University Boat race Lights Up the Liffey
First staged in 1947, the Colours Boat Race has long been a centrepiece of the Irish university rowing calendar, blending elite competition with tradition and student pride. Large crowds gathered along the Liffey quays on Saturday, with supporters from both institutions creating a lively atmosphere as the crews prepared for the annual showdown.
UCD Senior Men’s Eight crew have won this year’s Gannon Cup in the Dublin City Colours Boat Races, giving the club their fifth win in a row and the lead in the overall race series for the first time since 1976.
UCD now have 38 wins in the Gannon Cup, one more than Trinity’s 37. The race has been held between the two Dublin universities since 1947 and there was one dead heat in 1950.
Trinity Women’s Senior Crew won the Corcorcan Cup for Senior Women’s Eights beating their UCD counterparts by three lengths, having rowed strongly over the more than 2km course from O’Connell Bridge to Victoria Quay.
UCD won both the Women’s Novice Eights race, the Sally Moorhead Trophy, and the Men’s Novice Eights race, the Dan Quinn Shield.
The races involved the 76th edition of the Gannon Cup, which has been raced by Senior Men’s eights since 1947, and the 45th edition of the Corcoran Cup for Senior Women’s eights.
The Corcoran Cup was originally a Senior Women’s Coxed Four event, but evolved into an eights race in 1993, due to increased participation by women in rowing throughout the country. Trinity has recorded 18 wins and UCD has 27.
The Colours Boat Races began in 1947 when the Gannon Cup was presented in memory of UCD Boat Club Captain, Ciaran Gannon, who was killed while on active service with the Royal Army Medical Corps in Burma in 1944.
Since then the list of races has expanded to include the Corcoran Cup in 1980, the Dan Quinn Shield for Novice Men’s eights in 2004 and the Sally Moorhead Trophy for Novice Women’s eights in 2005.
This year’s event was officially supported by Dublin City Council as part of a new multi-year agreement between the local authority and the rowing clubs of both TCD and UCD. As part of this arrangement, the event previously referred to as the Colours Boat Races was renamed the Dublin City Colours Boat Races.
“It was fantastic to attend this year’s Dublin City Colours Boat Races and I’m pleased that the event was supported by Dublin City Council,” said Dublin Lord Mayor, Councillor Ray McAdam.
“This historic and annual race day is an important part of Dublin’s sporting calendar, creating a superb opportunity for spectators to witness high quality, head-to-head rowing on the River Liffey through the heart of the City Centre. I would like to congratulate all the crews on their performances. The races were hard fought and the wins were well-earned.”
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Image Credit: Sportsfile and DUBC
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