| Contact US |
|
To contact us, drop us an email or call to the harbour any evening in the summer. |
| * Click here for more |
| Club Safety Rules |
|
Safety is not a set of rules. It is an attitude or frame of mind. Rules alone will not prevent accidents; however... |
| * Click here for more |
| Policies & Codes |
|
Kilcock Canoe Polo Club has a full set of policy documents dealing with discipline, child protection, and other matters. |
| * Click here for more |
|
Club History
Founded in 1998, Kilcock Canoe Polo Club is a steadily growing organisation, with the largest junior membership of any canoe polo club in Ireland. Over the past seven years, we have evolved from a few like-minded people, meeting in the Harbour of the Royal Canal that runs through Kilcock, to a club with a membership of approximately 100 members. Today, our members range from children cautiously experiencing their first moments in a boat, to adults new to the sport, to senior members who are serious competitors at national and international level.
1998 |
A canoe instructor, Aideen Cleary comes to Kilcock to do canoe classes in June. The club is formed in July with six members.
We enter our first competition in Ballina with 5 members in August: Thomas Noone, Mark & Ciaran McCormack, Peter Guinan, and Patricia McCormack (Sean Downes was unable to travel), playing with borrowed equipment |
1999 |
The National Committee of the ICU gives the club lends us a set of boats and equipment. We are helped out with much good advice from many experienced paddlers, especially Maire Diggin and Deaglan O’Drisceol from Celbridge. We store our gear for the summer in an old building loaned to us by a local publican, Mr Thomas O’Keeffe.
Mark and Ciaran McCormack are selected to play on the U21 Irish Team for the Invitational Flanders Cup in Belgium in June. |
2000 |
We set up our first official committee and open the club to children in Summer 2000.
Sean Downes takes the first group of 7 year olds on the water and continues to do so every Tuesday throughout the summer.
Our first two instructors (Mark/Ciaran) are certified. They run summer camps all summer, and by the end of the summer 140 children have canoed with the club.
Canoe Polo is introduced into the ICU national calendar for the first time ever with the help of Patricia McCormack, National Development Officer.
Chairperson: Glynnis Reidy |
2001 |
Mick Cotter gets involved instructing on Tuesdays, and Kilcock has the first Junior teams under 14s in the country.
Mark & Ciaran McCormack are again selected to represent Ireland at the 1st U21 European Championships in Poland. The team come 7th.
We get much needed sponsorship from Eircom 11811 and buy our own set of boats. Patricia McCormack invited to become manager of Irish Under 21 Squad.
Chairperson: Tom Colton |
2002 |
Ciaran Clinton and Joe Noone get involved as instructors. Fifteen Kilcock players are invited to attend Junior Irish Development Squad, of whom five are invited to attend U21 Squad.
Junior Teams play in winter league in Cabra for the first time, and our teams do very well in all junior levels. We win the Irish Open Division 1 Juniors and Division 2 Juniors.
Stephen Davenport, Mark Brogan, Ciaran and Mark McCormack are all selected on the Irish U21 Team to play in the 1st U21 World Championships in Essen, Germany. This team come 5th beating the British team for the first time.
Chairperson: Sean Downes |
2003 |
Kilcock have teams in all divisions in the Spring Pool League for the first time. We run classes in the pool in NUI Maynooth through the winter/spring months. Five players are selected for the U21 Irish Team to play in the 5th European Championships, which are held in Kilcock in August: Ciaran & Mark McCormack, Brian Devlin, Mark Brogan and Stephen Davenport. Interest in canoe polo reaches a new height in Kilcock, as teams from fifteen European countries come to Kilcock to compete in some of the best summer weather seen in years.
Eight players are selected to play on the Irish Development teams to play in Liverpool in June 2003: A-Team: Patrick Mooney, Neill Reilly, Shane Downes and Kenneth Kinsella; B-Team: Michael Mahon, Garry Mahon, Craig Stevenson and David Dunne.
Our Club is granted €20,000 from the National Lottery for equipment. We also appoint an Equipment Officer, Peter Fitzgerald.
Our Division 3 team win the Limerick Cup in April, with members: Kelly Anne Downes, Liz O’ Farrell, Sean Downes, Lynn McCormack, Thomas Noone, Mick Cotter, Joe Noone.
30 members of the club take part in Proficiency Award Level 1 & 2
Maire Diggins, a senior Irish Ladies Team Player, coaches a group of Girls from the club our first all girl group. We enter them in the indoor league and they win Division 4 with the following team: Lynn McCormack, Kelly Anne Downes, Carley McCourt, Louise McCarron and Amanda Brown
In October our first adult-only class is formed, and they are now playing in the indoor spring league.
In November, six instructors take a Level 1 Instructor course.
Classes are run in the pool in NUI Maynooth, in which 36 children take part.
Chairman: Chris Morash |
2004 |
We are granted planning permission to build a boathouse on the banks of the canal opposite the Dragon Boat Restaurant. Most of the research, planning applications, grant applications and other necessary work is done by Liz O’ Ferrall. |
| |
The World Canoe Polo Championships this year are being held in Japan. For the first time ever, two Kilcock players, Mark and Ciaran McCormack, have been selected to play on the Irish Senior Men’s team. Find out about the Championship at: www.canoepolo2004.jp |
|
