St Michael's Rowing Club
Image showing the rowing club's emblem
LocationO'Callaghan Strand, Limerick, Ireland
Coordinates52°39′47″N 8°38′08″W / 52.663158°N 8.6355897°W / 52.663158; -8.6355897
Home waterRiver Shannon
Founded1901
AffiliationsRowing Ireland
Websitewww.smrc.ie
Events
St Michael's Head of the river

Part of St Michael's Sporting Club which dates back to 1839,[1]St Michael's Rowing Club is a rowing club located in Limerick, Ireland.[2][3][4] It is affiliated to Rowing Ireland.[5] In addition it has a satellite training facility in O'Briensbridge, County Clare.[6] The club colours are royal blue and old gold.[7][8]

History

Founded in 1901,[9] St Michael's Rowing Club started life in a small timber boathouse in the west end of the docks, close to the current dock gates. The first club Captain was the Nationalist MP for Limerick Michael Joyce. In the 1930s it was served with notice to quit as the land on which the boathouse stood was required for the dock expansion. After a period of inactivity and great uncertainty, a new boathouse was constructed at O'Callaghan Strand in 1940. Since then the club has grown and developed, and is currently one of the largest clubs affiliated to Rowing Ireland. In 2013 the club purchased a site in O'Briensbridge, County Clare adjacent to the Limerick Regatta field. This non-tidal facility can be used when weather conditions prohibit training on the lower Shannon. The club history was documented in "Band of Gold" which was published in November 2016.[10]

National achievements

The club is the most successful club in the mid-west region having won 60 National Championships.[11][12][13]

International achievements

In excess of 300 green singlets have been won by club members. Sam Lynch was World Lightweight Single Sculls Champion in 2001 and 2002.[14][15][16] Sinead Jennings won a silver medal in the women's Lightweight single sculls Championship in 2008.[17]

Olympians

The club has had members represent Ireland on four occasions - Sam Lynch (Atlanta & Athens),[18] Sean O'Neill (Beijing).[19][20] and Sinead Jennings (Rio)

St Michael's Head of the River

St Michael's Head of the River race was first run in December 1981 with 34 crews. Since then it has grown to be the largest Head of the River event in the country, frequently attracting over 500 entries. Due to the difficulty in facilitating such large numbers in the reduced daylight in December, the Head was subsequently moved to February.[21][22]

References

  1. ↑ Limerick Leader - St Michael's proud 150 years of sport
  2. ↑ Limerick.ie - listing of sports clubs Archived 2015-11-17 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Yelp.ie - listing of sports clubs
  4. ↑ Limerick, rate my area - St Michael's Rowing Club Archived 2015-11-17 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ "Rowing Ireland – Lets's row for gold".
  6. ↑ Club Website - announcement re new facility in O'Briensbridge
  7. ↑ SMRC website giving history and club colours
  8. ↑ History of Boat Racing in Ireland - T.F. Hall 1939
  9. ↑ Limerick City Library - A Century of success for St Michael's
  10. ↑ Kerr, Kieran (2016). Band of Gold. Ireland: Yellow Hedgehog Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5272-0366-2.
  11. ↑ www.irishrowingarchives.com
  12. ↑ 2015 Championship Programme
  13. ↑ Youtube - 2011 WJ4- crew winning the National Championship
  14. ↑ Sam Lynch
  15. ↑ Irish Independent - Rowing the pain and the glory of virtual anonymity
  16. ↑ FISA Athlete Bio - Sam Lynch
  17. ↑ FISA Athlete Bio - Sinead Jennings
  18. ↑ FISA Athlete Bio - Sam Lynch
  19. ↑ FISA Athlete Bio - Sean O'Neill
  20. ↑ Limerick Leader - Olympic Rowing delight for Sean O'Neill
  21. ↑ Rowing Ireland Fixtures List
  22. ↑ Limerick Leader - St Michael's Head of the River
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