The Irish National Championships – held over three days on the second weekend of July – are the pinnacle of domestic racing in Ireland. It’s a special event where junior athletes’ success goes side-by-side with Olympians, and the entire rowing community unites in a brief, joyful celebration of sport.
A celebration, most certainly, but paramount to this status is a standard of rowing excellence, and this will most evidently be on display in the final of the women’s senior single. A bountiful set of entries has set the stage for an international-calibre final, and while the result may be somewhat predictable, it’s a big statement as to the allure of the Championships to host such a talented field.
Sophie Connolly, Commercial Rowing Club
Connolly joined Islandbridge-based Commercial R.C. this season, fresh off an appearance for Team England at the Home International Regatta. She’s enjoyed domestic success this year, winning at the Dublin Sculling Ladder and Trinity Regatta, and setting several national records on the erg. Her recent appearances at Henley Women’s and Royal Regattas will have given her confidence to come into the championships and face the best of the best.
Margaret Cremen, University College Cork Rowing Club
Despite commitments to the national team, Cremen had pulled on the UCC one-piece several times this season to race domestically, including triumphing in the senior single and eight at the University Championships. A two-time Olympian in the lightweight double, Cremen’s officially made the step to openweight racing this year, joining Zoe Hyde in a double that’s raced at the European Rowing Championships and World Rowing Cup II in Lucerne. A multi-time national champion and superb racer, it’ll be really interesting to see how the step out of lightweight has impacted an athlete of her calibre when head-to-head with the best the country can offer.
Claire Feerick, Neptune Rowing Club
Feerick is the defending champion in this boat class, sculling to a brilliant win at the 2024 Championships. Her buildup to that win was somewhat unorthodox, spending a season sweeping with Oxford Brookes and ultimately winning The Remenham Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta. She’s had a good 2025 so far, rejoining the national team setup and racing the first-ever Irish senior women’s quad at the European Rowing Championships, before switching to the four for World Rowing Cup II.
Fiona Murtagh, University of Galway Boat Club
The standout favourite for this event, it’s almost impossible to envision even the chance of a loss for Murtagh this weekend. A two-time Olympian, claiming bronze in the four at Tokyo 2020 and eighth in the pair at Paris 2024, she’s moved to the single for the 2025 season and has been reaping huge rewards. She’s placed second at the European Rowing Championships and World Rowing Cup II, both times being pipped by Lauren Henry, gold medallist from the quad at the Paris Olympic Games and recent winner of The Princess Royal Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta 2025.
Siobhán McCrohan, Tribesmen Rowing Club
A seriously experienced athlete, McCrohan made her first senior international appearance in 2007 and remained part of the Rowing Ireland setup until 2016. Injury forced her first step back from the programme, until a stellar return, which saw her claim gold and bronze at the 2023 and 2024 World Rowing Championships in the lightweight single.
She raced the same boat class at the recent World Rowing Cup II, placing fifth. McCrohan is also entered for the lightweight scull at the Championships – she will be entering as the heavy favourite there.
Other Entries
The field is so top-heavy with talent it’s easy to look past some burgeoning athletes. Aoibhe Horan of Killorglin won the intermediate double at the Championships in 2024, and Amy Barrett of the University of Limerick is the reigning national champion in the senior quad and eight. Molly Curry of Queens’ University Belfast just went toe-to-toe with Imogen Grant in the championship single at Henley Women’s Regatta, Áine O’Mahony of Fermoy attended the U23 World Rowing Championships in 2024 in the lightweight double, and Niamh Kilgallon has just been preselected for the Home International Regatta. This portion of the entries, all university age, are the up-and-comers of Irish rowing, and their prospects are an exciting thought.
Prediction
It’s impossible not to call Murtagh the far and away favourite to take the title, but it is going to be phenomenally exciting to watch such a gifted group do battle, and I think Cremen will take second and Feerick third. One of the features of this race I am most excited to observe is how the current or former lightweight group stacks up against the rest of the field, and all in all, I am expecting a superb race with top-quality sculling on exhibition.
