Galway City Gaelscoil making waves on the Corrib – in Irish

Talking Sport with Stephen Glennon

In the coming weeks, rowing students of Coláiste na Coiribe will give their new boat – ‘Fuinneamh na Coiribe’ – its first competitive outing at the Schools Regatta in Limerick. It will be a significant moment for the Gaelscoil.

Officially unveiled at a ceremony last Saturday, ‘Fuinneamh na Coiribe’, which captivatingly translates as ‘Energy of the Corrib’, is symbolic on so many levels.

The name conjures up images of vibrancy and youth while the boat, itself, is a representation of the dedication and hard work undertaken by the students, teachers and Parents Council to grow the sport in the school.

The main driving force behind the venture has been teacher Mícheál Ó Marcacháin, who set up the rowing club in Coláiste na Coiribe in 2011 using borrowed equipment and facilities from Galway City clubs.

Since then, the school has nurtured a love of the sport and has managed to secure enough sponsorship and fundraising to purchase a brand new 4-person boat, worth €15,000, which they unveiled in Tribesmen Rowing Club last Saturday.

Interestingly, Coláiste na Coiribe is the only Irish-speaking rowing club in the world, conducting all activities entirely through Irish. To this end, they have had to develop a brand new terminology and recruit Irish-speaking coaches to maintain their all-Irish ethos.

“When the club started in 2011, we weren’t sure if it would work at all because there were a couple of problems,” explains Ó Marcacháin. “Firstly, rowing is a very expensive sport. It costs thousands of euro and you have to get the equipment.

“The other thing was getting coaches who would be able to coach ‘as Gaeilge’ because there aren’t any Irish-speaking rowing clubs in Ireland. This is Olympic rowing as opposed to the currachs.”

However, with the support of Principal Stiofán Ó Cualáin, the Board of Management and the Parents Council, Ó Marcacháin’s vision soon began to become a reality.

Tribesmen Rowing Club gave the school use of their facilities while a number of coaches waded in behind Ó Marcacháin’s venture. These included Annie Giblin, Mike and Luke Goonan, Rebecca Ryder, Orla McGarry, Phil Winters and Ger Ó Mathúma.

“They have given up their free time to make the whole thing work,” continues the Physics and Science teacher. “We are run on an entirely voluntary basis and have 30 very active members who race around the country.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.