Masters rowers produced a string of first-place finishes at the 2025 World Rowing Masters Regatta in Banyoles, Spain (10–14 September). With over 3,700 athletes from 747 clubs worldwide, this year’s regatta was the second largest in history, and Rowing Ireland clubs made their presence felt across the full programme of racing.
Athletes from Commercial, St. Michael’s, Lee, Tribesmen, Shandon, Cappoquin, Athlone, Killorglin, Old Collegians, Clonmel, Fermoy, Muckross, and others secured impressive wins, often in collaboration with international crews.
First Place Finishes:
Women’s A 1x – Sophie Connolly (Commercial RC)
Women’s D 2x – Elzbieta Pasinska (St. Michael’s RC) with Samantha Johnson (Victoria Lake, RSA)
Men’s F 1x – Denis Crowley (Commercial RC)
Men’s A 1x – Luke Hannon (Athlone BC)
Women’s C 4- – Killorglin / Old Collegians / St. Michael’s (Naomi Fearon, Fiola Foley, Sheila Clavin, Vanessa Lawrenson)
Women’s F 2x – Julia Wood (Exeter, GBR) & Caroline Crowley (Cappoquin RC)
Men’s E 8+ – Shandon BC, Belfast BC, Commercial RC, Cork BC, Neptune RC, Shannon RC, Belfast RC (Kenneth McDonald, William Hunter, Oisin McGrath, Colm Butler, Gary O’Neill, Brian Crean, Gerard Murphy, Denis Crowley, Joy McAleer)
Women’s A 2- – Sophie Connolly (Commercial RC) & Molly Varley (Nottingham, GBR)
Women’s B 8+ – Commercial / Killorglin / Old Collegians / St. Michael’s (Eimear Corcoran, Aoife Feeley, Sophie Connolly, Naomi Fearon, Breanna Larsen, Fiola Foley, Sheila Clavin, Vanessa Lawrenson, Kate Rooney)
Women’s E 1x – Sally Cudmore (Lee RC)
Men’s D 4- – Commercial / Neptune (Gerard Murphy, Colm Butler, Gary O’Neill, Denis Crowley)
Women’s C 2x – Sheila Clavin & Vanessa Lawrenson (St. Michael’s RC)
Women’s D 4x – Composite: Victoria Lake (RSA), BRV (GER), Lee RC (IRL), RHKYC (HKG) (Anna Fisher, Sally Cudmore, Susanne Schäfer, Samantha Johnson)
Men’s C 4+ – Muckross RC & Fermoy RC (Brendan O’Neill, John Buckley, Paul Kennedy, John Hurley, Siobhán Joy cox). The composite of Castleconnell & University of Limerick finished a close second in this event.
Women’s B 1x – Sheila Clavin (St. Michael’s RC)
Women’s E 8+ – Lee RC’s Sally Cudmore in an international composite with Calgary (CAN), Sport Gent (BEL), Montreal (CAN), Pocock (USA), SMARK (FIN), Strathclyde Park (GBR), Delftsche Sport (NED)
Women’s E 8+ – Tribesmen / Commercial / Old Collegians / St. Michael’s composite (Anne Grete Gormley, Monica McAnena, Gillian Carolan, Elzbieta Pasinska, Eimear Corcoran, Heidi Sohlberg Siltanen, Sheila Clavin, Vanessa Lawrenson, Kate Rooney)
Women’s C 8+ – Commercial / Old Collegians / St. Michael’s / Tralee (Eimear Corcoran, Naomi Fearon, Breanna Larsen, Aoife Feeley, Elzbieta Pasinska, Paula Moloney, Sheila Clavin, Vanessa Lawrenson, Kate Rooney)
Men’s F 2x – John O’Neill (Shandon) & Paul Nugent (Clonmel)
Women’s A 4+ – Nottingham (GBR) / Commercial (IRL) (Catherine Beaumont, Anna Beaumont, Molly Varley, Sophie Connolly, Hannah Lagorio Price)
Men’s D 1x – Denis Crowley (Commercial RC)
Men’s H 1x – Paul Gallen (Athlone BC)
Men’s C 4x – Tribesmen / Lagan Scullers (Phillip Beattie, Kevin Boyle, Peter Scott, Neil Darby)
Women’s C 1x – Sheila Clavin (St. Michael’s RC) & Sally Cudmore (Lee RC)
Women’s A 2x – Sandra Wall (Clonmel) & Eimear Corcoran (Commercial)
Women’s B 4- – Old Collegians / St. Michael’s (Naomi Fearon, Aoife Feeley, Breanna Larsen, Vanessa Lawrenson)
Women’s C 2- – Fiola Foley (Killorglin) & Vanessa Lawrenson (St. Michael’s)
Men’s E 1x – Denis Crowley (Commercial RC)
Women’s B 4+ – Old Collegians / Tralee (Naomi Fearon, Aoife Feeley, Breanna Larsen, Paula Moloney, Kate Rooney)
Men’s F 4x – Shandon / Sport Gent (BEL) / Galway / Clonmel (Hein Timmerman, John O’Neill, John Heaney, Paul Nugent)
Women’s C 4x – Commercial RC (Rachel Smith, Elisabeth Van Nulck, Eimear Corcoran, Cliodhna O’Connor)
Women’s C 4x – Commercial / Killorglin / St. Michael’s (Sophie Connolly, Sheila Clavin, Fiola Foley, Vanessa Lawrenson)
Women’s A 8+ – Nottingham (GBR) / Commercial (IRL) (Rachel Mathewson, Marlene Ortiz Rivas, Josephine Bowman, Anna Beaumont, Molly Varley, Sophie Connolly, Catherine Beaumont, Laura Boddy, Tamsin Jones)
Women’s D 1x – Sally Cudmore (Lee RC)
Men’s E 4- – Shandon / Cork / Neptune / Shannon (Kenneth McDonald, Colm Butler, Oisin McGrath, Brian Crean)
Men’s F 8+ – Shandon / Belfast BC / Commercial / Cork / Neptune / Shannon / Belfast RC (Kenneth McDonald, William Hunter, Oisin McGrath, Colm Butler, Gary O’Neill, Brian Crean, Gerard Murphy, Denis Crowley, Joy McAleer)
Men’s D 4x – Lagan Scullers (Daniel Meanley, Peter Scott, William Gilbert, Neil Darby)
Alongside these first-place finishes, there were also a number of close second and third places, reflecting the depth and competitiveness of Masters crews. Crews were hugely successful across the five days of racing, with wins in every boat class from singles to eights. The breadth of participation — and the scale of victories secured both independently and in international composites — reflects the strength of Ireland’s Masters rowing community.
