ROWING NEWS ROUND-UP:THERE WAS something of an air of When We Were Kings about the launch in the last week of the History of the Garda Siochana Boat Club at the Garda boathouse in Islandbridge.
As with Leon Gast’s superb documentary of the Ali-Foreman Rumble in the Jungle of 1974, the occasion evoked most of the exciting sporting era of the 1970s, and the men who made it memorable.
Men like Willie Ryan and Seán Kavanagh, both celebrating the launch and celebrated in the beautifully-produced 445-page history of the club from 1954 until the present.
Ryan combined with Christy O’Brien, Jim Muldoon and Mick Ryan, and cox Liam Redmond, to form one of the great Ireland teams of the 1970s.
The Garda coxed four took on the best in the world and beat them at Lucerne, Henley and Duisburg.
At the Olympic Games in Montreal in 1976 they represented Ireland, and despite catching a huge crab (missing a stroke) which almost stopped them dead, they were one of four crews to break the world record in the semi-final – but unfortunately they placed fourth, thus failing to make the A Final. They won the Petite Final (B Final), finishing seventh overall.
Kavanagh might have formed one of the saddest stories of the book. The great breakthrough for Garda came in 1965 when they won the senior eights title at the National Championships for the first time, but it was to be the number four man’s last race – Kavanagh was seriously injured in a crash and never rowed again. But, from his wheelchair, Kavanagh (captain in 1973 and 1975) has been a guiding light to the club through rich and leaner times.
The book is somewhat constrained by its year-by-year, fact-by-fact structure, but the images and the way they are presented steal the show: go back in time to 1955 and the Garda clubhouse and tennis courts; Dublin in 1957, as an eight rows by the quays of queuing buses; the Garda maiden (novice) crew winning the eights title in 1960 with seven men – from the start (the stroke man was ill and they rejigged and tied up the four seat)!
The compilers, Graham Tolan (a Garda sergeant) and Martin Mulligan (a detective Garda) have chronicled their club’s waxing and waning with some care, and one of the joys of the production is the little nuggets they have unearthed – like the official letter which refused (!) paid leave to the Garda elite four for the Olympic Games in Montreal. Different times indeed.
Back in the present, Lagan Scullers plan to officially open their new boathouse on Sunday, while the safety matters on the Liffey at Islandbridge will be on the agenda at a special meeting on Wednesday at Neptune Rowing Club.
