Regatta News

At this time of year the club has approx. two thirds of the season completed and is coming to the business end of the season

with the upcoming national championships at the national rowing centre Iniscarra Co.cork on July 10th.The club has been

busy with crews travelling around the country attending various regattas,below is a list of results from these regattas.

 

Skibereen Regatta April 2009-Jessica O'Keeffe winner Junior 18 sculls

 

Fermoy Regatta May 17th-Dylan Grace,Sean Lawlor,Chad Reddan,Ray Murnane & Lillian Duggan(cox) winners mens novice quad

                                       Lee Irwin & Connor Griffin winners mens Junior 14 double

                                       Vivienne Meehan wnner Junior 18 scull

 

Bantry Regatta May 25th-Many of our new oarspeople were introduced for the first time to competitive racing.All rowed well and

                                     gained much experience.The ladies squad of Clodagh Green,Aoife Willis,Jessica O'Keefe,Vivienne Meehan

                                     and Sinead Kiely contested 5 events and returned home undefeated.

 

Carlow Regatta May 30th/Castleconnell Regatta June 7th-The ladies squad mentioned above achieved six wins in these regattas

                                      combined while Lee Irwin and Conor Griffin won the Castleconnell Junior 14 doubles.

Please follow the PHOTOS link in the left hand side columnn for winning regatta photos.

 

Congratulations to all of our winners so far this season and all of the new oarspeople in their fist season.

And well done to the clubs captain Darren Cunningham and coaches Billy Meehan,Mike Kiely and roger Kiely.

 

Upcoming regattas include Monkstown(Saturday) and Lee(Sunday) of this weekend.Best of luck to all our participating oarspeople.

Results to follow.

 

Other News-it is hoped that the clubs news and events will be published in the city edition of the weekend Limerick Leader

                  so keep an eye out for that.

                   

                  It has also been confirmed that the boat blessing in Honour of Mickey Phayer is being held on Fiday September 4th.

                  More details will follow closer to date.

 

Upcoming regattas

 

 

Club News

Hello all.

The club is currently at the height of its seasons activity and racing season(see Regatta news).

We are delighted to see a mixture in excess of 30 young boys and girls currently rowing with the club

at various levels up to under 18 level.Training is currently at its height of almost 7 days a week therefore

providing a great opportunity for anyboby interested in joining the club wether it be rowing or helping

out with coaching.Any coaching help would be appreciated.

 

This weekend saw the completion of the 10K sponsored Castletroy run on Sunday June 21.The participants

consisted of both runners and walkers stretchng their legs legs in order to raise funds for the purchasing

of a much needed safety boat/launch.This will help to bring the number of safety boats to 3 within the club.

These boats are vital for coaching and safety purposes as they escort the rowers at all times when they are on the river.

The club would like to thank greatly all those who supported the run through their donations.The Commitee

would also like to express their gratitude to all those members who were contacted directly for funds to aid the purchase of the safety boat.

 

The club grounds are also experiencing a face lift due to the contribution of the Limerick Civic Trust workers whose

effort has made a huge difference to the the appearance of the club especially at this time of year.

 

The club recently purchased a new Fillepe 4 racing boat manufactured in italy.As in the time honoured tradition of christening new boats,

Michael(Mickey) Phayer will be honored for his long time service and commitment to the club.It is hoped that the ceremony will take

place in September and details will follow.

AGM Notice

Members,

 

Please note that the AGM of Athlunkard Boat Club will take place on Friday 31^st October at 8pm in the clubhouse. It was decided by the committee, and relayed to members in my last letter, to move the AGM from March to October. This was in order to facilitate a number of practicalities within the club, namely that the role of captain will not be transferred mid-season and also that membership cards with regatta fixtures will not be nearly out of date going to print.

 

The agenda for the meeting will be as follows:

 

1.       President's Address

2.       Minutes of Previous AGM

3.       Treasurer's & Secretary's Report

4.       Captain's Report

5.       Election of Officers and Committee

6.       Notices of Motion

7.       A.O.B

 

All notices of motion to be sent to Hon. Secretary at 20 Belvedere Lawn, Fr. Russell Road, Limerick, to be received by 24^th October 2008.

