Trinity Women's Senior Eights (DULBC) celebrate their 2026 Rowing Colours win.
Trinity College Dublin's women’s senior crew (DULBC) won the Corcorcan Cup for Senior Women’s Eights in the Dublin City Colours Boat Races on Saturday 21 March, beating their UCD counterparts by three lengths and having taken a clear lead from the Four Courts and rowed strongly over the 2km+ course from O'Connell bridge up to Victoria Quay near St James's Gate.
The Trinity win prevented University College Dublin Ladies Boat Club from making it five-wins-in-a-row in the Corcoran Cup. This year’s event took place as DULBC celebrates its 50th anniversary. The prestigious club was founded in 1976 by a group of women including Jane Williams, the current President of Rowing Ireland.
DULBC Senior Eights crew celebrate their 2026 Dublin City Colours Boat Race win at Trinity boathouse, Islandbridge.
DULBC Captain Eliza celebrated the win saying, "I'm so delighted that our senior women were able to bring the Corcoran Cup back to Trinity for the first time since 2019. This is just a huge step on for the club. I'm so emotional and just really happy for the girls."
Jen Forde, DULBC Senior rower in seat number five, also shared her delight after the win, "I'm so happy we finally brought the Corcoran Cup home. This is my fourth year in it and haven't the last three years, so it's my final go and there's a long time coming, but I'm so happy!"
The winning DULBC senior crew were: Cox: Ava Dolan; Stroke: Addy Telzrow; 7: María Mezquita García-Poggio; 6: Ginevra Guglielmi; 5: Jen Forde; 4: Caoimhe Keller; 3: Danielle Lohrenz; 2: Sarah Geoghegan; and Bow: Izzy Howley.
UCD won both the Women’s Novice Eights race, the Sally Moorhead Trophy, and the Men’s Novice Eights race, the Dan Quinn Shield.
UCD Senior Men's Eight crew also took this year’s Gannon Cup, despite Trinity's Men’s Senior Eights getting off to a quick start.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin Cllr Ray McAdam, was in attendance to watch the racing: "It was fantastic to attend this year's Dublin City Colours Boat Races and I'm pleased that the event was supported by Dublin City Council. This historic and annual race day is an important part of Dublin's sporting calendar, creating a superb opportunity for spectators to witness high quality, head-to-head rowing on the River Liffey through the heart of the City Centre. I would like to congratulate all the crews on their performances. The races were hard fought and the wins were well-earned."
Left to right: DUBC President, DULBC President, Lord Mayor of Dublin Cllr Ray McAdam, UCDLBC President, and UCDBC President.
History of the event
The races involved the 76th edition of the Gannon Cup, which has been raced by Senior Men’s eights since 1947, and the 45th edition of the Corcoran Cup for Senior Women’s eights.
The Corcoran Cup was originally a Senior Women’s Coxed Four event, but evolved into an eights race in 1993, due to increased participation by women in rowing throughout the country. Trinity has recorded 18 wins and UCD has 27.
The Colours Boat Races began in 1947 when the Gannon Cup was presented in memory of UCD Boat Club Captain, Ciaran Gannon, who was killed while on active service with the Royal Army Medical Corps in Burma in 1944.
Since then the list of races has expanded to include the Corcoran Cup in 1980, the Dan Quinn Shield for Novice Men’s eights in 2004 and the Sally Moorhead Trophy for Novice Women’s eights in 2005.
This year’s event was officially supported by Dublin City Council as part of a new multi-year agreement between the local authority and the rowing clubs of both TCD and UCD. As part of this arrangement, the event previously referred to as the Colours Boat Races was renamed the Dublin City Colours Boat Races.
Further information
Sport for Business: University Boat race Lights Up the Liffey
Photos from Dublin City Colours Boat Races 2026 - credit: Andreea Galateanu