A trip inside the world of Irish rowing

On a pleasant day, the view from the National Rowing Centre is picture postcard perfection.

Rolling green hillsides fill the frame to the left and right, Farran Woods leaning in from one side, and then the pièce de résistance, the massive spread of Inniscarra Lake glistening in the centre, serene and soothing.

Things looked slightly less inviting last month though as Colm O’Connor’s visit to the Lee Valley coincided with the arrival of Storm Darwin, with the wind measurement system clicking dangerously close to hurricane levels as the angry waters churned like a gigantic washing machine stuck on a spin cycle.