The domestic regatta season officially kicks off this coming Saturday with the largest ever Neptune Regatta taking place in Islandbridge, Dublin.

The 60th Erne Head of the River (HOR) took place last weekend in Enniskillen, with an entry of 90 crews from 29 clubs taking part in the event, which consisted of a 6,000 metre time trial. 

International trials and assessment will take place at the National Rowing Centre in Farran Wood, Cork, on the weekend of March 25-26th.

Paul and Gary O’Donovan remain the two fastest lightweight scullers in the country. 

The Irish domestic rowing calendar gets underway this weekend with the Cork Head of the River. It’s the first of eight “heads” to be held around the country between now and April 1, when events change to full regattas. The main difference here being that HORs are simply timed events where boats are let off one at a time over longer distances, while a regatta comprises of side by side racing and considerably weightier glory for title-holders.

A West Cork man who was four times over the drink-driving limit when he crashed his BMW into a roundabout in Skibbereen, killing a woman and paralysing her friend, has been given a four-year jail term following an appeal.

The sentence of a drunk driver who killed a woman and paralysed her friend in Cork has been reduced from seven years to four on appeal.

The Court of Appeal has today adjourned sentencing a Cork man who was four times over the limit when he crashed his BMW into a roundabouut killing a woman and paralysing her friend in Skibbereen two-and-a-half years ago.

A seven-year sentence imposed on a man who was four times over the limit when he crashed his BMW into a roundabout killing a female passenger and paralysing her friend was “out of line” with other sentences for dangerous driving, the Court of Appeal has found.

It’s now almost mandatory to have an entertaining sketch video as part of your big day but these two lads from Valentia Island really went all out.

I arrive back from the Canary Islands, with a brief stop-over in London, and have messages on my telephone which make me wonder if there is more exotic wildlife to be seen in West Cork than in many far-flung places.

A man who was four times over the alcohol limit when he crashed his BMW into a roundabout killing a woman and paralysing her friend has moved to appeal his seven-year prison sentence.

“When I heard Meg had been killed in a car crash, my world fell apart. When Meg was taken, I lost my permanent carer, my confidante, my reason for getting up and fighting my illness.”

A man who was charged yesterday with dangerous driving causing the death of a young woman in a car crash in West Cork last April has been sent forward for trial.

A 26-year-old Cork man has been charged with dangerous driving causing death on connection with a crash in which a woman was killed and four others injured.

EVERYONE of a certain age remembers — or claims to remember — the day US president John Fitzgerald Kennedy died.

An age-old rowing tradition on the famous Lakes of Killarney will be celebrated with a visit, this summer, by crews from famed universities Oxford and Cambridge.

UCD won the blue riband senior eight race at the Irish Rowing Championships at Inniscarra on Saturday and denied NUIG/Gráinne Mhaol a third consecutive title.

THURSDAY’S ugly storm clouds passed and sunshine returned to Shunyi Park yesterday but it proved another grey, miserable day for Irish rowing.

Several Irish athletes are in action in a range of events at the Beijing Olympics today.

THE Irish heavyweight fours will be in good company in this evening’s Olympic B Rowing final at Shunyi Park, (5.50pm, local; 10.50am, Irish).

Ireland's heavyweight four rowers have failed to qualify for the Olympics final in Beijing.

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.

Olympic swimmer Andrew Bree failed to qualify from his 100m breaststroke heat despite a personal best time of 1:01.76.

The Irish men’s fours rowing team has made it through to the semi-final by coming third in their quarter-final.

THE people of Killarney pushed out the boat last night to give a royal send-off to three local oarsmen heading to Beijing for the Olympic Games.

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

In the 'B' final of the men's heavyweight four (M4-) at the final leg of the Rowing World Cup in Poznan, Poland this morning the Irish quartet of James Wall, Alan Martin, Cormac Folan, and Sean O'Neill finished fifth; an overall placing of eleventh at this, the last regatta before the Olympic Games.

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.

Ireland’s heavyweight pair (M2-) of Sean Casey and Jonno Devlin, and lightweight double (LM2x) of Eugene and Richard Coakley both missed out on a place in tomorrow’s finals of the Olympic qualifier, when finishing fourth and fifth respectively in their semi-finals today.

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.

On semi-final day at the Rowing World Cup in Lucerne, Switzerland, the men’s lightweight four fared best of the Irish in action, finishing third in their semi-finals to advance to tomorrow’s A final.

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 heavyweight four of Alan Martin (NUIG), Sean Casey (Muckross), Cormac Folan (NUIG) and Sean O'Neill (St.Michael's) have sensationally qualified the boat for next year's Olympic Games in Beijing.

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.

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.

Ireland has won its first medal, bronze, at the Rowing World Cup this year thanks to a superb performance from the ever improving Orlagh Duddy in the non-Olympic lightweight single scull.

The Irish men's heavyweight four of Alan Martin, Sean Casey, Cormac Folan and Sean O'Neill are through to their final at the Rowing World Cup in Amsterdam.