Offaly rowers enjoy success at regatta in Athlone

Young and old at Offaly Rowing Club made the short journey to Coosan Point for the Athlone Regatta last Saturday.

No fewer than 22 Offaly crews were in action on the day, with great performances despite a challenging wind blowing across the course.

The club's top performers on the day included Ben Ward and Aidan Molloy, both of whom stormed ahead to win their men's J15 single races.

Louis Dollard, Finn Bagnell Condron and Shane McLachlan all finished 2nd place, very close to the winners, in their J15 single races.

Ward, Dollard, Bagnell Condron and McLachlan then teamed up and were impressive winners in the men's J15 quad.

First up from Offaly Rowing Club on the day were the masters crew of Jess Handy and Adele O'Dwyer in their first race together, where they finished impressively in third place.

Next were the women's J14 Quad of Annie Pidgeon, Blaithin Clarke, Katelyn Taylor and Lyla Kane-Walsh who finished 5th in their very competitive race.

Brothers Caomhan and Ruadhan Harvey were up next in the men's J13 single races where they finished 4th and 2nd respectively. Ruadhan and Coamhan later raced up a level in the J14 single and did very well to finish 3rd and 5th place.

In the women's J15 single sculls Sadhbh Keohane and Lyla Kane-Walsh raced well to finish in 2nd and 3rd place respectively in their races. Both rowers also raced J16 singles and finished 3rd and 4th.

Masters rower Adele O'Dwyer raced well in her first-ever single sculling race to finish 3rd. Conor Gilesnan raced very strongly in his masters event to finish in second place.

Annie Pidgeon and Blaithin Clarke both finished fourth in their women's J14 single races and teamed up to finish 4th in the J14 double scull.

The last race of the day saw Aidan Molloy finish 3rd in the men's J16 single.

The club's next outing for its J13/J14/J15 and masters rowers will be at the Irish 1K Classic Regatta in Cork on Saturday, July 9.