Clare’s king and queen of currachs enjoy big year on the water

With currach racing fitting the category of a niche sport, the achievements of those competing can often be overlooked.

However, as the year draws to a close, it is impossible not to be impressed with the medal haul that Eoin Coyle and his wife Leah racked up on the water in 2022.

The pair won six All Ireland titles between them while they have experienced unprecedented levels of success at the regattas across Ireland including in Doonbeg and Querrin.

Before we focus in depth on their various achievements and accomplishments, how did this come to be? Eoin states his own journey in to the currach was one which started by chance outside Comerfords Bar in Doonbeg.

“I started back in 2008. I was just meeting a few lads. A cousin of mine (Jason Honan) knew a bit about it all. I tried it and I knew straight away it was a tough old sport. It is hard on your hands. I did think it wouldn’t work out, but I kept at it and found I was getting better.”

Leah had already developed a love for currach racing as the duo first competed together over a decade ago.

“She has been rowing longer than me. I started rowing with Leah around 2011 in Fear agus Bean. We are similar enough weight wise so that helped plus we are both competitive when we are out there.”

“With racing it depends a lot on the conditions. We are probably one of the lighter Fear agus Bean crews. If it is a rough day, it is harder for us to do better.”

The 35-year-old states that the couple find it easy to separate currach racing from their day to day lives.

“We can separate it. We would talk if either of us had a race that didn’t work out or if something went wrong in the Fear agus Bean. It wouldn’t be all we would talk about. We are good at keeping it separate.”

In the annual All Ireland Currach competition, the Doonbeg couple enjoyed a stellar weekend. Eoin claimed gold in the Single Hand, 3 Hand and 4 Hand races while Leah secured first place in the 4 Hand women’s race.

The pair also won the Fear agus Bean competition as they claimed six gold medals between them.

“To be honest I was more surprised than anything else. In the All Irelands back in 2019 we were beaten that year when we felt we could win. You can’t assume that you will win because it can come back to haunt you so this year we went in and just focused on each race.”

Eoin competes alongside Michael Sullivan and Máirtin Einniú in the 3 and 4 Hand competitions. They are frequently joined by Michael Folan for the latter event.

At the start of our interview Eoin admits it’s “been a good year.” He is certainly not one to boast despite his and Leah’s achievements as the Doonbeg Currach Club members secured no shortage of silverware at regattas around Ireland.

The pair won gold in the Fear agus Bean in Dublin, Querrin, Doonbeg, Dingle and Ventry.

Eoin claimed first place in the 3 Hand at Inis Mór, Carna and Doonbeg while winning the Naomhóg competition in Rosmuc, Roundstone, Doonbeg, Dingle and Ventry.

In the Men’s Single Hand he won in Maherees and Roundstone.

Leah claimed ladies 3 Hand gold in Dublin, Querrin, Inis Mór, Carna, Doonbeg and Lettermullen. She enjoyed further success in the Naomhóg at Rosmuc and Roundstone.

Coiste lar na gCurrachai (Central Currach Committee) run an All Ireland League over the course of the season where a person’s results are tallied up using a points based system. Both Eoin and
Leah won their respective 3 Hand Leagues while the pair also claimed first place in the Fear agus Bean League.

The racing season runs from the start of May until the end of August. Eoin admits he is concerned for the sport with numbers competing decreasing as the pandemic did little to aid their cause.

“The sport is dying away a little bit. When May came around before, you could be competing every weekend. Now it’s Dublin, Querrin and then a six or eight week break to the next one. People are moving away from the areas where currach racing is strong and we aren’t able to replace them. Then you have COVID too so it’s a tough one.”

Eoin hopes to see the sport grow in Clare as he believes hosting more events within the county is the key to capturing the public’s attention.

“Hopefully there will be an extra few regattas in Clare next year. It would be great to see Carrigaholt host one and some other places be able to join in. It would help a lot to get regattas in Clare more often.”