Rowing

About Us

UCC Rowing Club is one of the oldest and most successful sports clubs at University College Cork, with a proud legacy dating back to 1868, when it was founded as Queen’s College Cork Rowing Club. For over 150 years, the club has remained a cornerstone of student sport in Ireland, combining tradition with a strong, modern performance culture.

UCC Rowing Club is now based in a fully operational, state-of-the-art boathouse on the Marina in Cork City, located at the forefront of the recently renovated Marina Promenade. The Marina is home to five rowing clubs and serves as the rowing hub of Cork city centre, placing UCCRC at the heart of one of Ireland’s most active rowing communities. The club is also just a 25-minute drive from the Irish National Rowing Centre in Inniscarra, giving athletes direct access to world-class facilities and placing UCC firmly at the centre of rowing in Ireland.

Since 1912, UCCRC has secured 54 Irish National Championship titles, ranking the club among the most successful in Irish rowing history. UCC athletes have represented Ireland at the international level on 67 occasions, including appearances at the Olympic Games, World Rowing Championships, and U23 World Championships. Each year, UCC rowers trial for Irish national squads, reflecting the club’s strong competitive pathway and high-performance standards.

Recent competitive highlights include:

• Multiple titles at the Irish National Championships 2025, including Women’s Intermediate 8+, Men’s Club 1x, Men’s Senior 4x-, Women’s Senior 4x-, and Women’s Senior 1x
• Multiple victories at the University Championships 2025
• Fastest Overseas Crew at the Women’s Head of the River Race, London (2025)
• A Top 20 overall finish at the Head of the River Race, London (2025)

UCC Rowing fields men’s, women’s, and development/novice squads, providing a clear pathway from beginner rowing to high-performance competition. The club’s varsity squad is highly competitive, driven, and consistently performs at the top level of university rowing both nationally and internationally.

Training is supported by a strong coaching panel led by Vivian Kelleher (Head Coach), with Martin Kilbane and Adam Greene (Assistant Coaches), and Alex Mahony (Novice Coach). The club is captained for the 2025/26 season by Conall Balfe, continuing a long-standing tradition of student leadership at the core of UCCRC.

Indoor training facilities are conveniently located on UCC’s main campus, with athletes having access to the Mardyke Sports Complex for gym-based training. The club’s top athletes also train in the Mardyke Squad Gym, benefiting from some of the best strength and conditioning facilities available to student athletes in Ireland.

Rowing at UCC offers far more than competition. It provides a focused, ambitious environment where students balance academic life with elite sport, develop resilience and leadership, and form lifelong friendships. UCC Rowing Club is a proud, student-led community built on commitment, performance, and representing the university with distinction on every stretch of water.

Meet Our International Rowers

2024 marked another special year for UCC Rowing with five athletes competing on the international stage. 

Meet the 25/26 Committee

Conall Balfe - Captain

Ellie Mahon - Women’s Captain

Rory Buckley - Men’s Captain

Finnian Mannix - Secretary

Conor Kelly - Treasurer

Zoe Burke - Public Relations Officer

Sophie Kelly - Health and Safety Officer

Noah Giltinan - Equipment Officer

Sam Hernan - Fresher Rep

Anne Sheehan - Events and Fundraising Officer

Ethan Hartigan - Ordinary Committee Member

Meet Our Coaches

Vivian Kelleher - Head Coach

Bio

Vivian Kelleher began her rowing career as a junior with Shandon Boat Club before going on to row with UCC. After a period away from the sport, she returned with renewed energy, taking up both rowing and coaching with Lee Rowing Club. Her impact was immediate and lasting. Vivian became the first female Captain in the club’s 175-year history, a milestone that reflects both her leadership and her commitment to progressing the sport.

She is a qualified umpire with Rowing Ireland and is a familiar face at regattas across the country. Vivian often describes umpiring as “the best seat in the house,” a testament to her deep appreciation for the sport from every perspective. Outside of coaching, she continues to row herself and can often be seen sculling on the Marina.

