St. Patrick’s Rowing Club completed another successful year with another haul of trophies at the climax of the rowing season. The August bank holiday saw the St Patrick’s Rowing Club Senior Crew emerge victorious from the Senior Cup in Wicklow, on the back of other successes throughout the season.
The win in Wicklow Town marked a special occasion for team members Ken Cunningham and Gay Murphy, with the victory marking Ken’s first Senior Cup for the club and Gay’s 18th title. St Pat’s have failed to win the trophy on only four occasions since the year 2000. The competition was contested by a combination of the main rowing clubs, including clubs from Ringsend, Dun Laoghaire, Arklow, Skerries and Wicklow.
Although the Wicklow trophy is most prestigious in the senior’s rowing canon, this stellar season for St Pat’s also saw them claim silverware in other races, such as Stella Maris, Skerries, Greystones, Dalkey, Wicklow and Kerry. The season ended with St Pat’s losing only two of their races overall.
NewsFour spoke to the lads as they displayed their season’s trophy haul outside the club’s headquarters in Ringsend. Cunningham spoke of his delight at finally lifting the elusive Wicklow Senior Cup, as he has chosen this as the appropriate time to retire after an eventful 42-year rowing career.
“I started rowing in 1972; 20 successful years rowing for Dalkey,” he said. “I came in and rowed with Stella Maris first, and then eventually came down to St Pat’s and had some good years, but especially this year, which was the icing on the cake. The lads are absolute legends.”
John Doyle of St Pat’s spoke of the Senior Crew’s accomplishments and how the team will be experiencing some significant future changes after many years working together.
“That’s what the end of the season comes down to, and if you win in Wicklow, that’s the main thing,” Doyle said. “We’ve had a very successful year with all the lads jumping in, and it will probably be the last year we are all rowing together, so we wanted to go out on a high. Hopefully they will have many more wins to come.”
Doyle also expressed his thanks to all the other members who rowed and coxed in the senior crew since the year 2000, Philip Murphy for his training, and Irene Montgomery for her organisation within the club. He also sent gratitude to their sponsors, Dublin Port Company and Bob and Monica Prior in the Yacht Tavern. As for this season and what it holds for the future, it was probably best summed up by Doyle himself: “C’mon the Paddys!”
By Craig Kinsella