ROWING:MUNSTER RUGBY is one of the success stories in Irish sport. Clubs in the province have their reasons for pride; the red shirt has taken the power of their combined strength and multiplied it.

Now, rowing is about to test the strength of the formula.

The board of Rowing Ireland has given its imprimatur to Munster Rowing, which will pull club rowers together to form crews which will compete at big events outside Ireland, such as the London Head of the River and the (British) Metropolitan Regatta.

The idea is the brainchild of James Mangan, who showed patience and persistence in steering it through troubled waters after the Rowing Ireland board initially rejected his proposal.

The University of Limerick director of rowing was a very successful coach in the United States, forming Saugatuck rowing club in Connecticut and coaching at junior, senior and under-23 level in the United States system.

In the coming days he expects some big names from inside and outside the country to come on board in helping the project succeed.

He sees the project as filling the need of keeping ambitious rowers on board even if they initially fall short of international standard.

“What rugby has done is create the perfect template for us in rowing,” said Mangan.

He met with top rugby coaches and high performance directors as he thought about creating an environment which stimulated athletes as they target making their way into the national team.

Mangan has spoken to Martin McElroy, who heads up the Ireland High Performance programme in rowing and lead coach Adrian Cassidy and he says he has encountered no opposition.

“I’ve never felt we have been on a different page,” he says.

The president of Rowing Ireland, Anthony Dooley, is an enthusiastic supporter of the development. “It is something that perhaps all the other provinces should be looking at going forward,” he said.

“I think if one province gets going, I think the other provinces will too,” Mangan said.

Meanwhile, the National Rowing Centre will be on a firmer long-term footing as Rowing Ireland has recently signed a lease with the ESB, which controls Iniscarra Lake.

Plans for work on the slips, the start and finish and resurfacing around the boathouse can now be progressed.

Meanwhile, Coleraine rowers did exceptionally well at the British winter assessment in Lincolnshire last weekend.

Richard Chambers won the lightweight single from his younger brother Peter – who was just 28 hundredths of a second behind him.

Alan Campbell won the men’s open single with almost 12 seconds to spare.

Enniskillen woman Leonora Kennedy was 14th in the women’s single sculls trial.

The standard of coaching in Ireland has been coming on, and the coach education officer of Rowing Ireland, Pat McInerney, deserves credit for the programme of courses he organises.

He has announced an ambitious programme for the year ahead, with the first set of Level One courses set for just three weeks’ time, on January 14th in Cork Boat Club.

Next year promises to be one of the busiest for the sport: from January 21st, which is pencilled in for the Sligo head of the river, until mid-September and the European Championships, there is barely a weekend free of exciting action.

And Ireland will host the World Rowing Coaches Conference in early November.

The big one, of course, is the Olympic Games in July/August. The fervent hope here is that there is an Ireland rowing team competing.