It's a wonderful time to be a rower in Ireland.
The sport, largely brought to prominence by Paul and Gary O'Donovan's silver medal victory at the Rio Olympics last year, has been thrust into the limelight after a number of high profile medal wins in 2017.
In May, the O'Donovan brothers claimed silver behind their French rivals at the European Championships. Shane O'Driscoll and Mark O'Donovan, meanwhile, clinched gold in the men's lightweight pairs.
Add to that Denise Walsh's silver in the lightweight women's single sculls and it's been an astounding year for Irish rowing - Skibbereen Rowing Club in particular.
Ireland's success on the global stage continued yesterday at the World U23 Championships in Bulgaria.
UCD rowers David O’Malley and Shane Mulvaney won bronze in the final of the men's lightweight pairs. The 21-year-olds finished behind Turkish duo Fati Unsal and Mert Kaan Kartal and Italian pair Alfonso Scalzone and Giuseppe Di Mare.
Outstanding performances from our U23 men today 💪🏼 #GreenBlades #HonCollege pic.twitter.com/GrAwYy4Ly7
— UCD Boat Club (@UCDBC) July 22, 2017
Shortly after their appearance on the podium, it was the turn of the lightweight men's quadruple sculls to take up the mantle.
Niall Beggan, Stephen O’Connor, Andrew Goff and Shane O’Connell all took home bronze - and it could well have been silver - behind runners-up Austria and Switzerland.
They finished just .28 of a second behind the Austrian team.
SEE ALSO: Listen: O'Donovan Brothers Hijack Interview With Fellow Cork Rower, Produce Radio Magic
SEE ALSO: Shane O'Driscoll And Mark O'Donovan Give Outstanding RTÉ Interview After Winning Gold
