Under-23 squad carry hopes for Ireland's future

ROWING:A 10-STRONG Ireland team heads for the World Under-23 Championships tomorrow carrying much of the hope for the future of Irish international rowing, while at home, the draw for next week's Irish Championships shows the event will be the biggest ever.

Including non-championship squads, there will be 770 crews and over 2,000 rowers involved in the three-day event.

Even more so than the Olympics, where Sanita Puspure alone will carry the Ireland colours, the World Under-23 Championships in Trakai in Lithuania, which start on Wednesday, will give Ireland international rowing a good health check. The high performance coaching team has posited this group as the core which will carry Irish rowing on to a bigger challenge at Rio 2016.

Lightweight single sculler Justin Ryan, who injured his wrist in a bicycle accident, is a big loss, but Lisa Dilleen will compete in the women’s single, though there was some doubt over her form and her participation.

The women’s double scull of Holly Nixon and Laura D’Urso and lightweight single sculler Claire Lambe are the best hopes for medals. The lightweight pair of Jonny Mitchell and Shane O’Driscoll would also have hopes.

The open-weight four of Seán O’Connor, Finbar Manning, Eddie Mullarkey and Irish-American Thomas Lynam are expected solely to finish in the top half.

The crews is “a way of starting something”, according to the Ireland performance director Martin McElroy.

The clash between this event and the Irish Championships, which begin on Friday and run through to Sunday, is unfortunate – though it rather reflects the parallel lines on which the two programmes run. At the recent Cork Regatta at the National Rowing Centre, even the keyed-in organisers seemed oblivious to the Ireland junior trial the following day at the same venue.

The presence of top Ireland juniors at the regatta is a big positive factor, however. Chris Black and Joel Cassells, who could bring Ireland a medal in the junior pair in the World Championships for non-Olympic and junior events next month, can take at least one title, and single sculler Paul O’Donovan will hope to do the same.

The fact both crews could also take senior titles marks out the slide in participation of seniors. Even as sister sport canoeing is trying to find a way to bring “roof-rack” canoeists (those not affiliated to any club) into the fold, rowing would love to have a way of keeping seniors involved – even if in only in a fun way.

For all this, the juniors may not win at senior level. John Keohane has been the premier single sculler in Ireland this year and St Michael’s of Limerick, Queen’s and Cork Boat Club all have designs on the pairs title.

In the four, Cork’s Henley crew will take on St Michael’s and Queen’s, but the experience of Gráinne Mhaol should see them through. The senior eight also has just four entries, with Gráinne Mhaol/NUIG favourites.

Queen’s may dispute this and Trinity’s intermediate eight and St Michael’s are worthy opponents.

The big quandary – and one of the questions of the year – is where are UCD? Their slide since last year is astounding.

The women’s junior single scull is a standout event, with Hilary Shinnick, Sarah Allen, Karen Cromie and Kate O’Brien all vying for the Irish title.

Bridget Jacques is not entered here but is in the junior double (with Lucie Litvack) and the senior single. Again, the seniors will have to face some of the best juniors in the senior single, but Helen Walshe, Eimear Moran and Monika Dukarska should use their maturity to advantage.

UCD’s women’s eight give the college some hope of a major title. Trinity, NUIG, St Michael’s and a composite of Queen’s and Skibbereen for the opposition.

Meanwhile, Mark Pollock has received an honorary doctorate from Queen’s University. The adventurer and former Trinity oarsman, who is blind, became paralysed after a fall in 2010 when he was attending Henley Royal Regatta. He has been having physical therapy in California.