16/08/2026
The Rowing Ireland Coastal Irish Coastal Rowing Championships took place at the National Rowing Centre, Farran Woods, this weekend, hosted by Ballycotton Rowing Club. Twenty five Galley crews took to the water to represent the club at Rowing Ireland's blue ribbon event for coastal sweep racing in Ireland.
The first crew to take to the water on Saturday morning was the U16 Women A team which comprised Lucy Harrington, Sally McAuley, Thea Bell, Ava Turner and Julie Harrington in Heat 1 of the U16 Women. They comfortably qualified for the final which was held later in the day. Unfortunately, in that final, they were unlucky to finish just outside of the medal places in fourth position after rowing a great race.
The U16 Women B team of Lily Hayes, Abbie Murray, Caitlin McCarthy and Adeline Heffernan were coxed by Rachel Collins in Heat 2 of the U16 Women. With 5 boats to qualify from the heat, the Galley crew rowed well but did not progress to the final after a 7th place finish.
Next up were the U14s. The U14 A crew comprised Dane Brazier Scannell, Samuel Heffernan, Samuel Kearns, Conor Shine and cox Katie Hayes. They were in Heat 1 of the U14s where they qualified for the final. In the final later in the day, they rowed well and finished in 8th place.
The U14 B team of Gearóid Twomey, Darragh Morley, Oisín Geaney, Ailill Cronin and cox Julie Harrington were in Heat 2 of the U14 where they performed well but did not progress to the final.
The Pre Veteran Men's crew of John Harrington, Ger Cullinane, Mark O'Brien, Danny Hayes and cox Julie Harrington were the club's first representatives to row in a final. They rowed a very good race and were unlucky to be outside of the medal positions in fourth place.
Another final quickly followed with the Pre Veteran Women's race taking place immediately after the Pre Veteran Men. Aoife McAuley, Edel O'Donovan, Donna Burke and Aisling Feen were coxed by Julie Harrington in this final and they put on a master class of rowing, leading for the majority of the race and crossing the line over 4 seconds ahead of their closest rivals to become the 2026 Pre Veteran Women's Irish Coastal Rowing Champions.
After a short break to catch their breaths, and time for the Pre Veteran Women to collect their medals and cup, the Galley were back in action in the final of the U12 Women. Brooke Brazier Scannell, Eve Harrington, Laoise Morley and Maela Auffret were coxed by Julie Harrington in this race. Having reached the turning buoys in second place, these young ladies held this position for the remainder of the race to become 2026 U12 Women Irish Coastal Rowing Championship Silver Medallists.
John Harrington, Edel O'Donovan, Micheál Harrington, Aoife McAuley and cox Rachel Collins took to the water in the Veteran Mixed final. They put on a great performance and deservedly claimed second place to become 2026 Veteran Mixed Irish Coastal Rowing Championship Silver Medallists.
GalleyFlash II was out on the water for the club's final four races on Saturday. The first crew out in her were the Timber Yawl Mens crew of Barry Hooper, Ger Cullinane, Danny Hayes, Mark O'Brien and cox Paddy Harrington. The four boats in this race all got off to a good start and when the final settled into a race pace, the Galley were in third place where they remained for the rest of the race to become 2026 Timber Yawl Men Irish Coastal Rowing Championship Bronze Medallists.
Rachel Collins, Louise Brazier Scannell, Katie Hayes and Aisling Feen were coxed by Paddy Harrington in the Open Sprint Women's race, a straight line 750m sprint. Three West Cork crews took to the water for this in what was a high paced race to the finish. The Galley crew crossed the finish line in second place to become 2026 Irish Coastal Rowing Championship Silver Medallists.
The Timber Yawl Women took to the water immediately after the Open Sprint Women. Ciara Rahilly, Donna Burke, Mary Anne McCarthy and Roni Hawe were coxed by Julie Harrington in this race where they put on a dominant display, leading from the outset and throughout to become 2026 Timber Yawl Women Irish Coastal Rowing Champions.
The final Galley crew to represent the club on Saturday were the Open Sprint Men's crew of Barry Hooper, Tadgh Shine, Ger Cullinane, Danny Hayes and cox Katie Hayes. This crew put on a good display of rowing, finishing in 6th place.
