junior 15 / 16 Quad had two tough races in their quarters but done well in both and the crew can be happy with their days outing. Mark Butler won through his quarter over Trinity but lost out narrowly in the next round. Adrianne was second in the Womens Novice Sculls so given her apprehensions before competing about the ability to stay upright she can be happy to have competed and doing very well at that. Unluckiest crew of the day go to Brendan F and Adrian in the Junior 14 2x - after being down at the mid point they fought their way into the lead at the 3/4 mark and leading coming into the final few metres they clipped the bank and lost their momentum with Neptune coming through them on the line - definitely one of the best races of the day at the regatta with both crews nip and tuck the final 500m but well done to both of the Carrick lads who show they have fight and determination and will go one better the next time. Queens Regatta next this Saturday.....

04/04/2008 - I'm Back.... - After a couple of months of hectic activity I've finally managed to grab some time to do some updating on the site. As I said it has been a hectic few months and there has never been as much activity around the club which is great to see. Most groups are upping their training under their respective coaches and we are in a good position coming into Regatta season. A reminder that week-end paddling is 9am Saturday and Sunday mornings (tomorrow probably being the exception with the Club Dinner tonight....) and there is usually paddling on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6pm under John.

04/04/2008 - Tribes & Sligo Heads - We travelled to Tribes and Sligo Heads over the past fortnight with some good performances at both. At Tribes Head both Dympna (Womens Inter Sculls) and Sam "Hopes to go one better" Brindley (Mens Novice Sculls) finished in second place while the Junior 16 Quad, the Senior Quad, Mark B and Gabor also performed well in their categories and were very much on the pace for the day. At Sligo Mark won Inter Sculls and Ewan made a welcome return by winning the Masters Sculls. Fin, Sam , the Novice Women and the Junior Mens groups also performed very well on the day. Hopefully we can continue and build on this form as we look to both Commercial and Queens Regattas iver the next fortnight.

04/04/2008 - Reminder - A very late reminder that the Annual Club Dinner and Awards take place tonight in Victoria Hall to be seated for 7.30pm. This will be the last in the March / April version of these as we hope to have them in Sept / Oct going forward under new Ents Officer Adrianne Bolton - she also tells me that she is planning a summer BBQ so we'll have to hold her to that.

04/04/2008 - AGM - The Annual General Meeting took place last Sunday with very little changing at Committee level from last year. I will hopefully add a Committee page over the coming days so just as everyone is reminded of their duties. The club reflected on a good building year for the club and the arrival of 5 brand new boats which will hopefully allow us to break into the higher leagues of competition this year. The Head of teh Shannon and the Carrick Sprints for 2007 were also hailed as success stories for the club this year while we also reflected on the tragic death of member Eugene McGreevey (RIP).

04/04/2008 - Head of the Charles - Once again club members plan to travel to the Head of the Charles in Boston in October - we hope to have two entries, a Mens Club Four and also a Womens Club Scull (Dympna). If anyone would like to travel in support (probably looking a 16th Oct to 20th Oct), let either of the Mark's know.

09/01/2008 - Head of the Shannon - There will be a full club meeting this Sunday at 12.30pm in the Clubrooms and all club members are asked to attend - it will be in relation to the upcoming Head of the Shannon so it is vitally important that we get as much on the ground support for running this as possible in order for it to be a success - full details of the event itself can be found at www.HeadoftheShannon.com - we are very thankful to Ewan and Fin at Apollo Duck International Marine Markets for overall sponsorship of the event.

02/01/2008 - The New Year - Happy New Year to everyone. We have a very busy few weeks ahead of us now with the Head of the Shannon fast approaching. Before that we will travel to Limerick for St Michaels Head of the River so everyone is asked to get back into training as soon as possible. Waterwork continues at 9am Saturday and Sunday mornings as usual with the group gym work starting back mid week also. I am also sorting registrations with the Union at the moment so anybody planning on rowing this year will have to supply me with their date of births, addresses & €50.00 (for people over 18) ASAP, people must be registered in order to compete in Limerick, I will remind people again at the week-end.

20/11/2007 - 5km Erg Tests - Everyones favourite time of the year fast approaches as the first erg test of the new season creeps up - this will be of particular relevance to all the new Novices and Juniors that have joined over the past couple of months as it will be your first experience of the joys of an erg test. The tests must be completed on Thursday 29th Novemeber (give or take a day with a VALID reason) and must be witnessed by someone nominated by either Kieran, Mark or myself. The tests apply to everyone in the club who is in training and they will become a monthly fixture for the next 3 months before we revert down to 2k's.

13/11/2007 - Head of the Shannon - Preliminary details of the inaugural Head of the Shannon can be found by following the link on the main page or directly above here. This is a massive undertaking for the club and there will be alot of preparatory work involved, more of which you will hear about in due course. There have already been alot of expressions of interest so hopefully this can be built on and we can run a successful event.

13/11/2007 - At Home Head of the River - As a precursor to the Head of the Shannon we will have our annual "At Home" mini Head of the River - this will take place (assuming we all survive the day before, more anon) on Saturday 8th December at approx 2pm. It will take the usual format of every boat in the boathouse taking to the water with a complete mixed bag of crews heading out and racing over approx 3km - there will then be some "refreshments" for the Senior members in one of the local hostelries after.

13/11/2007 - Fri 7th December - As some of you are no doubt aware its D-Day for yours truly & Dymps as we finally tie the knot - on our behalf we would like to invite anyone in the club (not already going to the big event itself) along to the afters in the Landmark from around 8.30pm (assuming Dymps Dad has stopped talking by then.....) if you can make it.

