Located on Dock Road, Tinahask Lower, Arklow, Co.Wicklow.
Arklow Rowing Club was founded in 1990 by Egon Friedrich, Peter Fox, Eamonn Kavanagh and Peter Kavanagh. In the clubs early years the club competed in east coast regattas in Skiffs and travelled across the country to take part in Irish Championships.
In 1997 brothers Eamonn and Peter Kavanagh rowed the Atlantic leaving Tenerife October 12th covering 3000miles arrived in Barbados 58days later on December 9th. They finished 5th out of 30 crews and set a new Guinness World Record for highest combined age for brothers to row any ocean (95years+80days). This record is still held by the brothers nearly 30 years later.
The club also had a hand in starting the first ever Celtic Challenge which took place the May bank holiday weekend in 1993, the club went on to compete in this race for many years and in 2002 an Arklow crew won in their category in a long boat.
In more recent years the club has had many achievements in all classes of boats. Most notable in 2023 SÃonna Healy brought home silver from the European Offshore Championships in the womans quad and then went on to win bronze with her quad crew in the World Offshore Championships that same summer.
More closer to home at the Irish Offshore Championships 2025 Mary Ann Kent came second in the womans double along side her crew mate Ella Cailis of Castletownsend Rowing Club giving them the rank IRL02 in their category for 2025.
Our Achivments
Our Boats
East Coast Skiff
Traditional to the East Coast of Ireland. East Coast Skiffs are 25ft long double ended clinker built rowing boats. In the 19th and early 20th century Hobblers would race out to incoming vessels to pilot the ships into the local harbours.
Todays Skiffs are no longer work boats and are designed purely for racing. Clubs from Balbriggan to Arklow continue to race against each other in regattas held from May to August.
Celtic Long Boat
Irish/Welsh origin. The Celtic Long Boat is a fiber-glass 24ft. Designed in the late 70s in Wales, the long boats shape is based off an Irish currach.
These boats are widely raced around Ireland and Wales and are also the main boat used for the Celtic Challenge, a 150km race from Arklow, County Wicklow, and finishing at Aberystwyth Pier.
The boats design and light weight also makes these boats the perfect boat for social rowing
Coastal Sculls
Coastal sculls are a relatively new class of rowing boat in Ireland which have gained popularity over the last number of years. Coastal sculls have 3 different boat types. Single scull, Double scull and quad scull.
These fiberglass boats are raced over a 4km/6km course. Races are held around Ireland during the summer. Rowers competing at this level of rowing can also attend international races in this boat class. Aiming for European rankings and World Rankings each year. These boats have also recently been added to the Olympics in the form of beach sprints
The design of these boats makes them a purely racing boat.