The first crew to take to the water for the club on Sunday morning was the U12 A team comprising Maela Auffret, Ben Heffernan, Brooke Brazier Scannell, Hughie McAuley and cox Julie Harrington. They safely qualified for the final following a great performance in Heat 1. In the final later in the day, they put on a fantastic display of rowing to finish in third place and became 2026 U12 Irish Coastal Rowing Championship Bronze Medallists.
The U12 B team of Lilian O'Mahony, Beau Callaghan, Eve Harrington and Uisneach Gormley were coxed by Rachel Collins in Heat 2 and qualified for the final. In the final later in the day, they rowed a very good race to finish in 9th place.
The U12 C team of Sebastian Kupec, Laura Twomey, Niall O'Mahony and Laoise Morley were coxed by Katie Hayes in Heat 2 where they rowed very well but were outside of the qualifying spots.
The club had two crews in Heat 2 of the U14 Women. The GalleyFlash crew of Amy Harrington, Indi Lewis, Síofra Gormley and Matilda Kingston were coxed by Rachel Collins while the GalleyFlash/ Dunmanway Rowing Club composite crew of Keelin O'Brien, Tara Negi, Eimear Deasy and Alesha O'Reilly (Dunmanway) were coxed by Katie Hayes. Both crews qualified for the final later in the day where all of these young ladies rowed excellently with the GalleyFlash crew finishing in 5th place and the GalleyFlash Dunmanway composite finishing in 9th place.
The Veteran Men's crew of John Harrington, Micheál Harrington, Des McAuley and Diarmuid Scannell were coxed by Julie Harrington. They rowed very well and crossed the finish line in 3rd place to become 2026 Veteran Men Irish Coastal Rowing Championship Bronze Medallists.
The Veteran Women's crew of Edel O'Donovan, Aoife McAuley, Julie Harrington and Louise Brazier Scannell were coxed by Katie Hayes when they took to the water directly after the Veteran Men's final. In what was a close affair, the Galley women put on a fine display of rowing to become 2026 Veteran Women Irish Coastal Rowing Championship Silver Medallists.
The U18 crew of Olan Brazier Scannell, Cullen Kearns, Alexander Vajgel, Tadgh Shine and cox Rachel Collins were involved in a very tightly contested final where a photo finish had three boats in contention for the silver and bronze medals. Confirmation came through shortly afterwards that less than 2 seconds separated these three boats and the Galley crew were awarded the 2026 U18 Irish Coastal Rowing Championship Silver Medals.
The only Galley crew to compete in a multi-turn race across the weekend were the Junior Men. Tadgh Shine, Mark O'Brien, Barry Hooper, Ger Cullinane and cox Danny Hayes took to the water for this one. They rowed a very good race across the 2300m course and finished in 4th place.
The Intermediate Women's crew of Aisling Feen, Katie Hayes, Rachel Collins, Louise Brazier Scannell and cox Danny Hayes were the next crew to compete for the club. Having reached the turning buoys in third place, the Galley crew remained in this position for the rest of the race and became 2026 Intermediate Women Irish Coastal Rowing Championship Bronze Medallists.
Olan Brazier Scannell, Cullen Kearns, Emily Bell, Lucy Harrington and cox Rachel Collins took to the water for the inaugural U18 Mixed Irish Coastal Rowing final. They rowed well but were outside of the medal positions in fourth place.
The final Galley crew to take to the water were the Senior Women. Ciara Rahilly, Roni Hawe, Donna Burke and Mary Anne McCarthy were coxed by Julie Harrington in this race where following a blistering start, they performed well but were unlucky to be outside of the medal positions on this outside, finishing in 4th place.
Thanks to all those who helped to make the weekend a success for the club; to the underage who polished the boats on Wednesday night, to those who loaded and unloaded the boats, to those who towed the boats, to the shore crew who were tasked with getting crews to the line on time and to anyone else who helped throughout the weekend, thank you.
And with that, the 2026 coastal sweep season comes to an end. Well done to all.
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