06/11/2007 - Photo's - Finally managed to get the photo's from Carrick Regatta week-end uploaded to the Photo Album

03/10/2007 - Site Update - Hi all - apologies for the lack of updates recently, especially after the regatta period - I have stacks of photo's from a number of different people but I have been up the walls recently between work, a particular wedding that is fast approaching and a couple of other little things - I will hopefully to a mass update shortly to include photo's of the Reunion Dinner and the Regatta itself.

03/10/2007 - Sympathy - It is with sadness that I start the re-updates of the site with two messages of sympathy on behalf of the club. Firstly we offer condolences to Club President Breffni Hyland on the death of his wife Carmel recently in Longford. Also, today the club learned of the tragic death of Eugene McGreevy in a very unfortunate accident in Hillstreet this morning while driving his school bus in towards Carrick. Eugene was a long-time member of the club and while not an active oarsman he has been a hard and dedicated worker over the years on behalf of the Club and he was instrumental in getting the club the grant to build the present Boathouse among other things. He was ever present on Regatta Day on the starters boat helping in any way he could during the event. To his family and the family of Carmel Hyland we express our sincere condolences - R.I.P.

03/10/2007 - Carrick Head of the River - Its just over 20 years since we held one in the town but we have applied for and have been granted a date for a Head of the River in 2008 - the date is Saturday 16th February and we have already started into the organising of the event - more details to follow but it promises to be a massive event for the club and as with our annual regatta all hands will be needed in the run up to it - it is proposed that the course will be from the far end of Lough Corry down to the Boardwalk in front of The Landmark covering a distance of exactly 5km.

11/07/2007 - Henley Royal Regatta 2007 - Photo's of our trip over to Henley Royal Regatta now uploaded to the Photo Album.

19/06/2007 - Regatta Meeting - There will be a Committee / Regatta Meeting this Saturday at 6pm in the Clubrooms - all members are asked to attend if possible. Members are also reminded to get memberships in as soon as possible for those who have not paid as of yet.

19/06/2007 - Galway Regatta - We travelled West to Galway Regatta last Sunday and came away with 3 wins on the day. Well done to Mark Butler who had a good win in the final of the Inter Sculls - in a tight race Mark pulled ahead in the final couple of hundred metres to win by 2 lengths over Aaron Whoriskey from City of Derry BC. Mark then jumped straight out his single into a Double with yours truly for the Masters Doubles where we came second of three after giving away 10 seconds of a time penalty due to age differences. Our new girls Doubles done very well also in their first ever outing. All 3 doubles raced off in the final against each other with the double of Catherine and Aisling winning out in the end with the two other crews not far behind. I then had a row over in the final of the Mens Masters Sculls to claim a somewhat shallow victory. I should have photo's uploaded within the next week or so when I get a chance.

19/06/2007 - Carlow Regatta - Photo's from Carlow Regatta now uploaded to the Photo Album

12/06/2007 - Galway Regatta - We travel to Galway Regatta this Sunday with a fairly large contingent. Boats will be loaded on Saturday so updates will follow shortly ....

12/06/2007 - Carlow Regatta - 3 of us and Mr. Hynes travelled down to Carlow last Sunday - the trip down and the say itself can only be described as damp - from when we started loading the boats on Saturday morning until we left Carlow on Sunday evening it LASHED rain - we passed a number of floods on the road along the way that could have held regattas in themselves. As for the regatta itself Carlow is always one of the better ones and it lived up to its reputation as usual. Gabor and Fin both done well in the Mens Masters Sculls both missing out narrowly, Gabor being especially unfortunate having crashed into another sculler that was on the course on their way to the start while he was racing. Yours truly remembered why I had packed in competitive rowing a few years back, pity it took me half way through my race to realise this.....

28/05/2007 - Henley Royal Regatta - A bunch of us are making our now annual trip over to Henley the first week-end of July. We travel over the Friday morning and late on Sunday evening. Hopefully its not any way as hot as it was last year. The following week-end another bunch of us head down to Cork for the National Championships.

28/05/2007 - Galway Regatta - Galway Regatta takes place on Sunday 17th June, we hope to bring over a full trailer of boats and hopefully give some of the new novices a run out also so anyone who is available let us know ASAP so we can sort out the entries.

28/05/2007 - Carlow Regatta - 3 of us travel to Carlow Regatta this Sunday. There is a small Carrick entry due to other commitments but we still make the trip down. Finlay, Gabor and yours truly take part in the Novice Sculls while Finlay and Gabor also compete the Masters Sculls. The draw is now available on www.iaru.ie

12/04/2007 - Membership & Registration - Membership fee's are due as of last month - they are €180.00 for a rowing adult (>18yrs of age), €250.00 for a family and €60.00 for Junior & non rowing members. Payment can be made either by a lump sum or else by monthly Standing Order to the Club - forms for the monthly payment can be got from myself, Jason or Mark Butler and members are asked to pay these as soon as possible so we can move forward and purchase new equipment for the year ahead.

12/04/2007 - Grant - It took two attempts but we have finally been awarded funding under the Sports Capital Programme. The Club has been allocated €25,000 and as far as I understand there will be a further €5,000 made available in Clár funding at a later date. This is a much needed boost for our flagging equipment fleet and purchases will look something along the lines of a Coxed 4, a Double Scull, a new Single Scull (or two), quad rigs for the Empacher 4- and some blades and ergs. This should provide us with a decent level of equipment going forward and is just reward for the work that we put in over the past couple of years which included the drawing up of the 5 Year Strategic Plan and our efforts to get members into the club and getting crews on the water.

12/04/2007 - On the water update - Yes, I'm back after over a month off the airwaves for one reason or another - things have been tipping along around the club with the Seniors group training away every Saturday (8am) and Sunday (9am) morning and individually during the week. John Lowe has his Novices & juniors group back during the week also with Novice Introductions from 10am on saturday mornings for anyone interested in joining. First expected Regatta of the year will be Portadown on Saturday 5th of May so if people are available to travel can they let me know ASAP.

