When local residents abducted St. Patrick’s goat, they did so by rowing from the mainland through the open waters of the Irish Sea to what is now St. Patrick’s Island. Some of the best sea or coastal rowing conditions in Ireland are found along the east coast around County Dublin. Coastal rowing in Ireland has its roots with Hobblers, crews who would provide unlicensed pilot services to merchant ships in Dublin Bay. The most common boats used for coastal rowing are traditional clinker-built wooden skiffs. Generally the best period to row is from March to September.
Skerries native Adam Burke, teacher and ocean rower, holds a world records for the fastest ocean rowing boat to have crossed the Atlantic from east to west in 2011. He is also the world record holder for the most consecutive days achieving a distance of over 100 miles per day, a record also achieved with his crew on his voyage across the Atlantic. Burke helped establish the Skerries Rowing Club in February 2012, the first ocean rowing club on the northeast coast of Ireland.
When not attempting world records around the world, Adam Burke leads the Skerries Rowing Club into the open seas. To join one of the club’s sea excursions or to learn more about coastal rowing you should contact the club directly (Adam Burke; adamlangtonburke@gmail.com). With a fledgling rowing club, a combination of relatively calm waters around the harbour and challenging seas further offshore, and a stunning seaside landscape with coastal islands as a backdrop, the community is poised to become a popular destination for sea rowing enthusiasts and curious adventurers.