In 1934, a group of Jes boys gathered in Keogh’s shop, next to the school, to discuss the formation of a school rowing club. As there was no one on the staff to take charge, the school turned down the application but the boys were persistent and made another appeal. So, in October, 1934, the Jes Rowing Club was formed. They had to put together a crew, find a coach, get a boat and a base on the river so that they could get on the water.
Their first crew was Bertie Kavanagh, John Keogh, Billy Donovan, Gerry Colgan and Austin Caulfield and they competed in several races in 1935. They rowed out of Corrib Club who were hoping to retain the schoolboys in their club after they finished school. In 1936, the Jes won the School’s Metropolitan Challenge Cup which was regarded as the Irish School’s Championship. Since then, the club has survived and indeed thrived, in spite of occasional lapses, and there have been many highlights and famous victories down through the years.
The 1940s were a poor period for the club but things began to improve when Fr Eddie Diffley returned to Galway and started coaching crews. In the middle of the decade, they acquired a riverside site from UCG and they built a ‘very Spartan’ clubhouse. The 1957 crew were the first to row out of there.
The Jes had some very successful crews in the 1950s, even though getting to different regattas was a major undertaking. The crews often had to stay overnight in various Jesuit colleges, or occasionally sleep rough in boathouses. Boats were not transported but borrowed at regattas. The 1958 crew made a huge breakthrough when they became the first Galway school ever to win the Maiden Eights Championship of Ireland by beating Queen’s University in the final – and two of the Jes boys, Leo Wall and Nicky Hardiman were only 15 years old. In 1960, a party of 12 from the club went on a ‘rowing holiday’ to Germany where they took part in a number of regattas.
Saturday, September 16 1961 was a significant day for the club as Hurricane Debbie literally blew away the clubhouse and ‘practically everything it contained’. This produced a ‘spirit of co-operation and mutual assistance’ from Galway Rowing Club, St Joseph’s RC, Corrib Rowing and Yachting Club and UCG Boat Club to help Jes back on the water. They had a very capable eight the next season. A new clubhouse was built in 1962 which lasted for 40 years. In 1965, the old wooden slip was replaced by a sturdy concrete one, with much of the labour being done by the young oarsmen.
The club continued to perform well through the seventies winning a number of championships. 1974 was a particularly good season as the all-conquering crew became the first Jes crew to represent Ireland. In both the eights and fours’ races, they beat Wales and Scotland but were narrowly defeated by England, but still, winning three pots in two years represented an awesome achievement for the club.
In 1985, the first generation of women began rowing for Coláiste Iognáid and in 1989, for the first time, they won the Women’s Junior 8’s Championship of Ireland with the crew you can see in our photograph. They are Barbara Geraghty, coach, Deirdre Caden, Anna Boner, Deirdre Darcy, Celeste Augé, Riona Parsons, Sheila Augé, Moira Hall, Fiona Lawless, Bobby Platt representing the IARU, and Ailbhe Thunder. Another Jes crew came second.
Our main photograph was taken in 1965 and shows most of the club members at the time. They are, back row, left to right: Kevin O’Rourke, Hugh Hannon, Jimmy Dolan, Murt Curry, Joe Keaney, Peter Murphy, Paul Curry and Pat Holland. Third row: Robert Coughlan, Declan Ashe, Ger Ó Máille, Ian Quinn, Niall Hannon, Dave Tuohy, Enda Folan, Chris O’Dea, Donal Bracken, Eamonn Lawless. Second row: Mattie Keane, Mike Kyne, Kevin Murphy, John Glynn, Pat McCarthy, Ollie Nevin and Joe O’Grady. In front are Fr Grimley SJ, Gerry Lawless, James Roche, Alan Howard, Eddie Fitzgerald, PJ Coughlan, D Black, Ollie Doherty and Brendan Healy.
The club has continued to thrive on and off the water and has been a very positive influence on thousands of young Galwegians over its 90-year history. And to celebrate this notable anniversary and their many achievements, they are having a major celebration in the Ardilaun Hotel on Friday October 25. All Jes rowers, former rowers, their families, friends and supporters are welcome to dinner, music and to meet special guests including the guest of honour, Olympic medallist and former pupil, Aifric Keogh. Tickets are available via Eventbrite and booking is advisable. And, you can be sure, there will be tall stories in abundance.
