Boat named in honor of Jesuit Murt Curry SJ

Saint Ignatius Rowing Club in Galway have named a new boat in honour of Jesuit Murt Curry SJ, who played a major role in the life of the club. Murt introduced ladies rowing which was male only for many years.

Fr Murt says he was truly honoured to have the boat named after him. He said he was put in charge of the rowing club when he was sent to Coláiste Iognáid in 1985. He wanted to female students to be part of the rowing club and set about making that happen. Doing so was not without its challenges as there was a long tradition of boys only rowing. But it was worth the work and the women went on to do really well with many of them winning medals at national and international levels.

Fiona Lawless, who spoke at the event honouring Fr Murt, has won a number of rowing medals. She has also been a key part of the club for many years coaching rowing students at the college. Fiona Kelly, the current club captain and coach was also at the event.

Former members of the club» have gone on to successfully represent Ireland or their club at World U23 Championships, World University Games, Henley Royal Regatta, Women’s Henley, National Senior Championships, World Senior Championships, and the Olympics. Two members of the club have won Olympic medals during the most recent Olympic games. Aifric Keogh (Paris 2024, Tokyo 2020) and Cormac Folan (Beijing 2008).

The rowing club was founded in 1934 and has been located at Earl’s Island, within the grounds of Galway University since the early nineteen fifties. The club is part of Coláiste Iognáid Secondary School (known locally as ‘The Jes’), and is run by the parents and other volunteers (mainly past-pupils) under the guidance of the school management. The club caters for students of Coláiste Iognáid from 1st -6th year and currently has more than 100 athletes training each week making it one of the biggest rowing clubs in Ireland. All coaches and committee are unpaid volunteers who give freely of their time.

The Jesuit presence in Galway can be dated to as far back as the 1620’s. An invitation in 1859 by the Bishop led to the establishment of St. Ignatius College in 1863. St. Ignatius College continued until 1926 and was re-established as Coláiste Iognáid in 1929.