The selection process for the 2026 World Rowing Championships begins this weekend with the first water trials of the season. Hundreds of athletes will descend upon the National Rowing Centre on Saturday to test their skill against the best the country has to offer. With no athletes from last season’s Senior World Championship team competing in the men’s pair, the win in this category is very much up for grabs.
University College Dublin A
The University College Dublin A crew will put out a strong performance this weekend, with two athletes from last season’s championship winning men’s intermediate eight, Ross Mason and Eoin McGrath. Mason’s international experience from his appearance at the 2025 U23 European Championships will have undoubtedly provided him with an abundance of racing experience that he will want to put to good use this weekend.
University of Galway Boat Club/Cork Boat Club
This composite crew consists of University of Galway athlete, Martin O’Grady and University of Galway alumni Fionnán McQuillan-Tolan, who moved to Cork Boat Club in 2024. This crew will reunite after a long hiatus, having not raced together since the 2022 season where they reached the final of the men’s senior pair at the National Championships. Since then both athletes have represented Ireland internationally, with Tolan rowing in the Senior World Championships in 2023 and O’Grady competing at the U23 World Championships last summer where he won a bronze medal in the men’s double. With a current Irish 2k record holder and world bronze medallist on board, I think this crew will be the ones to beat this weekend.
Cork Boat Club A
Cork Boat Club’s A crew of Johnny Cuddy and Thomas Earley will want to kick their season off to a good start this Saturday, after a disappointing 2025 season where they left the National Championships empty handed. Cuddy and Earley have proven their skill before, having sat in the stern pair of the history-making Cork BC senior eight that clinched the national title in 2024. This crew are no strangers to winning and will want to start their season off on the right foot at the first trial of the season.
University of Galway Boat Club
U23 World bronze medallist Donagh Claffey is dropping one oar and switching from sculling to sweep after an extremely successful 2025 season. He is joined by Harry Feeney, who stroked the UGBC men’s club 4+ to the national title last season. How will this new partnership perform in a stacked field?
Prediction
When it comes to predicting the winner in this event, it is hard to look past the UGBC and Cork Boat Club composite crew, however I expect UCD and Cork Boat Club A to put up a good fight.