26/02/2007 - Club Dinner Photo's - I've uploaded some photo's from last Friday night into the Photo Album. Hopefully I'll have more photo's and gossip later in the week once I get my breath back after past few days.

13/02/2007 - Union Registrations - I need to get the Annual Union registrations sorted for anyone planning on competing this year within the next week if possible. The fee for anyone above Junior level is €50.00 for the year and members are reminded that this is over and above the annual club membership as this €50.00 goes to the IARU to allow you to compete at events around the country. Can I ask that everyone planning on competing gives this to myself or Mark B as soon as possible.

13/02/2007 - Annual General Meeting - The Club AGM will take place on Sunday 25th February at 12.30pm in the CLubrooms. I have uploaded the full agenda here. All members are asked to attend if possible.

13/02/2007 - Annual Club Dinner - The menu for the Annual Club Dinner has been kindly been pre-provided by Victoria Hall and I have now uploaded here. Cost will be approx €45.00 per head to include a glass or two of wine also to start the night off. Start time will be 7.30pm with everyone to be seated no later than 8pm. Anyone planning on going who has not yet informed me please let me know ASAP.

05/02/2007 - Club Dinner & AGM - The Annual Club Dinner will take place on Friday 23rd Feb in Victoria Hall. Anybody assocaited with the club in any way is invited to attend and if you are planning on going please let me know ASAP as I need to get approx numbers sorted. The AGM will then take place on Sunday 25th Feb and all members are asked to attend if possible.

05/02/2007 - New Club Member - Congrats to Gabor and Gyorgyi on the birth of their first child Nándor. The little oarsman of the future was born on Saturday afternoon in Sligo and all went according to plan as per the proud new father. If he even has half the strength and build of his father he'll go along way either as an oarsman or a swimmer.

03/01/2007 - New Year - Happy New Year to one and all - we hope to pick things up where we left off (not in December but maybe back Oct / Nov direction) on Saturday morning. There will be a gathering of all those interested in rowing this year at 9am on Saturday morning down at the Clubhouse. This will be for everyone from the Juniors / Novices / Seniors / Vets male and female so we would hope for a good turnout. Anyone interested in helping out with any coaching is also asked to attend. Limerick Head on the last Saturday of January will hopefully be the first event of the year. The water level on the Shannon is now back down to a rowable level so hopefully we can get the weather now to get back out on the water.

03/01/2007 - Committee Meeting - The first Committee Meeting of 2007 will take place on Sunday 14th January at 12.30pm in the Clubrooms - all members asked to attend if possible.

14/12/2006 - Club Gear - I have received in the order from Powerhouse now - anybody who has specifically ordered stuff should get it shortly once I get the crest organised from our end. I have a couple of splashtops (€95.00), hoodies (€50.00) and one-pieces (€60.00) left over if anybody is interested. Let myself, Mark B or Jason know if you want to buy any of the above.

14/12/2006 - The Week-end & weather.... - Things not looking too good for the week-end after the exceptionally high amount of rain-fall we have had, the river is at a dangerously high level and in the door of the boathouse at this stage. We will have to put off our proposed Ladder again for another couple weeks. Training is pencilled in for 8am as usual on Saturday morning but looks like will be indoors.

29/11/2006 - Condolences - On behalf of the Club and members I wish to express our condolences to John Lowe and his family on the death last night of his father Brendan Snr who would have been a familiar figure around the town over many years. R.I.P.

29/11/2006 - Sculling Ladder - Our planned Sculling Ladder due to take place last Saturday had to be postponed due to the inclement weather. It is now provisionally rescheduled for the 16th December and again all welcome to enter.

15/11/2006 - Neptune Head and beyond - Neptune Head was cancelled at the very last minute last Saturday due to high winds. It was disappointing on a number of fronts considering we all had made out way up to Blessington only to be told when we arrived that it was off and also because it was to be our last outing of the year with Limerick Head in early February our next event. Thanks to Finlay for pulling the trailer all the same. It is proposed that our Club Sculling Ladder will take place on saturday week (25th Nov) and all club members from the youngest to the oldest are encouraged to enter. For those not 100% confident in their single sculling ability we will also allow entries in Double Sculls. More exact details closer to the time.

02/11/2006 - What to look forward to in November.... - We travel to Blessington on Saturday week for Neptune Head where we will have 2 Novice 4's, Mens Open 2x, Mens Inter 1x and Womens Inter 1x. 5k erg tests are to be done this week by all in training and e-mailed to Kieran. After Neptune we'll be back on the water training and I hope to run the proposed Club Sculling Ladder either the last Saturday of November or the first Saturday of December depending on peoples availability so you have been warned.

02/11/2006 - NUIG Head - We travelled over to Galway last Saturday for the NUIG Head of the River. We had a number of crews competing but only one win on the day when Club Captain Mark B led by example and won the Mens Inter Sculls. Dympna was 4th in the Womens version of same. The Mens Novice 4+ had two run outs on the day and didn't do themselves justice after a few good weeks training behind them. They finished third in their event approx 40 seconds off the pace so they will be hoping to put things right for Neptune Head on Saturday week. The Juniors done well in their first Head outings but will need to up the pace a little in training to make the step up to J18 level from J16. I'll hopefully have some photo's of the event uploaded early next week.

