The division one men’s single event is always a fascinating race at Grand League Regattas, usually full of international talent, talented domestic athletes, and up-and-coming junior athletes all racing alongside each other. While the national squads prepare for the Junior and U23 World Rowing Championships, and the World Cup series, the domestic athletes have a great chance to put themselves into higher-up finals usually reserved for international oarsmen. There are 61 scullers entered in the division one single, of which eight are competing in the senior category.
University of Galway Boat Club: Rian Claffey
The reigning junior single champion of Ireland, Rian Claffey joined his older brother on the River Corrib this year, attending the University of Galway. Coming from an impressive lineage of Athlone junior scullers and joining the exceptional sculling squad of the University of Galway Boat Club, Claffey will be well prepared to lead this field of scullers. Claffey has not competed at any regattas this year in the single, instead racing the senior quad and eight at the University Championships. Given his prior experience, and the high volume of training he is undoubtedly doing in the single, this should not impact his speed on race day.
Neptune Rowing Club: Andrew O’Connor
Another reigning sculling champion, this time the 2024 intermediate single champion, Andrew O’Connor is also moving up the ranks and competing in the senior category this season. Coming back to the sport after spending some time away, O’Connor won the intermediate event at last year’s championship in remarkable style, wearing a thick woolly hat that looked totally out of place on a hot July day. This season, having moved from Castleconnell to Neptune Rowing Club, O’Connor has shown some decent speed again, coming second at Commercial Regatta and second in the time trial at Skibbereen Regatta, placing fourth in the A-final. The field racing this event is different than the field at Skibbereen, so O’Connor should be well placed to better his earlier results this season.
Commercial Rowing Club: Andrej Liadov
The winner of this event last season, Andrej Liadov is racing the single again for the first time since last year’s Irish Rowing Championships. Having competed in Commercial’s senior eight in the earlier part of the season, Liadov is picking up a second oar for the business end of the year. We have seen from last year’s Cork Regatta victory, and his second-place finish in the intermediate single event at the Irish Rowing Championships that Liadov can be a formidable sculler. It remains to be seen how quick he will be this year, given his lack of racing in this boat class.
University College Cork Rowing Club: John Kearney
John Kearney of University College Cork Rowing Club was one of Team Ireland’s Olympic spares last year, however, has taken a slight step back from the heavy training load of national team rowing. Kearney has had more of a focus on rowing for his university team this year, and not yet in the single scull either. Nevertheless, he is undoubtedly a talented oarsman and not someone to write off for this event. He will be counting on every bit of his international rowing experience to keep the hungry domestic athletes at bay.
Skibbereen Rowing Club: Fionn O’Reilly
Fionn O’Reilly is another sculler who has represented Ireland at the junior and U23 stage. He switched from sweep rowing to sculling last year to represent Ireland in the quad at the U23 World Rowing Championships, where they won the B-final. O’Reilly continued that trend into regatta season this year, winning the B-final of the division one single scull at Skibbereen Regatta. He will be determined to go one better at this upcoming regatta, the final one of the year before the Irish Rowing Championships.
Prediction
O’Connor of Neptune RC has gotten the most racing in the single this year of this field, owing partly to the many regatta cancellations, which I think will stand to him at this race. Claffey of UGBC will also be at the top of this field, should he be able to take his end-of-year form from last year into the last stages of the racing season this year. I believe O’Connor should just be able to hold off Claffey, with the O’Reilly of Skibbereen slightly behind them. The lack of racing in the singles the other scullers have completed this season being the reason I wouldn’t fancy them at this year’s edition of Cork Regatta.
