Shane Ross, TD, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and Brendan Griffin, TD, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, today congratulated the Irish rowing team on their success at the World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Minister Ross said: “I would like to congratulate the Irish rowing team on a magnificent performance at the World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv this week. In particular, I want to congratulate Paul and Gary O'Donovan on claiming a gold medal in the lightweight men’s double sculls to add to the silver they won at the European Championships in Glasgow last month, Sanita Puspure on winning gold in the women’s single sculls and Aifric Keogh and Emily Hegarty on becoming the first Irish women’s pair to qualify for a world final. The wonderful results achieved by the team this week are a tribute to the hard work, commitment and dedication to reach the highest levels in their sport. I would like to wish all our rowers continued success in the future and especially with Tokyo in mind in two years’ time."
Minister of State Brendan Griffin said "I would like to acknowledge the outstanding performances of the Irish team at the World Rowing Championships in Plovdiv. I was delighted to see such a strong Irish representation in Bulgaria this week and to come away with three Gold medals was a fantastic achievement. As well as winning the Gold medals, it was also particularly encouraging to see so many of our teams reaching semi-finals and finals so it all bodes well for the future of Irish Rowing. These are indeed exciting times for Irish rowers and the achievements at these Championships will provide encouragement and inspiration to the many young rowers throughout Ireland who aspire to represent our country. I would like to wish all of our rowers the best in the future."
Note for Editors
In 2018 the following grants have been allocated to Rowing Ireland by Sport Ireland:
- Core Grant €210,000
- High Performance Programme Funding €525,000
- Women in Sport €45,000
- Carding scheme €252,000
Carding is awarded to cover the expenses incurred by athletes in their training and competition programme. Carding is a criteria based Scheme so for athletes to receive funding they must achieve the standards set forth by their NGB. These standards are based on performances achieved at international competitions.
On 13 August 2018 the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross, T.D., and the Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Tourism and Sport Brendan Griffin, T.D., announced additional funding in High performance and capital funding for high performance equipment.
Rowing Ireland will receive an additional €40,000 to advance the transition of junior rowers to senior level and support Rowing’s coaching programme in preparation for major competitions including the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and key World Championship events.
Rowing Ireland will also receive an additional allocation of €90,000 in capital funding for high performance equipment. This funding is allocated from savings in the Sports Capital Programme.