Cracking final day at Irish Rowing Championship with tight races and photo finishes

The Third and final day of the Irish Rowing Championships held at the National Rowing Centre at Farran Woods took place today. With the weather holding beautifully for the third successive day and a tail wind on the course a fantastic days racing was in store for everyone.

The first final of the day started at 11:00am with the women's junior 16 quad scull. Followed swiftly by the women's junior pair which was won by the Ford sisters.

The Men's scull was a great race between UCD (O'Donovan) and Lee Valley (Keohane). In the final 250m Keohane pulled through to win by 2 seconds.

The Men's Intermediate pair was another photo finish race with St. Michaels of Limerick beating Carlow in the last few 250m of the race by only .6 of a second.

In the Women's senior scull Claire Lambe won her second championship of the event.

In the afternoon the rowing continued with many fast and tight races, the sun blazed down to add to the excitement of the final few races.

The Women's junior eight went to Portora boat club, to match their junior men's pot won earlier in the championships. The men's junior pair went to Presentation, Cork and the Women's junior quad to Skibbereen.

The composite of NUIG/Cork stormed through to win the Women's senior eight.

The day finished with the final everyone wished and hoped for, it was always going to be a tight one. Trinity took off at the start with an initial lead over NUIG/Grainne Mhaol (Galway) with UCD in third place. It was a battle the whole way down the course between the crews and even in the last 250m it was a difficult one to call. In the end with the crowd roaring NUIG/Grainne Mhaol rowed home to take their third consecutive title. A fitting end to a fantastic weekend.