Professionally, Vivian brings over 30 years of experience in Human Resources. She currently serves as Vice President of Strategic HR for a US-based organisation, where she coaches and mentors C-Suite executives and leads organisational design and talent strategy initiatives. Her career centres on leadership development, performance optimisation and unlocking potential — values she carries directly into her coaching philosophy.

Vivian was one of five women selected by Rowing Ireland to represent the sport in the Sport Ireland Female High Performance Coaching Pathway. Through this programme, she gained valuable experience at the National Rowing Centre and was closely involved in national trial processes over several years.

She is also the founder of the Women’s Rowing Coaching Network in Cork, established to encourage and support more women in coaching. She worked closely with Claire Lambe in developing female coaching pathways at national level and remains passionate about creating opportunity and representation within the sport.

Vivian says:

“I am delighted to take on the role of Head Coach for UCC and to have the opportunity to work with new coaches as well as UCC Sport. I am excited to get to know and work with the athletes and to see what we can accomplish together this year.”

With a unique blend of high-performance sport experience, executive leadership expertise and a genuine love for rowing, Vivian brings vision, structure and ambition to UCC Rowing Club.

Martin Kilbane - Assistant Coach

Bio:

Martin Kilbane began coaching with Cork Boat Club from 1993 to 1999, working with junior women. He returned to Cork Boat Club from 2006 to 2018, coaching junior and senior women. During this period, his coaching group achieved significant success, winning Senior Women’s 8+, 4+, Intermediate 8+ and 4+, Club 2x, and Junior 8+ titles.

From 2018 to the present, following a short break of six months until May of last year, Martin has been coaching with UCC Rowing Club. Since his involvement, the club has won 18 All-Ireland Championships. During a period when the club had no permanent home and relied on the generosity of the three Marina clubs, it was through the hard work and commitment of the coaches that the club remained operational.

It has been an honour for Martin to coach at UCC, particularly now as the club has moved into a shared clubhouse with Presentation Brothers College. Working alongside Adam and Alex, and under the guidance of Head Coach Vivian, he sees a strong and thriving future for the club.

From 2015 to 2019, Martin served as Rowing Ireland National Para Coach. During this time, he coached Katie O’Brien to a bronze medal at the 2019 World Rowing Championships in the PR2 Women’s Single Sculls.

Adam Greene: Assistant Coach

Bio: 

Adam began rowing in 2014 for Waterford Boat Club. In 2017 he moved to the Netherlands and rowed in lightweight crews for TSR Vidar, CR ZV Dudok van Heel and the Tilburgse Open Roeivereniging (RV TOR). While rowing in Dudok van Heels lightweight quad, he began coaching the men’s and women’s junior squad at RV TOR, finding success in small boats across multiple national regattas. 

Adam studied Sport and Performance Psychology at the University of Amsterdam and has acted as the performance psychologist for cyclists and rowers across Europe, from junior to the elite level.  

Currently, Adam is an Assistant Coach at UCC Rowing Club.

Alex Mahony - Novice Coach

Bio:

Alex Mahony began rowing in 2014 at the age of 12 with Lee Rowing Club. He competed throughout his junior career and, in 2019, was a member of the Lee Junior Quad that won the Irish Rowing Championships.

Following his junior career, Alex remained actively involved with Lee, assisting with the organisation of events and supporting the wider club community. His continued involvement reflects a strong commitment to the sport and the environment that shaped him as an athlete.

At the beginning of the 2025/26 season, Alex took on the role of Novice Coach with UCC Rowing Club. He has been an excellent addition to the coaching team, leading the novice squad and providing focused, tailored coaching to support their technical and physical development. His aim is to build a positive, cohesive and supportive environment that allows novices not only to progress quickly, but to genuinely fall in love with rowing.

Alex is passionate about introducing new athletes to the sport he grew up in and is motivated by giving back to the rowing community. Alongside coaching, he is re-embarking on his own rowing journey with Lee Rowing Club, getting out on the water when possible. He is currently working towards his Level 1 coaching qualification and remains committed to developing both as a coach and as an athlete.