12/10/2006 - The coming weeks - We will travel to NUI, Galway Head of the River on Saturday 28th Oct and then on to Blessington a fortnight later for Neptune Head of the River. Crews etc will be finalised in the coming week or so with a couple of these already starting to shape in training over the past few weeks. We also hope to run a mini training camp in the coming weeks over in Lough Rynn. This will probably take the shape of a day long trip over with a couple of spins over the day. We also plan to run a club Sculling Ladder in the run up to Christmas. This will more than likely take place on a Saturday or Sunday during Novemeber whereby every member in the club from the youngest to the oldest will race in a single scull a distance of approximately 2000m and be ranked in a ladder format depending on their time. It is not a means of finding out who is the slowest in the club but more a means of self progression as we will hopefully run one every couple of months from here on in and people can have certain aims for their next outing once we get it up and running. We hope to have at least 30 people racing in this ladder and in theory people can race the distance at any time in the future (once independently timed) climb the ladder. More details as we finalise them.

12/10/2006 - Training - Training continues for new and existing members every week-end - the Mens Group train at 8am Saturday and Sunday while the Womens Group paddle at 10am both days. New members to these sessions are always welcome while we also have indoor training during the week.

28/09/2006 - Quick Update - Things quiet enough on the news front at the moment - the Mens Group have started back training with the main spins at 8am Saturday and Sunday morns (note this Sunday is changed to 9am as a once off). The Ladies beginners group is meeting at 10am Saturday & Sundays with land training during the week also. First planned event to race at this season is NUIG Head of the River on Saturday 28th Oct in Galway with Neptune Head in Blessing 2 weeks later. I have one gery hoodie (size large) left over if anyone wants it, its theirs for €50.00.

29/08/2006 - Club Gear - I am going to be putting together another order of Club Gear (splashtops, one pieces, leggings, fleeces, etc) from Powerhouse Clothing (www.powerhouseclothing.co.uk) over the next 2 weeks - if anyone is interested in ordering anything please contact me and I will add to the overall order and save on postage etc. I also have 3 Club Hoodies (grey, size large) left over from the last order and they are €50.00 each if anyone wants to have one of them.

23/08/2006 - The New Season - The new rowing season offically begins here and we hope to get a few new crews up and running this year - there will be a particular emphasis on getting a Mens and Womens Novice Group up and running and we will as usual be hoping to bring juniors into the club also. The plan as of now would be that the Mens Novice group would train on a Saturday and Sunday at 9am until approx 11am with the Womens Novice Group and Juniors from 11am unto approx 1pm. There is absolutely no experience required to join these groups, just a bsic level of fitness. Kieran Hynes will once again take charge of the Mens group while John Lowe will take charge of the womens group - if anyone is interested in joing any of the groups please contact me or for the ladies they can contact John Lowe at 087 7959865.

08/08/2006 - Over for another year.... - Our Regatta has come and gone again for another year - this years Regatta will probably go down as the most successfull ever - from an entry, organisational and enjoyable perspective. Huge crowds in the town over the week-end and the weather finally got its act together early on Sunday morn despite doing its best to dampen spirits of those of us who were down bright and early getting things in place. For a small club we were able to call on a huge amount of resources both local and National with everyone pitching in in some form or other. Alot of people have to be thanked but there is no point in doing so here as I will only leave someone out. We have learned a huge amount over the past two or three years as regards organising an event such as this and we needed to call on all this experience over the past number of days with a record entry and all went pretty much to plan in the end. From a tangible perspective we are now the proud new owners of an additional single scull and hopefully we will have a new coxed four on the way shortly which should hopefully help to alleviate the strains that the current batch of equipment is under with all the new members we have. I have uploaded the results of the Regatta in the Carrick Spints '06 section on the left hand menu and I will have a limited amount of photo's to upload in the coming days also. Once again, a massive thank you to everyone who helped out both on the day and the run up to the event, it was much appreciated and hopefully we can go on to bigger and better things in the future.

31/07/2006 - Regatta Preparation - As most of you will no doubt be aware we have a record entry for the regatta this year so it will be all hands on deck over the coming week. Can anyone who is available on Thursday evening be down at the club around 6ish as we put the starting jetty in place. We will be laying the course then on Friday during the day so help is needed here also. On the day we will need launch drivers and general help around the club so if people could make themselves available it would be much appreciated.

17/07/2006 - Training & Regatta - Back to normal so to speak this week-end. We hope to get the Mens Eight on the water Saturday and Sunday this week-end and possibly a four also if we can get everyone around down. Plan as of now is 9am Saturday and Sunday. As regards the regatta we will have another meeting this Sunday re same so can all Club members please attend as we need all the help we can get.

12/07/2006 - This Week-end - No formal organised training as such this week-end as a good few of us are down in Cork for the National Championships. If anybody knows anybody willing to give a hand out in the run up to our Regatta and on the week-end itself can they please let us know as we have alot of positions that need to be filled and we want to try and be as organised as possible this year.

05/07/2006 - Carrick Regatta Build-up - It is hoped to host a fundraising BBQ on the Club lawn on the Saturday night of the Regatta with all proceeds going to purchase a new four which we are currently in negotiation over. The evening will go along the lines of paying €30.00 in at the gate with food & wine available aplenty inside after that at no charge. We would hope to get a large crowd to this event so start spreading the word now.

05/07/2006 - Back on the water.... - Back to normality hopefully this week-end. Lads group paddling at 9am Saturday and Sunday morn while John & Justins womens group is currently gather alot of steam paddling Tuesday & Thursday evenings at the moment. Anyone interested in joining either of these groups please contact any member of the Club.

05/07/2006 - Club Meeting - There is an important general Club meeting this Sunday at 12.30pm in the Clubrooms as we prepare for our own Regatta which takes place on Sunday 6th August. All Club members, young, old or indifferent are asked to attend if possible as we need all hands on deck over the coming few weeks.

