20 November 2025

By Greg Denieffe

Greg Denieffe gets an early Christmas present.

Liam O’Gorman, Irish sports journalist, writes in his foreword to the hot-off-the-press book by Kieran Kerr:

Blades of Glory is a fitting tribute, in the year of his passing, to Micheal Johnston. The great chronicler of Irish rowing would surely have exulted in the detail and revelled in the personal histories marbled through this tale of the sport he loved.

No doubt about the truth of that sentiment or about his concluding statement that this book is “above all, about those who put the sport they love above personal concerns.”

The history of the Irish Rowing Championships started with a single race at the 1912 Dublin Metropolitan Regatta when City Of Derry Boating Club beat Neptune Rowing Club by one length in the first Senior Eights Championship of Ireland.

When the Maiden Fours (now Club Fours) was added to the list of championship events in 1973, it was only the fifth event to have received the honour of Championship Status.

Since then, there has been an explosion in the number of events, with fifty-three events available across the three days of the most recent Championship Regatta in July 2025.

Kieran Kerr has done a stellar job in compiling this contribution to Irish rowing books. It tells the story of the development and growth of the championships through more than a century, only interrupted by the Great War and the COVID-19 pandemic. It recounts many stories, including the threat by the clubs not to accept the Big Pot (as the Senior Eights Championship trophy was affectionately known) because it was made in England, the wrangling by regattas to secure a championship event, which up to the 1970s were moved around the country on rotation. In addition to the history of the championships, the book is packed with facts, including the results of the 1,830 championships which have taken place to date, details of the 28 courses on which the championships have taken place, course records and club rankings.

My favourite part of the book is the chapter on the perpetual trophies awarded to the clubs of the winning crews.

There are also sections on the Coastal, University and Indoor Rowing Championships as well as some long-forgotten events such as the Provincial and Sprint Championships.

Overall, a must-read for all those interested in Irish rowing.

Blades of Glory – The History of the Irish Rowing Championships (2025).

Paperback (24cm x 17cm) – 216 pages – published by Yellow Hedgehog Publishing.

The book will be on sale at the Indoor Championships in the University of Limerick on Saturday, 22 November. The price on the day will be €20. It is hoped that it will be available in bookshops shortly, but if you are in a hurry to get a copy e-mail Kieran at irishrowingarchives@gmail.com with the price depending on location: Ireland & NI €25; GB & EU €30; elsewhere, please request a price.

Like many, I have fond memories of him, particularly as the Umpire’s Examiner in the 1980s when I was licenced to umpire by the I.A.R.U. and seeing him at Henley Royal Regatta where he was a Steward.

There are obituaries on the Rowing Ireland website here and on Aflot.ie here.