On July 13th, 2025, as the NRC started to depopulate, car-hauled trailers began exiting along the dust-covered paths that so many walked upon over the weekend. In these trailers were not only boats and oars, but rather the equipment that was used to win or lose championship titles that would change the course of a person’s life and a clubs’ history forever. The boats, whether they were newly bought or generations old, were launched down a stretch of water in hopes that their bowball would cross the finish line first, while the oars that accompanied them were freshly sanded and coated in beautiful, historic club colours and designs, in hopes that they might have an impact on the performance of the rowers.
For one club, leaving the NRC behind on that mesmerising summer evening meant that they were leaving behind a small piece of their hard work and taking home a large part of history. That club was University College Dublin Boat Club (UCDBC) and University College Dublin Ladies Boat Club (UCDLBC).
History
In a period of rising nationalism tension after the 1916 Easter Rising and a period in which the First World War was taking place, the club was founded in March 1917 with a small collective of founding student members from the university, led by one of its law professors, Arthur Clery. At this time, the club had just transformed from a crazy idea into a possible major success, but the club had no boat house, no boats, no funds. Clery was given permission to use the boats and the premises at Ringsend, which signalled the start of the club’s progression.
In spite of the very small numbers of members the club had accumulated in its infancy, UCDBC kicked off to a competitive start very quickly, as members took to the water at the Metropolitan Clubs Regatta Fete on July 27, 1917. The boats that were in action comprised of a coxed pair and a four. The pair beat Commercial Rowing Club in the heat by three lengths however they lost to Neptune in the final. The four failed to progress after losing by a length and a half to Neptune in the heat.
The club struggled to gain much traction, largely because the surroundings were not very attractive; set on a confluence between the Liffey and the Dodder. With the two being effectively tidal rivers, very little could be launched at low tide. Furthermore, the water was barely ever calm, with wind being a constant hazard throughout the year, and day-to-day river traffic was terrible on good summer days.
By the time World War I was over, the rowing scene in the capital began slowly recovering with the sport gaining popularity and local clubs expanding. In 1928, the club moved from Ringsend to Dublin Rowing Club in Islandbridge. After the clubs’ founder, Arthur Clery, passed away in 1932, he left money to purchase new boats, and later in the year the club moved into its own boathouse for the first time.
In 1939, the club struck gold by winning its first ever Irish Championship in the men’s senior eight – a category that would be won countless times again in the future. From then on, the men’s squad grew larger each year, with notable success across the water at Henley Royal Regatta, along with a multitude of rowers from the club competing in the London 1948 and Montreal 1976 Olympic Games.
UCD Ladies Boat Club
Held somewhat separate to the original UCDBC, the UCD Ladies Boat Club was founded in 1975. The club was momentous and a historic move in gender equality at the time, as it was the first women’s boat club in Ireland. They, similar to the men, took time gaining attention and collecting rowers, yet by the 1990s they were setting up for success.
In 1995, after Rowing Ireland finally introduced women’s rowing, the first Irish Championship women’s senior eight gold medal was taken by the UCDLBC crew. The following year, the Ladies Boat Club win the Open Eight category in Henley Women’s Regatta, and they also regained their Championship Senior 8+ title. Between the years of 2004 and 2006 UCDLBC returned to the Henley course to showcase major performances and take the club to a much higher level on the international rowing scene. Overall, the club massively benefitted from the change as the club became equally successful in both gender categories in a short space of time.
Last Season
Last season, the club’s success was absolutely incredible. Both the men and women had equal success as they rowed with supreme dominance over every other university crew across the country. The summer was an array of talent and a showcase of how brilliant the UCD Rowing program is working. Leading up to Champs, the club swept through the University Championship and Cork Regatta with what looked like superb ease. After they set the standard and placed fear in their rivals, things only got better.
Across the Championship weekend, the ladies took home the club coxed four, club eight and novice eight wins, while the men took home the senior eight, senior coxless four and intermediate eight titles. It was a historically successful champs, especially as the ladies displayed how successful their novices were in learning to row, while for the men, it showcased squad depth perfectly.
This Year
Recent months have seen them row extremely well in Enniskillen for the Fours’ HOR where the men won the senior and intermediate coxed fours alike. The men and women also travelled to Boston for the Head of the Charles Regatta, where both laid down solid performances overall.
As the competitions start getting closer and the idea of champs starts to re-enter the minds of so many rowers up and down the country, the tension is palpable. With the men having displayed such strong performances both this year and last, they can also be reassured by the large crew and variety of talent they have acquired. They will be hard to beat this year as, unlike other clubs, they have the ability to field two championship winning eights on the same weekend. They will certainly face competition, but it’s going to be a very exciting season for the club.
On July 10th 2026, rowers, coaches and supporters among all other members of the rowing community, both past and present, will descend upon the NRC. Trampling the dirt paths, wading through the Lee as they launch from the slipway, warming up alongside the Olympians that shaped and inspired their sporting endeavour, and for some, climbing the podium to receive the consecrate pot that will forever be theirs and only theirs. Rest assured there will always be one university club in attendance. That club, with blue and yellow blades, is UCD, whose athletes will take to the water in hopes that Irish Championship history repeats itself.
