Commercial Rowing Club Dublin

Commercial Rowing Club
Location	Islandbridge, Dublin, Ireland
Coordinates	53°20′47″N 6°19′12″W / 53.346474°N 6.319968°W / 53.346474; -6.319968
Home water	River Liffey
Founded	1856
Affiliations	Rowing Ireland
Website	www.commercialrc.ie
Events
Commercial Regatta, Metro Regatta
Notable members
Niall O'Toole, George Rae

Commercial Rowing Club is a sports club located in Dublin, affiliated with Rowing Ireland.^[1] Commercial Rowing Club facilitates competitive rowing for Juniors(under 18 years of age)and Adults (including Novices, Intermediates, Seniors and Veterans). The Club is open to male and female athletes. The club colours are Myrtle Green, White & Azure Blue.

The Commercial Rowing Club Boathouse is located at Islandbridge, where the calm protected waters of the upper Liffey enable rowing year-round. Commercial also has access to the shared boathouse on Blessington Lake in Wicklow.

History

Commercial Rowing Club was founded in Ringsend in 1856.^[2] It is the second oldest rowing club in Ireland. The name dates an era when all non-university clubs were designated ‘commercial’. The original membership was drawn from the Commercial heart of Dublin, tailors, bankers and other shopkeepers of Henry Street and Grafton Street and the boat house was originally located in Ringsend.^[3] To avoid the inconvenience and dangers of the Tides and the port traffic, Commercial moved upstream from Ringsend to the peaceful waters of Islandbridge in 1942 ^[4] to take over the premises of Dublin Rowing Club, which had become insolvent.

In the sixties recruitment was predominantly among young working men who rowed mainly in Novice grades. With the boathouse locked up for the 1969 season the club decided to go in an entirely different direction and bring in juniors in Big Numbers in the seventies.^[5] Oarswomen had to be secretly introduced and trained to a standard where they would win at their first regatta. The site of a Commercial “ladies” crew in front on the winning straight was too much for even the most hardened misogynist and the girls were finally accepted in the club. In no time at all the membership went from 3 to 50 or 60 of all ages and both sexes.

Video History of Commercial Rowing Club

Fleet

In 2015, Commercial Boathouse contained the following fleet of boats for members' use:^[6] -

• 46 single sculls
• 6 double sculls
• 4 pairs
• 3 coxless quads
• 5 coxed quads
• 2 coxed fours
• 8 eights
• 21 Concept II ergometers

Achievements

The development of Commercial coincided with a new policy of the IARU to encourage small boat rowing. By the year 2000, Commercial Rowing Club had won nearly 100 Irish National Championship medals. This placed the club in second place in Ireland.

In 1991, at the World Rowing Championships in Vienna a sculler from Commercial RC named Niall O'Toole won a Gold Medal in the Men's Lightweight Single Scull, breaking the world record in time of 6m:49.49s in the process. This was Ireland's first Gold medal in any Rowing World Championship event. Niall went on to compete in three Olympic Games. In 1991 and 1994, Niall was presented with the Texaco All Star award. .^[7] The nineties brought in a total of 5 World Championship medals and numerous u/23 medals.^[8]

Regattas

Commercial Rowing Club has been strongly represented on the organizing committee for the Dublin Metropolitan Regatta (aka "Metro") since 1869.^[9] Outside of Metro, Commercial also regularly hosts its own regatta and, by 2008, Commercial had hosted its 26th regatta. Initially the regatta was for women's events only, but mens events were added in 1986.^[10]

References

Rowing Australian rowing Rowing Australia Rowing Championships Head of the River Canadian rowing Canadian Henley Rowing Canada Secondary School Rowing Association University Rowing Association New Zealand rowing Maadi Cup Rowing New Zealand The Great Race UK rowing Boston Marathon British Rowing British Rowing Championships Head of the River Race Henley Boat Races Henley Royal Regatta Henley Women's Regatta Scottish Boat Race Scottish Rowing Nat. Schools The Boat Race University rowing Welsh Rowing Women's Boat Race Women's Eights Head of the River Race US rowing College rowing CRASH-B Sprints Dad Vail Regatta Harvard–Yale Regatta Head of the Charles Regatta Head of the Fish Head of the Hooch Regatta Head of the Ohio Head of the Schuylkill Regatta IRA Championship Regatta NCAA Rowing Championship Poughkeepsie Regatta Stotesbury Cup Regatta FISA events European Rowing Championships Olympic Games Paralympic Games World Rowing Championships World Rowing Cup World Rowing Junior Championships World Rowing U23 Championships Types of rowing Adaptive Coastal Indoor rower Lightweight Racing shell Sculling Sweep Rowing tank Women's Lists Glossary of rowing terms Club oars National oars Rowing boat manufacturers Rowing venues School and university oars World records Category   Commons