Taoiseach Micheál Martin has hailed Irish Olympic rowing medallists and all of Team Ireland for their “courage” and “dedication” while promising to continue invest in Irish sport in order to create another generation of medal winners.
Speaking at the homecoming for the Irish Rowing Team at the National Rowing Centre in Farran, Co Cork, Mr Martin declared it a great sporting weekend for the country with the Rowing Championships and All-Ireland Senior Hurling Final giving the nation a taste of normality.
Mr Martin thanked the rowers for their “dedication” and “resilience” in reaching the championships, particularly amid the struggles of the pandemic.
Delighted to greet the @RowingIreland Olympic heroes at the homecoming in Cork tonight.
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) August 21, 2021
Irish rowing is going from strength to strength.
We are so proud of them – and every member of Team Ireland who inspired at #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/oDVuXjtZLV
“You should be very proud of yourselves. We had a very successful Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The level of participation was excellent across all our disciplines. Sport in Ireland is rooted in your local parish initially . . . You have made history which at a young age is such a wonderful thing in itself.”
The Taoiseach also congratulated the rowing coaches who helped the Olympians along the way, saying that their input was “instrumental” in terms of our success in Tokyo.
Minister of State for Sport Jack Chambers said he was particularly pleased that the the successful women’s Olympic rowing team hail from all over the country, with all four provinces coming together to represent Ireland.
“Cork, Down, Galway, Kerry and Dublin. Different counties, different clubs coming together to represent Ireland. The ability of yourselves, your coaches and your support staff to come together and achieve what you have done is really commendable.”
Gold medal winners Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan and bronze medallists Emily Hegarty, Aifric Keogh, Eimear Lambe and Fiona Murtagh were present at the event along with the rest of rowing team Ireland.
Rowing championships
Meanwhile, the 2021 Irish Rowing Championships have been taking place at the centre over the weekend. And 503 crews are entered in 55 categories, with a host of Ireland’s Olympians set to feature across the three days of action, which kicked off on Friday morning.
The championships are being live streamed for the first time. A schedule of 130 races is intended over the course of the three days.
Fresh off their win in Henley, and their incredibly impressive gold medal victory in the Lightweight Men’s Double Sculls, Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan are competing in multiple senior events as they look to add to an outstanding 2021.
Gary O’Donovan is also competing with Daire Lynch, Jake McCarthy, and Olympian Ronan Byrne of the Men’s Double Sculls crew from Tokyo, rounding out the men’s high-performance athletes taking part in the championships.
On the women’s high-performance front, two of Ireland’s bronze medal-winning women’s-four crew are competing, with Emily Hegarty and Aifric Keogh taking part in events.