05/07/2006 - Henley - I have uploaded some photo's of our trip over to Henley Royal Regatta in the Photo Album. Great week-end had by all with the weather hitting 30+ each of the three days.

21/06/2006 - Training - Paddling 9am Saturday morning for those around - not 100% sure how we'll fare on Sunday....

20/06/2006 - A small announcement..... - Most of you will probably be aware at this stage but for those of you who don't, myself and her good self have made things a little more official and I am to be robbed of my bachelorhood. If anyone is around on Saturday night we might be having an engagement drink or two in a venue to be announced shortly......

20/06/2006 - Mullaghmore Triathlon - Well done to Dymps & Dee who competed very well at the Connacht Triathlon Championships in Mullaghmore last week-end with both doing very well.

20/06/2006 - Galway Regatta - We travelled over to a glorious (!!) Galway last Sunday for Galway Regatta where Mark O'Halloran won the Mens J16 1x, Mark B & Dave Keane won the Mens Masters 2x while the Mens Masters 4+ also retained (if thats the correct owrd to use) their title from last year. We had a bid enough entry on the day with all crews performing well. I have uploaded some photo's to the Photo Album

20/06/2006 - I'm back..... - Apologies for the lack of updates over the past month -have had a few things going on and up to my tonsils but hopefully I should be back on a more regular basis now.....

23/05/2006 - Next up - We have a break of a couple of weeks from Regatta's so next up will be Athlone & Galway Regattas on the 17th / 18th June where we hope to bring large entries both days.

23/05/2006 - Boatnaming - We had a ceremony in the Club last Friday evening honouring Club President, Mr. Tony Keane, where our new Double Scull was named after him. I have uploaded some photo's to the Photo Album.

10/05/2006 - Training - Training back to the usual time of 9am Saturday & Sunday for the Seniors for those who can make it.

10/05/2006 - Portadown Regatta - We travelled en masse up North for Portadown Regatta last week-end where it was time for the Juniors & Dympna to take the limelight. Dympna won Senior Sculls after a very tight race with Victoria Parsons from Newry while Tara Gibbons was extremely unfortunate in the final of the Womens J16 1x when she lost out by one foot having in what was the closest race of the day. There was nothing to seperate Tara and the sculler from Methody College Belfast the whole way down the course with the Methody sculler just taking it on the line. Tara & Andra were again unfortunate it the J16 2x when they had steering difficulties in their race against City of Derry and pulled up. Mark O'H & Donncha rowed very well in their first regatta together. They won their first round heat against Portadown BC and lost out narrowly to RBAI in the seni-final. Mark O'H had another excellent day in the 1x making the final after a good win in his semi-final. Unfortunately for Mark he had to pull up half way through the final after hurting a leg muscle. The Mens Novice 4+ were beaten by three lengths in their semi final by the eventuial winners, Portadown BC while the Mens Vet 4+ were left with a mammouth task of trying to overcome a 26 second handicap in their race against Bann RC. Despite giving away what was in effect a 9 length head start the Carrick lads managed to bring the final distance back to a length and a half but the line just came that little too soon. I have uploaded some photo's to the Photo Album.

02/05/2006 - Committee Meeting - A Committee Meeting will take place this Sunday at 12.30pm in the Clubrooms. All members asked to attend if possible.

02/05/2006 - Reg Cards - A reminder for those of you who still have not given me passport photo's for Reg cards I need them before you can race on Saturday if you plan to do so.....

02/05/2006 - Portadown Regatta Draw - Draw for Portadown Regatta which takes place this Saturday now uploaded here. Boat loading times etc later in the week but its gonna be an early start.

25/04/2006 - Membership Fee's - Membership Fee's are now well overdue - especially from the Junior members of the Club - they must be paid before Portadown Regatta if you wish to compete.

25/04/2006 - Next Up - We travel to our old friends in Portadown on Saturday week for Portadown Regatta. Entries have gone in today and are as follows - Women Open 1x (Dympna), Mens Vet 4, Mens Novice 4, Mens Novice 2x (A & B), Mens J16 2x, Womens J16 2x, Womens J16 4x+, Mens Open 2x, Mens J16 1x, Womens J16 1x.

25/04/2006 - Trinity Regatta - We returned to Islandbridge for the 2nd time in two weeks last Saturday when we competed at Trinity Regatta - the Mens Vet 8 competed once again as did Dympna Smyth in the Inter Sculls. Dympna was first up as she faced Nicola Fitzsimons from Trinity in the Semi-final. This was Dympna's first race back after almost two years and she was unlucky to come up against one of the stronger competitors in the grade eventually being beaten in her semi by just over 3 lengths. The Mens Vet 8 suffered a number of withdrawals and nce again faced old foe's Commercial with Commercial once again coming out victorious. The longer 1800m course done Carrick no favours and we struggled in the closing stages against a stronger and fitter crew.

10/04/2006 - Commercial Regatta - We travelled up to Islandbridge, Dublin yesterday for Commercial Regatta. We had a large enough entry with the Juniors getting their first run out of the new year. Well done to both Mark O'Halloran and Tara Gibbons who both qualified for their respective finals of the Mens & Womens J16 sculls, both losing unfortunately in their final though. Excellent rows by both of them though it has to be said, Mark winning a very close semi-final against Commercial RC but held his nerve in the last 100 metres to pull away. The Novice Four lost out in their semi-final despite leading a good part of the race. The crew had only paddled together in that combination once before and with Shane swapping over to bowside and Jason suffering from a throat infection it was always going to be tough. The Mens Vet 8 got a row-over to their final where they faced Commercial RC. Carrick got off to a good start (despite the best efforts of the starting umpire) and led coming into the last 300 metres only to be overtaken in the final straight. The Mens Vet 4+ of Dave, Mark B, Mark K, Shane & Katie (cox) also had the misfortune of losing to Commercial RC in their final. Once again Carrick led off the start and led coming into the final 250 metres but Commercial took a push and managed to take a length out of Carrick but Dave wound the rate right right up over the last 100 metres and brought the final distance back to a half length, the line just coming that little too soon. I have uploaded some photo's to the Photo Album. Next up Trinity Regatta on the 22nd April.

