The Erne Eights Head of the River 2026 is taking place this Saturday, 7th of March with the Men’s Race starting at 2pm.
As one of the few regatta surviving on the calendar after an unfortunate spell of bad weather, Cork was essential for gathering experience and cementing crews for the Championships in a few short weeks. It was also an opportunity for a trial run of our eagerly anticipated new Empacher 8+, the fruit of hard work by our senior committee, consistent results of the previous season and generous funding by UCD Sport and our alumni.
After coming out of a hard training block and racing over the previous couple weeks Cork Regatta was going to be tough. Saturday saw two UCD entries in Mens Division 1 2- along with Lightweight Coman O’Connell in Mens Division 1 1x enter trials for this year’s Home International Regatta. A gutsy performance in time trial and final qualified both the 2- of Cameron Murphy and Niall Herlihy and the 1x for the 2018 Irish squad. A third UCD 2-, the formidable pairing of David O’Malley and Shane Mulvaney put in a massive performance in Senior 2-, winning convincingly against stiff competition which included the reigning Lightweight 2- World Champions.
The afternoon Mens Division 1 4+ saw a powerful race in the time trial and final for the 2nd Intermediate 4+, resulting in a 2nd place finish out of 37 entries to a strong young Cork Boat Club crew on their home turf.
Sunday consisted of UCD entries in the Mens Division 1 4- (Senior), Mens Division 1 8+ (Intermediate, Club 1) and Mens Division 2 4+ (Club 2).
UCD’s Senior 4- at Cork Regatta 2018
UCD’s top Senior 4- had an excellent race in their straight final, finishing nearly 2 lengths clear of Commercial with the 2nd UCD crew in 4th. The Club 2 4+ had a blistering first 1000m in their final but were unfortunately rowed through by a strong UCC crew before the line and took home a respectable 2nd place.
UCD had one 8+ in each of the A and B finals after the timetrials, among the competitors for their category. Despite the tired legs and sore bodies, the Club 8+ had a superb final in their usual quick out the blocks style, beating various Intermediate crews to win the B final, taking home the Club 1 8+ category. The Intermediate 8+ also put in a decent race but unfortunately got rowed through on the line by Commercial. A disappointing result but a valuable lesson for a growing crew which had recently had a shift in line up to bow stroked rigging.
With the Club 8+ looking very exciting and Intermediate 8+ more motivated then ever to squeeze another few seconds out of the crew, we look forward to the final preparations before Championships – heads down and no excuses from here on out.
Full results on Rowing Ireland.