Search Results for 'Eddie Diffley'

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.

Ninety years ago, on August 2, 1931, the world famous long-distance swimmer, Miss Mercedes Gleitz, attempted to swim from the Aran Islands to Salthill. She did in fact manage to swim from Inis Meán to Spiddal in 18 hours 43 minutes, a distance of 18 miles as the crow flies, but it was estimated that with currents, etc, she covered a distance of nearly 30 miles. Two days later she gave a swimming demonstration in Salthill and presented a cup to the Chamber of Commerce to be presented to the school in the county which presented the greatest number of swimmers in relation to its student numbers. She stimulated a lot of interest in the sport, which had received a terrific boost just a few months before with the formation of two clubs, Blackrock Swimming Club and Galway Swimming Club. This guaranteed competition between the clubs and quickly helped raise standards.

Rules governing the rowing of schoolboys were formalised by the Irish Amateur Rowing Union in 1927, and rowing schools began to make more frequent appearances at regattas.