05/04/2006 - Words of Wisdom - We all know that training is only one step along the road to success. A balanced diet is also vital and with this in mind a concerned member of the Club has forward these words of wisdom in order for us to gain the cutting edge over other crews. Thanks Keith!

05/04/2006 - Boat Race Day - Well done to all who competed in our hastily arranged erg races in the Club last Sunday in place of the planned on the water activities which had to be cancelled unfortunately due to the weather. Congrats to Team A who had a narrow win over Team B with Mark B & Skier arguing over ownership of the lowest recorded 500m split on the day. We all retired then to comforts of The Anchorage for some food and drink to watch the Boatrace where Mark B & Darcy were joint winners of our prediction competition. Thanks to Shane it has to be said also for organising a great day and here's to many more of them.

05/04/2006 - Club Gear and Competition - Members are reminded that the official club colours are Royal Blue and White and most people are now is possession of at least one club one piece at this stage. For Sunday can we please all try to look the same at least so club one pieces to be worn and if wearing something under same please let it be white in colour (not navy, black or multiples of other colours).

05/04/2006 - Membership & Registration Fee's - Another reminder that these must be paid before Sunday if you wish to compete. Cheques to be made payable to the Club and given to Jason preferably.

05/04/2006 - Week-end Training - The Novice 4+ will paddle at 7.30pm on Friday evening and also 9am Saturday morn before loading the trailer.

05/04/2006 - Commercial Regatta - Commercial Regatta takes palce this Sunday is Islandbridge in Dublin. We will have five crews competing:- Mens Novice 4+ (Stk. M. Kelly, S. Gately, G. Stefscik, J. Kelly & Cox Katie), Mens Vet 4+ (Stk. D. Keane, M. Butler, S. Gately, J. Kelly & Cox Katie), Mens Vet 8 (Stk. D. Keane, M. Butler, S. Gately, J. Reynolds, M. Kelly, J. Kelly, G. Stefscik, AN Other & Cox Katie), Mens J 16 1x (M. O'Halloran) & Womens J16 1x (T. Gibbons). Unfortunately there were no corresponding entries for the Mens & Womens J16 2x so these two crews will not now compete while Dympna has withdrawn from the Womens Inter 1x due to a throat infection. First up will be Tara in the J16 1x at 10.33am and I will have travel details and loading times etc in the next day or so. Those competing are reminded that I need passport photo's in order for you to receive your registration cards, you will not be allowed to compete without one so if you could get these to me on Saturday preferably I can get your cards done up before Sunday. Full draw and timetable for Sunday can be found on the IARU website.

29/03/2006 - This Week-end - Training as per usual this Saturday and Sunday at 9am - this week-end we would like the Mens and Womens J16 2x to train at this time also if possible. On Sunday we will have our Club Day with people congregating at the Club at 12 mid day to be allocated into different boats for a little race. We will then proceed to a local hostelery to watch the Boat Race and have some food. All welcome.

29/03/2006 - Committee - The Committee Page of the website has eventually been updated just in case some of you guys have forgotton some of the responsibilities you have taken on.....

27/03/2006 - Club Gear - I have put in an order for some Club Gear for members who have asked for same over the past few weeks and I should hopefully have these in approx 3-4 weeks all going to plan.

27/03/2006 - Commercial Regatta - We will travel to Commercial Regatta on Sunday 9th April. Entries will be something along the lines of a Mens Vet 8, Mens Vet 4+, Mens Novice 4+, Womens Inter 1x, Womens J16 1x, Mens J16 1x, Womens J16 2x and Mens J16 2x.

27/03/2006 - Membership & Registration Fee's - A reminder that Membership Fee's are now overdue - Senior Membership is €120.00 while Junior Membership is €60.00 - a note also that anyone who has not paid these by Commercial Regatta will not be allowed to race as they will not be covered under the Clubs Insurance policy if they are not paid up members so please pay up ASAP - cheques payable to the Club or cash acceptable and can be given to myself, Jason, Mark B or Tony.

27/03/2006 - Club Day - Our start of Regatta Season Club Day will take place this Sunday - it will take pretty much the same format as our pre-Christmas mini Head where everyone will get out in some boat or another and race off against each other over a short course - we will then retire to a soon to be named venue for some refreshments in time to watch the Oxford Cambridge Boat Race. More exact details when I get them from Master of Ceremonies Shane G.

21/03/2006 - Photo's... - ...from our trip to Tribes Head now uploaded to the Photo Album.

20/03/2006 - Next Week-end - The Veterans Head pencilled in for next week-end in Limerick has been cancelled due to a poor entry so we will be training as usual this Saturday and Sunday mornings unless something happens between now and then. I will send the usual rally call on Wednesday / Thursday with times etc.

