With Blessington still out of action early this season, nearly 30 UCD oarsmen headed west to Limerick and took part at Castleconnell Head.
UCD entered multiple crews in all Intermediate events along with a Senior 8+ and a Senior 2-. Conditions were tricky with a strong tail wind and flow and mixed with the winding bends of the Shannon gave way to tough racing conditions. Unfortunately, late in the afternoon worsening conditions meant a decision was made to call off small boats. Despite this, UCD placed ahead of the pack in all events and even came home with a win in Senior 2- and Senior 8+. The results bode well for the young and eager squad.
UCD’s Limerick contingent welcomed the squad to their homes, allowing them to stay overnight and take advantage of the long stretch and calmer conditions at O’Brien’s Bridge for training the following day. Thank you to the families for hosting!
Meanwhile, National Trials were taking place at the National Rowing Centre. 3 UCD men were invited, including the newly heavyweight Senior 2- of David O’Malley and Shane Mulvaney and Shane O’Connell and Andrew Goff in the U23 2-, with Niall Herlihy in the U23 Lightweight 1x. Both pairs placed first in their categories on Saturday while the scull raced well but just missed out on selection for the doubles trials the following day.
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- Excellent facilities at Castleconnell
