As we say farewell, or Slán leat in Irish, to 2025, we look toward another new season of Irish racing in 2026. With some head racing taking place before Christmas, we got to see clubs trying out their potential project crews, with the end target being an Irish National Championship title in July. Here are some of my picks for the Women’s Crews to keep an eye on as the season unfolds.
Sophia Young – Methodist College Belfast
Under the guidance of former Irish lightweight Miles Taylor, athletes from Methodist College Belfast have consistently featured in A-final races of the domestic regatta season, and some have taken it a step further with international representation. Sophia Young is one such talent to emerge from Taylor’s coaching, racing at both the Junior European and World Rowing Championships in the double scull, placing sixth and fifth, respectively. Back home, she dominated the junior sculling scene, taking a clean sweep in the single, double and quad at the Irish Rowing Championships. This season will be her first as a U23 alongside balancing academics with A levels later in the year, and she has started strong by taking first place in the U23 category at the November Irish trial. We may not see a lot of domestic racing from Young in the early part of the season due to her studies, but she is likely to feature at the Irish Rowing Championships after exams and may even earn another green vest as a U23.
Enniskillen Royal Boat Club – Junior Eight
With Derek Holland at the helm, Enniskillen has consistently dominated the junior women’s eight at each renewal of the Irish Championships. With talent continuously developed through their program from Junior 16 to Junior 18, they always field a crew that is strongly considered to win at any regatta they attend. Last season, their top crew finished seventh in the A-final of National Schools’ Regatta before returning to Ireland to claim the Junior eight title at the Irish Championships. Out of that crew, only stroke Kate Huddleston is no longer a Junior this season, and with plenty of up-and-coming Junior 16 girls hungry for a seat in their school’s flagship boat, no doubt we will see another strong showing from these girls in July.
Dublin University Ladies Boat Club (DULBC) – Intermediate Coxed Four
The women of DULBC enjoyed two championship titles last season, with wins in the Intermediate pair and coxed four. Whilst the likes of University College Dublin and University College Cork focus on the eights, DULBC have shown strength in the coxed four event and at the Erne Fours head before Christmas, they won the intermediate coxed four, which also beat their own senior coxed four on time. Neither of those crews contained the athletes who won the intermediate title at the national championships, so a fresh line-up could feature on the start line to defend the crown.
Notable Mentions
The senior events at the Irish Championships saw many clubs call upon their Irish squad members, with world champion Fiona Murtagh leading the University of Galway to victory in the senior eight, Margaret Cremen adding the senior quad and single titles to her collection for University College Cork, whilst Emily Hegarty and Aoife Casey continued Skibbereen’s pot tally over 200. It is too early to know whether the squad athletes will be available again this year, but they would likely feature again at the top if they were to return to their clubs. In the club events, University College Dublin is a likely contender to keep a stronghold on the club eight and coxed four events with their established novice sweep programme providing the new talent each season, but keep an eye on Neptune Rowing Club, who have also developed a squad of women over the last few years who have come close to the title on several attempts.