20/03/2006 - Tribes Head - We travelled en masse to Galway last week-end for the Tribesmen Head of the River. Conditions were absolutely atrocious it has to be said and the small boats Head which was Head 2 was cancelled for safety reasons. We had two fours in the First Head, the Mens Novice 4 of Shane, Ewan, Mark K, Jason & Katie as cox and they finished fifth in their category of 12 boats, just seconds off Garda BC in fourth. The Mens Vet 4- of Dave, Mark B, Conor & Justin had a good race considering it was their first time paddling together in a four, never mind a coxless one at that and they finished fourth in their category. The Mens Vet 8 (made up of the two fours named above and Katie as cox) then raced the Third Head where they came second to a more determined Commercial crew. Still not a bad result all the same with a total of nine boats competing in the category. Carrick started just ahead of Commercial but they came at us like a bullet over the first kilometre and had come level with us coming down the Menlo straight. We held on to them down the straight but we just lost a slight advantage when the blades clashed and they gained a slight advantage which they were to hold to the finish line. Most of us stayed on in the College Bar in NUIG to watch Irelands great victory over England in the Rugby and then made the trek back home to Carrick. Thanks to both Jason and Ewan for pulling the boats and also well done it has to be said to Katie who once again coxed two excellent races despite all the elements that the weather could throw against her making it as difficult rowing conditions as you are going to get.

15/03/2006 - Club Day - As previously hinted at Shane is organising another Club Day a lá our mini-Head and day out we had pre-Christmas. It is pencilled in to coincide with the Boat Race in the UK so will be on Sunday 2nd April. General plan would be to meet around lunchtime, organise people into different boats and race down from the lake or some similar distance. We would then retire to the newly named "Rowing Room" in Burkes Bar where the Boat Race will be shown live and there will be some refreshments available there also. More concrete details when I have them.

15/03/2006 - Union Registrations - I have sent off the Union Registrations for the year so anyone still owing their Reg fee's can they please give to Jason ASAP.

15/03/2006 - Club Membership Fee's - Annual memberships fee's are now due post-AGM. Senior membership is as per last year, €120.00 while Junior and non rowing membership is €60.00. Fmaily membership is €150.00. Cheques may be made payable to Carrick on Shannon Rowing Club and given to Jason preferable or alternatively you can give it to myself, Mark B or Tony.

15/03/2006 - St Michaels Veteran Head - There is a Mens Veteran 8 entered at St Michaels Veteran Head on Saturday 25th March in Limerick. This will take place in Limerick city itself and will not start until 3pm so there will be no early starts involved. Mark B has already confirmed that he is unable to travel that week-end so if there are any other non runners can they please let us know at the week-end if possible.

15/03/2006 - Tribes Head - We travel to Tribes Head in Galway this Saturday with a Vet 8, Vet 4, Novice 4+, Novice 1x (Finlay) and Womens Inter 1x (Dymps). Plan is to load the trailer Friday morning after a quick paddle at 9am so those available to make it down should try to do so. First Head (4's) is at 11am on Saturday morning, second Head is at 14.15 (sculls) and the Eights Head is at 16.15. The plan for the some of us travelling over is to hang on in Galway after the Eights Head to watch the Ireland - England Rugby match (most probably in the NUIG College Bar) and then head home after that. It will also allow us the opposrtunity to take in the results of the Heads and (hopefully) a prizegiving or two.

09/03/2006 - AGM Aftermath - The AGM has been and gone again for another year with very little change to the Committee. I will update the Committee Page with the minor changes once I find where I left the minutes of the meeting. Mr. Kellegher was duly elected PRO so you may be hearing his dulcit tones on this website in the coming months once I give him the sign ons so I can't be held accountable for everything you see here from now on!! Also, Shane is trying to put together another Club Day for in or around the week-end of the Boat Race so I will try and keep you updated on that as I get word.

09/03/2006 - Next up - Next up is one of the big ones, Tribesmen Head of the River in Galway on Saturday 18th March, the day after St. Patricks Day - we have the Mens Vet 8, Mens Vet 4-, Mens Novice 4+ and 2 singles enetered so we will be travelling with a big load again. Trianing as per usual 9am Saturday and Sunday morning this week-end and all going to plan we may even get a spin in on Paddy's Day also in the morning. We hope to travel to St Michaels Veteran Head in Limerick the week-end after also.

09/03/2006 - Erne Head of the River - Well done to the Mens Vet 8 who finished 2nd on time and 3rd on the Handicapping system in the Vet 8's at Erne Head last week-end. Photo's from the event are now uploaded in the Photo Album.

21/02/2006 - Next week or so - Training continues as usual 9am Saturday and Sunday morn even though I think we are down a few bodies this week-end. Dave is heading South as is Mark B (??) and I am off to go and break my neck skiing over in Bulgaria for a week early Saturday morn so those on my e-mail list get a break of week without me nagging about something. I'll leave you with one last thought before I go though, rumour has it there will be a sneaky 5k thrown in by the powers that be pre-Galway so be on your guard!!

21/02/2006 - Erne Head - Next up on the agenda is Erne Head in Enniskillen on Saturday 4th March. The Club has entered a Mens Masters 8 so lets hope they continue their unbeaten run for 2006 after the win at St Michaels HOR.

21/02/2006 - Club Dinner - Well the Club Dinner has been and gone for another year. Once again it was a great success and thanks must go to Keith, Annabella and staff in Victoria Hall for a great night. Congrats to Ewan McDonell on winning Oarsperson of the Year for 2005, an award well deserved for his efforts over the past year. I have uploaded a few photo's to the Photo Album and thanks to Keith once again for the bulk of these photo's.

21/02/2006 - Annual General Meeting 2006 - Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of Carrick on Shannon Rowing Club will take place on Sunday 5th March at 2.30pm in the Clubrooms. Agenda for the meeting can be foundhere.

14/02/2006 - Final note on the Club Dinner - Hope to be seated by 8.15pm, numbers looking in the region of 35-40 at the moment. A few of us will probably be meeting The Oarsman around 7.30pm just in case anyone needs to whet their appetite.....

14/02/2006 - 2006 Calendar - Most of you will have seen a copy of the 2006 Club Calendars I got done up as samples recently (contains 12 A4 photos of members at different events over the past year). I have five of them left and if anyone would like a copy let me know. They are €20.00 (I know, a bit pricey but thats what they cost me) so first come fist served.

