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UCD beats Trinity in Liffey boat race

Posted March 20, 2017

  • UCD win three out of four races
  • UCD senior men’s have won in 9 out of last 10 years

University College Dublin won both the men’s and women’s senior cups in the annual Colours Race against Trinity College Dublin.

The senior men from (opens in a new window)UCD Boat Club won the Gannon Cup by three lengths. The crew was led by UCD Ad Astra Elite Athlete and medicine student David O’Malley. They took the lead soon after the start and maintained it through to the finish.

UCD's crew included David O’Malley (medicine, stage 3), Shane O’Connell (law with economics, stage 2), Shane Mulvaney (science, stage 3), Eoin Gleeson (commerce, stage 3), Andrew Griffin (medicine, stage 5), Max Murphy (law with economics, stage 4), Tiarnan Doherty (engineering master’s) and cox Orlagh Reid (science, stage 4).

UCD men's seniors cross the line in first

The seniors from (opens in a new window)UCD Ladies Boat Club took the Corcoran Cup in a race that saw Trinity College lose their rudder towards the end. Trinity had been keeping a distance of less than a length from UCD until the steering loss.

UCD's crew included Sarah Matthews (health and performance science, stage 2), Vanessa Connolly (economics, stage 3), Rachel Ryan (science, stage 2), Gersende Youl (medicine, stage 2), Daisy Callanan (business and law, stage 3), Jane Coleman (medicine, stage 2), Ruth Gilligan (business and law, stage 3), Eimear Lambe (commerce, stage 2) and cox Síne Ní Fhinn (economics and politics, stage 2). 

UCD Ladies Boat Club leading against Trinity

Both UCD and TCD took a race each in the novice events. UCD Ladies Boat Club won the Sally Moorhead Trophy after overcoming their rival’s early lead. Trinity men’s won the Dan Quinn Shield in a race that was close until the finish.

UCD's novice women's crew was Sinéad O'Driscoll (physiotherapy, stage 1), Eimear Lynch (agricultural science, stage 4), Chloe Hawker (law with politics, stage 1), Aoife Cahill (engineering, stage 1), Emily Murphy (arts, stage 1), Laura O'Connor (veterinary medicine, stage 1), Niamh Tallon (digital marketing master's), Emily Sugrue (business and law, stage 1) and cox Aifric McGloughlin (social science, stage 1).

Pictured top: senior men's and women's crews for the 2017 Colours Race (credit: UCD Boat Club)

The UCD novice men's crew was Finnian Shilling (arts, stage 1), Cian O'Sullivan (business and law, stage 3), Tim Burke (science, stage 2), Andrew Mays (business and law, stage 1), Thomas O'Reilly (commerce, stage 2), Ben Layden (commerce, stage 1), Ronan Tallon (science, stage 1) and Fionn Kilmartin (engineering, stage 1) and cox Caoimhe Fitzgerald (commerce, stage 1).

The annual Colours Race takes place every Saint Patrick’s Day weekend. It has four eight-man events: novice men’s, novice women’s, senior men’s and senior women’s. Racing takes place from O’Connell Bridge to St James’ Gate over a 2.2km course.

By: Jonny Baxter, digital journalist, UCD University Relations