 

If it is at all possible I would urge you to attend. The club has strived over the past few years with rowing membership expanding significantly. We have invested in resources to make our club one of the best equipped in the region. However, we would appeal to members to give any spare time they might have to help us foster the continued growth of rowing at Athlunkard Boat Club. Whether it is helping with training or maintaining the club grounds, any role you can play is greatly appreciated.

 

Boat Blessing Ceremony 25/07/08

Friday 25^th July 2008 was a special occasion for the members of Athlunkard Boat Club. The club unveiled seven new rowing boats valued at €70,000. It is the biggest single investment in rowing equipment since the club's foundation in 1898. It is a clear indication of where the club is going at present and with approx 25 boys and girls rowing, the future looks bright for this famous parish club. This year the clubs ladies crews have kept the flag flying with nine wins at regattas throughout the country. The icing on the cake was the selection of Jessica O'Keffee to represent her country at the Home Internationals in Wales on 26^th July.

The boat naming ceremony was the culmination of a major fundraising effort undertaken by the club over the last 2 years and was presided over by Athlunkard's first lady president Patricia Lonergan who followed in the footsteps of her late father Christy Madigan, a tireless worker in the club throughout his life.

Main sponsor on the night was St.Marys Parish Credit Union, whose name sits proudly on the clubs flagship, a new racing eight, purchased in Italy at a cost of €26,000. The connection between Shannon Rugby Club and Athlunkard members over many years was recognized with the rugby clubs name on another boat. Some deceased members were also honoured, the late Jack Meehan, Ned Flanagan, Paddy O'Brien & Willie Henn were represented by their families. Also honored on the night was former Athlunkard president Archie Brown, who attended with his wife Ann and Family.

Guests on the night included Mayor John Gilligan & Minister for Defence, Willie O'Dea. The club would like to express its gratitude to the members of St.Marys Prize Band who entertained the large gathering in the club grounds and gave the occasion a real Parish feel. They later led the attendance along the Sandmall to a reception in the Absolute Hotel.

Annual General Meeting 16/04/2008

The recent Athlunkard Boat Club AGM gave the 07/08 committee a chance to highlight to the membership the activity in the club for the past year. It was noted that the investment in equipment had exceeded previous years, with approximately 70,000 being spent in the past 12 months.

The purchases included :

• 4 ergometers
• Wintech quad
• Wintech double
• 2 Wintech sculls
• Fillippi eight
• Fillippi scull.

Oars for all the above were also purchased, and another Wintech scull is due to be delivered in the coming weeks. This unprecendented investment leaves the club in a very good position with sufficient equipment to last into the forseeable future.

The rowing season recorded one 'head of the river' win and nine regatta wins. The outgoing captain, Michael Kiely noted that the season suffered a number of setbacks which left overall results below his initial expectations. One such setback was the fact that at the beginning of the season an I.A.R.U rule change, which stated that anyone registered before 2005 at any level was not eligible to row novice, caused a promising crew of 12 novices in the beginning of September 07 break up and ultimately fall away. The addition of Darrren Cunningham, a former club oarsman, to the coaching staff was seen as a very positive step forward by the captain.

The following was the elected committee and officers for 08/09:

President: Patricia Lonergan

Vice - president: Billy Meehan

Secretary: Roger Kiely

Treasurer: Patricia Lonergan

Captain: Darren Cunningham

Vice - captain: To be decided by rowing committee/coaching staff

Committee: Michael Phayer, Michael Kiely, Peter Doyle, John Shaw, Aidan Murnane, Martin O'Connor.

It was noted that Patricia Lonergan was to be the clubs first ever female president, and to follow in the footsteps of her father, former president Mr. Christy Madigan.

It was also noted that the club had lost one of its most dedicated and respected members during the year in Louie Murnane, former president, captain and all-round clubman. A minute silence was held for all deceased members of the club.

Yours in Rowing,

Roger Kiely

Secretary ABC

(kielyrowing@yahoo.co.uk)