06/02/2006 - Annual Club Dinner - A reminder re the Club Dinner - can anyone who intends going and has not already please let yours truly, Mark B or Tony know ASAP as we need to finalise numbers. Don't take it for granted that we will assume you are going as we won't. The Juniors are invited to attend also if they wish and there will be a reduced menu for them should they not wish to fork out the full whack. Time has been confirmed for 8pm to be all fully seated by 8.30pm.

31/01/2006 - Annual Club Dinner - The Annual Club Dinner will take place on Friday 17th February at 9pm (time TBC) in Victoria Hall. This is open to all members young and old and friends of the club so we would ask that as many people as possible try to make it. The Club Oarsperson of the Year will be announced as usual with selection a little different from last year with Head Coach Kieran Hynes announcing his selection on the night. People interested in going should either e-mail yours truly or let myself, Mark B, Shane or Tony know - ticket prices will be confirmed shortly but will be in the region of €35-€40.

31/01/2006 - St. Michaels Head of the River - We had an early start last Saturday morning when we travelled down to O'Briens Bridge in Co. Clare for St Michaels Head of the River. We travelled with a full trailer load of boats (thanks to Jason for pulling same) and came away with one win and a couple of other good performances also. The Mens Masters A Eight won their category by almost 30 seconds over Athlone BC among others while the Mens Novice 4 of Shane, Eren, Mark K, Ewan & Katie (cox) came a very good third in a very competitive category while the Mens Novice 8 were also a very good fifth in the Mens Novice 8's which had a total of 25 crewss competing in that category. Results here are testament to the hard work and training put in by this group over the past 3 months. Dympna made a welcome return to competitive rowing after a year off by finishing 11th out of 19 scullers in the Womens Open Category. The times in this category were bunched very close together where another 20 seconds faster by Dympna would have placed her up as far as fourth in this event. Mark B made a rare competitive outing in a single scull when he finished 4th in the Mens Masters 1x while Eren and Fin finished 9th & 10th in the Mens Novice Sculls which placed them mid table in the overall result in this category. Mark O'Halloran had an unfortunate competitive debut in this category when he got tangled up in some reeds on the way to the start and ended up going for an early shower. A Mens Novice and Inter 2x also competed for the club. A special word of mention must go out to to the one person who held it all together on the day with three perfectly executed races in the coxes seat - Katie, in her first competitive event with the Seniors coxing like she's been at it for years. Definitely a career for her in the coxes seat in the future.

25/01/2006 - Committee Meeting - A reminder that there will be a Committee Meeting at 12.30pm this Sunday in the Clubrooms. All available asked to attend.

25/01/2006 - Loading the trailer..... - We will be loading the trailer from 5.30pm on Friday evening so anyone available is asked to come down and lend a hand. We will be leaving at around 5am on Saturday morning so we will organise lifts etc on Friday at the club.

25/01/2006 - Carrick Sprints 2006 - Preliminary details of the Carrick Sprints 2006 now online on the left hand menu. We are currently talking to a couple of people for overall sponsorship of the event and we have been told unofficially that Waterways Ireland and the IARU in partnership will be providing funds for television coverage of the the Mens & Womens "Row For It" Junior League races which we will once again be hosting the finals of.

18/01/2006 - Housekeeping Matters - Can everyone who received a Registration Form last week-end try and bring it down for Saturday with their Reg Fee - €50 for Seniors, €20 for Juniors (made payable to the club and passed to Jason) and I will try and send off to the Union early next week then. Union Reg cards should be issued shortly then after that. If anyone is looking to buy any club gear for the coming year Powerhouse Clothing (www.powerhouseclothing.co.uk) have all our details so if you let them know exactly what you want (via their online ordering facility or e-mail) they will be able to make it up for you.

18/01/2006 - St Michaels Head of the River, Limerick - St Micks Head takes place on Saturday week in O'Briensbridge just outside Limerick - we have entered the following crews - Mens Novice 8, Mens Novice 4+ (x3),Mens Veteran 8, Mens Veteran 4-, Mens Novice 2x (x1), Mens Novice 1x (x3), Mens Inter 2x (x1), Womens Open 1x (x3), Mens Vet 1x (x1). Make up of actual crews will be "revealed" by Kieran & Mark at the week-end.

18/01/2006 - Committee Meeting - The next Committee Meeting will take place at 12.30pm on Sunday 29th January (day after Limerick Head) in the Clubrooms - all members asked to attend if possible. Our Capital Grants Application for 2006 was submitted today so it is in the lap of the Gods after that.......

05/01/2006 - Registrations - As much as I hate taking money off people, the Union love it so for anyone planning on racing this year Regsitration is now due and ideally should be paid this month - ie I don't want to have to be sending them in in dribs and drabs to the Union. This fee is €50.00 for Senior members and €20.00 for Juniors and is seperate from the Club Membership fee as it goes direct to the Union. Preferably can members give this money to Jason (make payable to the club) who will keep a track of it and I will then draw one big juicy cheque off him in approx 2 weeks to send to the Union with all registration details. Each member will have to complete a Registration Form and I will leave some of these around the club once I print a few off. Alternatively they can be downloaded on the Union website under the Registration Section on the left hand menu.

05/01/2006 - The New Year - Happy New Year to everyone, I assume that everyone survived the festivities without any major catastrophes. Anyways, back with a bang this week-end for those of you who fell off the wagon over the past few weeks (quite proud to say I was one of four who made it out on Christmas Day bright and early even though it did go to pot slightly for a week after that...). Training back as normal 9am on Saturday and with Limerick Head (sorry Dave, St. Michaels Head) only a couple of weeks off we need to "get the finger out" again.