By Tim O’Shea

There were celebrations in Muckross last weekend, where members of the local rowing club were closely following proceedings the European U23 Rowing Championships, taking place in Belgium.

BELGIUM: Irish rowers at the European U23 Rowing Championships in Hazewinkel Belgium. From l-r: Ciaran Purdy (silver medalist in the Men's Lightweight Single) John Armstrong (coach) Niamh Coffey (winner - B Final Women's Lightweight Single) Ryan Spellman 10th overall in the Men's Heavyweight Single. Photo: Rowing Ireland

At the Hazewinkel lake venue in the north of the country, Muckross rower Niamh Coffey was making her international rowing debut having been selected to row for Ireland just two weeks earlier during a final water trial.

Her qualification however was the culmination of years of dedicated training both on land and water and followed her participation in several rounds of trials over the past rowing year.

COMPETITIVE

In a sign of the highly competitive standards required for qualification, the University of Limerick student was selected as the sole female representative for the prestigious competition with just two male rowers also selected, namely Ciaran Purdy of Queens University Boat Club and Ryan Spellman, a fellow student and rowing teammate of Niamh with UL.

Niamh, the daughter of Sean Coffey and Denise Casey of Muckross, continues a successful family tradition in the sport of rowing.

Niamh’s own involvement in rowing began during her first year in secondary school and from an early stage, her talent and commitment to the sport was evident.

In the past two years, Niamh has continued to develop her rowing talent and has met the rigours of a demanding training programme head on, all the while balancing her training with her studies in physiotherapy.

In 2021, Niamh caught the attention of many in the Irish rowing scene in winning not one but four Irish championship titles in a single weekend.

This resulted in Niamh’s eligibility ascending to the Senior grade of Irish rowing for the 2022 season with the Irish Championships of July this year witnessing a very memorable win for Niamh and her family.

Niamh’s talent did not go unnoticed by the Irish coaches who oversee the Rowing Ireland High Performance programme from their base at the National Rowing Centre.

Niamh’s selection for the European U23 Championships saw her train under the guidance of renowned Queens University coach John Armstrong.

MAKING HER MARK

On Saturday last, Niamh made her mark in the first of three heats with an impressive win over scullers from Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia and Finland.

This saw her qualify directly from the A/B semi-finals on Sunday morning with tough competition waiting from the competing heat races. In her semi-final race, Niamh was fourth with the competitors from Greece, Great Britain and Italy claiming the A final places and Niamh progressing to the B final.