KCC April 2015 update

The annual Kilcullen Canoe Club National Marathon ranking race took place on Sunday April 19th, writes club PRO Sinead Foley. This year’s race was held on the River Liffey and ran from Ballymore to Kilcullen.

It has been a few years since the race was run along this stretch of the river and the large turnout and great weather really added to the success of the day.

Kilcullen members placed well with near perfect race conditions. In K2, first place went to Noel O’Connell and David McDonnell. In Men’s K1 Division 3 Ronan Foley finished in first place. Joe Brown took first in Men’s K1 Division 4 with Michael O’Farrell 2nd. In K1 Division 5, Aaron Thorpe was first, with Scott Dignam 2nd.

In Ladies K1 Division 4, Mary Fitzgerald took 2nd place, while in Men’s GP Eamon Moran took first place, with Dermot Coogan in 3rd. Tracey Whitely took the 2nd in Women’s GP.

The Inny Slalom race also took place on Sunday April 19th in Ballymahon, Co Longford. KCC’s Oisin Farrell finished 2nd in the under 23s K1 and Men’s C1, while Ciara Farrell won the ladies under 16s K1. A very successful weekend for KCC.

In other news, KCC paddlers travelled to Nottingham on April 11th and 12th for the National Sprint Regatta. Ronan Foley and Aaron Thorpe won the K2 1000m & 200m and Ronan Foley won the K1 500m and 200m. Noel O’Connell took first place in Masters 200m.

The same weekend Oisin Farrell raced in the Grandtully Div 1 Pan Celtic Slalom on the River Tay in Scotland, taking first place in the Men’s Division 1 race, and 1st place in the under 23s on the Sunday. A great weekend's racing.

On Sunday last, 26th April, KCC paddlers travelled to Kilkenny for the annual Bennettsbridge-Thomastown marathon race on the River Nore. A beautiful day with incredible scenery made this race extremely enjoyable. KCC paddlers did well across all divisions.

In Division 3 Men’s K1 Ronan Foley took 1st, with Lar O’Brien in 3rd. In Division 4 Men’s K1 Joe Brown was 1st, with Johnny Barry 2nd, while in Division 5 k1 Aaron Thorpe and Scott Dignam were 1st and 2nd respectively. Eamon Moran won the Men’s GP, Alison Miley won the Women’s GP with Tracey Whiteley in 3rd place.

April was all in all very successful month for KCC. Beginner’s courses have begun at the club. With all equipment provided and experienced instructors why not give it a try? For more information contact Diane Brown at secretary@kilcullencanoeclub.com or drop down to the clubhouse any evening.