Lough Rinn truly came of age as a premier national rowing venue this weekend, hosting the spectacular Rowing Ireland 1k Classic Regatta with 682 crews across 42 events. With almost perfect weather finally smiling on South Leitrim, especially on Sunday, it was an unforgettable showcase of Ireland’s top J13-J15 talent!

Carrick Rowing Club put in a series of excellent performances against the country’s best, finishing with an impressive haul of 4 gold medals, 2 second place finishes and brilliant racing across the board

Saturday Highlights: Young Fionnán Kelly claimed a brilliant gold in the J13 single sculls (competing a year underage!), while Éanna Kelly clinched a fantastic second place in the J14 singles. Riain O’Donaile added a strong 3rd in the J15 singles, alongside valuable experience gained by our J14 girls’ 4x+ crew!

Sunday Morning Thrills: The J15 boys’ quad (Adam O’Brien, Darragh Ryan, Darragh Holohan, Krystian Wach, cox Riain O’Donaile) timed their final sprint to perfection to win a thriller against Enniskillen and Commercial RC. Moments later, the J14 boys’ quad (Ruben Lowe, Éanna Kelly, Fionnán Kelly, Senan Moran, cox Nessa Flynn) dug deep to secure a nail-biting half-length victory over Cork Boat Club & Commercial RC in their final!

Ruben Lowe and Éanna Kelly capped off an exceptional weekend by returning to the water to claim gold in the MJ14 double sculls.

We also had super racing from our other boats including Aoibhe & Caoilinn in the WJ15 2x, Fionnan / Bearach and Senan / Tadgh in the MJ14 2x, Adam / Krystian and Darragh / Darragh in the MJ15 2x and our girls J13 4x+ who got their first taste of national level competition on a multi lane course.

From fantastic racing to Lough Rinn solidifying its place as Ireland’s top venue outside of Cork, the future of Carrick rowing is shining bright as we look toward the 2026/27 season!

Footnote – poignant and apt that the two quad scull wins for our J14 & J15 boys were achieved in the boat ‘Tony Keane’ – no better man to have on your side when you need the Gods smiling down on you in those really tight races.

#RowingIreland#LoughRinn#CarrickOnShannon#JuniorRowing#Teamwork