Something never seen before in Tipperary - an Ergo Extravaganza at Main Guard

On Saturday last, Clonmel Rowing Club (CRC) brought their ergometer rowing machines to the Main Guard in Clonmel to help raise funds and promote awareness of the club to the busy Christmas shoppers.

The organisers had the event well coordinated and from 10am to 4pm rowers, young and not-so-young, kept the flywheels on the ergometers spinning continuously. They gave it their all throughout the day and by the end of the evening 394 kilometres had been clocked up, a distance that would have brought us to Dublin and back and still have a few spins up the Suir to Knocklofty for change.

It was great to see CRC centre stage at the iconic Main Guard. The club, founded in 1869, is the oldest sporting club in the town.

Back in the early days women were not allowed to row, but gladly we have moved on from that and today generations of boys and girls have fond memories of their time in The Island.

Rowing endows qualities of self discipline, commitment and team work in its participants.

One of those rowers was Adi Roche, the founder of the Chernobyl Children’s charity. She rowed with the club in the 70s and she is still rowing today in Cork.

The town of Clonmel can be justifiably proud of its rowing club and the esteem it is held in can be gauged by the generous support we received from the public last Saturday.

Spot prizes were awarded to Andy Ryan and Paul Kelly for their guesses on the total amount of kilometres rowed.
Other prize winners were Cian Gregory in junior and Andrew Bourke in senior.

All that hard work needs fuel to keep it going and the hungry rowers were provided with pizza and chips from Tom Skinnys, to whom we say a big thank you.

Special thanks are extended to Denise, Ruth and Michelle and all the parents and volunteers for organising this important fundraising event, and a really big thank you to the people of Clonmel for their help in keeping CRC afloat.

As we finish up for the year we can reflect on a very satisfactory season, winning the junior men’s coxless pairs at the Home International and later Daire Lynch winning the bronze medal at the World Championships, which qualifies his boat for the Olympics in Paris next year.

Happy Christmas and good rowing in 2024.