There has been some strong showings from
Irish universities at the Henley Royal Regatta
(GBR) from clubs such as National University
of Ireland Galway (NUIG), Trinity College Dublin
and University College Dublin, over the years.
Consistency, however, has been lacking. Ireland
has an exceptional tertiary education system of
worldwide renown but it did not have too many
attractive options if you wanted to excel at rowing
and academia. University clubs, historically, were
structurally disorganised, with no consistent
coaching teams dedicated to high performance
and development of new athletes. The calendar
was sparse and the facilities were often archaic.
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Many Irish junior rowers seeking a progressive
university rowing experience went elsewhere,
taking up scholarships in the United States or
moving to the UK where universities offered a
dedicated rowing programme in tandem with
the university curriculum. Exceptional talent
has departed Irish shores for this very reason.
The Chambers brothers, Richard and Peter,
competed for Ireland as juniors before taking
up their degrees in Oxford Brooks University
(GBR). “Brooks” is well-known for its organised
and competitive rowing programme. From there,
the brothers moved on to becoming key figures in
the British lightweight team and have not looked
back. The question is, why did they have to leave
Ireland in the first place?
Cormac Folan, Beijing Olympian in the heavyweight
men’s four, is one of the few home-grown talents
who went through the Irish university system
and ultimately reached the Olympic Games. His
club, NUI Galway, was one of the only university
clubs in the country that had an obvious system
in place. He explains: “having the knowledge each
year that there is a system in place and a conveyor
belt of talent coming through with a head coach
overseeing it all definitely had an impact keeping
me motivated and staying rowing for the four >
