THE Irish lightweight fours are in confident mood ahead of their second bid for an Olympic semi-final in today’s repechage at the Shunyi Park (9.40am, Irish time).

THIS wasn’t in the script. Ireland’s lightweight rowers were supposed to sail through to the Olympic semi-finals on Thursday with their heavier brethren set for the roundabout repechage route.

ANOTHER piece of the Irish Olympic jigsaw was put in place for Beijing yesterday with confirmation of the composition of the two rowing crews.

IRELAND has secured a second boat at the Olympics as the Irish men’s lightweight four (LM4-) put in an impressive performance in the final qualifying regatta in Poznan, Poland yesterday to confirm their place in Beijing.

The Irish men's lightweight four of Paul Griffin, Richard Archibald, Gearoid Towey and Cathal Moynihan has qualified for this summer's Olympic Games.

At the final Olympic qualifying regatta in Poznan, Poland this morning the Irish men's lightweight four (LM4-) of Paul Griffin, Richard Archibald, Gearoid Towey and Cathal Moynihan won their heat to advance directly to Wednesday's final.

The Irish lightweight four of Paul Griffin, Richard Archibald, Gearoid Towey, and Eugene Coakley finished sixth in today's final at the Rowing World Cup in Lucerne.

An Irish rowing team of seven boats has been announced to compete in the opening regatta of the FISA World Cup series next week at the 1972 Olympic regatta course in Munich, Germany.

The Irish men's lightweight four have agonisingly missed out on qualifying the boat for next year's Olympics at the World Rowing Championships in Munich today.

The Irish men’s lightweight four (M4-) of Paul Griffin (Muckross), Richard Archibald (Lady Victoria), Eugene Coakley (Skibbereen) and Cathal Moynihan (Neptune) placed sixth in their semi-final of the Rowing World Championships in Munich this morning to progress to Saturday’s B final where they will race for Olympic qualification.

The Irish men’s heavyweight four (M4-) of Alan Martin (NUIG), Sean Casey (Muckross), Cormac Folan (NUIG), and Sean O’Neill (St.Michael’s) placed sixth in their semi-final of the Rowing World Championships in Munich this morning to progress to Saturday’s B final (places seven to twelve) where they will race for Olympic qualification.

THE Irish men’s lightweight four booked a place in the World Rowing Championship semi-finals by finishing third in their quarter-final in Munich yesterday.

The Irish men’s lightweight four of Paul Griffin, Richard Archibald, Eugene Coakley and Cathal Moynihan have booked themselves a place in the semi-finals of the World Rowing Championships in Munich today by finishing third in their quarter-final.

IRELAND’S Olympic class lightweight men’s four has progressed to the quarter-finals of the World Rowing Championships in Germany.

Four of the six Irish crews were in heats action on the opening day of the 2007 Rowing World Championships in Munich this morning.

Seven Irish boats; five of them in Olympic classes will take to the water in Lucerne, Switzerland this weekend for the final leg of this year’s Rowing World Cup series.

The Irish rowing team embark on the second outing of their international season tomorrow when they take to the water in the second of the three leg Rowing World Cup Series at the Bosbaan regatta course in Amsterdam.

Four Irish boats will contest tomorrow’s semi-finals at the opening World Cup regatta in Linz, Austria.

SEAN KELLY has dismissed as a “fallacy” the notion that the recent upsurge in sports funding and facilities will mean that all Irish athletes will soon train full-time in this country.

ALTHOUGH they won a bronze medal at the World Rowing Championships at Dorney Lake, Eton, yesterday, the Irish men’s lightweight four were left ruing the loss of a potential second consecutive silver after being pipped on the line by France.

The Irish men's lightweight four of Gearoid Towey Eugene Coakley Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin took Bronze in the World Championship final at Eton.

The Irish men's lightweight four (LM4) of Gearoid Towey (Fermoy), Eugene Coakley (Skibbereen), Richard Archibald (Lady Victoria BC), and Paul Griffin (Muckross) take on the elite of International rowing in this afternoon's world championship final at 2.15pm.

ALTHOUGH not quite in the circumstances they might have expected, the Irish men’s lightweight four of Gearoid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin have earned themselves a place in tomorrow’s World Championship final.

The Irish men's lightweight four (LM4-) of Gearóid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin have earned themselves a place in the World Championship final by taking third in today's semi-final.

THREE Irish crews have qualified for the semi-finals at the Rowing World Championships at Dorney Lake, Eton.

THE Irish men’s lightweight four of Gearoid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin will have to take the repechage route in order to qualify for the semi-finals at the Rowing World Championships after they were unexpectedly defeated by the Chinese four in yesterday’s heat.

The lightweight four of Gearóid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin yesterday made history.

The men's light four of Gearóid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin have become the first Irish crew ever to win the Rowing World Cup outright.

IRELAND’s lightweight four are targeting World Championship glory after their gold medal success on Saturday.

The Irish men’s lightweight four of Gearoid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin won their heat at the second leg of Rowing World Cup in Poznan, Poland this morning, to qualify directly for Saturday’s final.

Alan Campbell has secured victory in the single scull event at the Rowing World Cup in Munich.

The Irish men’s lightweight four of Gearoid Towey, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Paul Griffin have comfortably won their heat on the opening day of the Rowing World Cup in Munich, and progress directly to tomorrow’s semi-final (provisionally set for 4.20pm Irish time).

The Irish Sports Council today has unveiled a €6.17m package of investment into 18 different sports.

Ireland have won a silver medal at the World Rowing Championships in Japan.

Ireland's lightweight fours, stroked by Kerryman Paul Griffin, today eased through to their second straight World Cup regatta final, in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Ireland's rowers have struck bronze at the World Cup campaign at Munich today.

Ireland’s lightweight double of Sam Lynch and Gearóid Towey were shackled into fourth in the Olympic B final at Schinias this morning, as their first Olympics as a partnership ended in disappointment.

Irish Olympic rowing manager Richard Parr has insisted that the lightweight four, stroked by Kerryman Paul Griffin, will rise to the challenge of Sunday morning's final in Schinias.

Hopes are high that four athletes will win the first Irish rowing medal at the Olympics this weekend.

K1 canoeist Eion Rheinisch struggled during his first run and is currently 21st in the standings, 14.03secs behind leader Campbell Walsh of the UK.

There was good news for Ireland in Athens after the lightweight coxless four team of Richard Archibald, Eugene Coakley, Niall O' Toole, Paul Griffin made it through this morning's semi-final.

Ireland's lightweight four may not have got the rematch they wanted against Australia in their semi-final, but will have current World champions Denmark to contend with on Thursday (7.20am, Irish time).

RAMPANT Cork set up a tantalising All-Ireland hurling final against champions Kilkenny yesterday with an emphatic 18-point defeat of Wexford.

Irish medal hopefuls Sam Lynch and Gearoid Towey fired out a warning to their rivals in the Olympic lightweight men’s double sculls with a superb victory in the heats.