Rosscarbery Rowing Club had a strong presence on the international stage in September, with five club members involved in the 2026 Home International Rowing Beach Sprints at Nairn Beach, near Inverness in Scotland.
Gabrielle O'Donoghue and Jack Hehir raced for Ireland against England, Scotland and Wales, continuing the club's growing representation in international beach sprints. The Rosscarbery connection ran through the whole team: Jeff O'Donoghue was head coach of Team Ireland, and Martin Hehir was team manager, with Niamh Hehir a Team Ireland boat handler.
Having such a large group representing Ireland is a very proud achievement for the club, and reflects Rosscarbery's growing involvement in beach sprints, the rowing format set to make its Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028.
How the day went
Racing took place on Saturday 19 September, starting with time trials for every event before the semi-finals and finals.
- Gabrielle O'Donoghue finished fourth in the junior women's single time trial. Tough conditions meant the junior head-to-head races couldn't go ahead, so the placings stood from the time trials.
- Jack Hehir, racing the under-23 mixed double with Tara Payne of Fermoy Rowing Club, missed out on gold by just 0.3 seconds.
A first for para rowing
Nairn also saw a new event: the first inclusion mixed double, where one rower in the boat is a para rower. All four nations entered a crew, and Ireland's Ella Keady (Tribesmen Rowing Club) and Seán Harte (Waterford Boat Club), part of the Irish team that Jeff and Martin brought to Scotland, won the event, beating Scotland in the final. The event was a pilot this year, with the aim of counting it towards the team trophy from 2027.
Overall, England won the team trophy, with Ireland just half a point behind Wales in fourth.
We count ourselves very lucky to have coaches of the calibre of Martin and Jeff in the club, and very proud of Gabrielle and Jack.
Header photo: England Rowing Team.
