‘I know there is more speed in me, Skibbereen are finding more speed in me’

AISLING Hayes can’t escape the feeling that she was always meant to move to West Cork to race with Skibbereen Rowing Club.

‘I definitely feel I am in the right place,’ she says – and the stars have certainly aligned to join the dots from her home village of Castletown Geoghegan in Westmeath to Skibbereen via the UK where she studied and a chance encounter with Skibb rowers in Ghent.

There’s a real sense that this was meant to be.

Her link to West Cork was there ever before Aisling picked up an oar for the first time when she was 26 years old and living in England – her father, Jeremiah, is from Dunmanway and his dad, also Jeremiah but better known as Sonny, is a local legend in his hometown. Aisling has been living with her grandfather Sonny ever since she moved to West Cork, and the chance to reconnect with her Dunmanway roots was one of the reasons she made the big move two years ago.

The opportunity to join Skibbereen Rowing Club was the deal-clincher – and when Aisling crossed paths with Skibb rowers and coaches at the Ghent Regatta in Belgium, her mind was made up.

‘I was with Oxford Brookes University Boat Club at Ghent and it just so happened that their trailer was side by side with Skibbereens,’ she explains. Coincidence or predestined? Aisling prefers to believe it was the latter.

‘I was at the stage where I was exploring the idea of moving back to Ireland to see how far I can go in rowing, and I was trying to figure out which club to come back to – and then it just so happened that the Skibbereen trailer in Ghent was right beside me! I saw it as a sign to come to Skibbereen. The girls were so welcoming, eased all my concerns about coming back to Ireland.

‘It was a no-brainer to come back here and become a part of this club.’

Skibbereen Rowing Club has the environment that Aisling was looking for – best-in-class coaches with the knowledge, support and drive to help rowers reach their potential. Those initial chats in Ghent reassured her that Skibbereen – Ireland’s most successful rowing club – was the best fit.

‘I knew they were going to look after me, would support me and help me to achieve my goals. If you tell Denise (Walsh) you want to do something she will do everything in her power to make it happen. The same with Dominic (Casey). I knew I would be supported, and I needed that, and I knew they would make me faster,’ admits Aisling who was a late starter to the sport; she was 26 years old when turning her focus to rowing, but this natural born competitor is a quick learner. 

After catching the eye at an indoor rowing competition in the UK, she was invited to join Oxford Brookes University team – and the rest is history. There was success at the Royal Henley Regatta in 2021, and since she joined Skibbereen Aisling’s winning run has continued. Earlier this summer she took top prize in the women’s championship single scull at the London Met Regatta, and then, a landmark moment she won the women’s intermediate single scull at the Irish Rowing Championships in June.

‘To race at the nationals was a key moment because I had been waiting to do that for so long, so to perform well and win was brilliant,’ says Aisling, who now adds her name to the wall of champions that dominates the hall at Skibbereen Rowing Club. 

‘To get my name on the Skibbereen board of winners is a great moment. It cemented for me that I am going in the right direction; to see my name on that board is one of those milestone moments. It gives you confidence to keep going on this journey and not to give up on yourself.’ 

Eight years into her rowing journey, Aisling, now 34 years old, feels there’s more to come. It’s worth noting at the nationals she also finished second in the women's senior single scull.

‘I know there is more speed in me, Skibbereen are finding more speed in me and this year has proved that,’ Aisling explains.

‘I am still on an upward trajectory and I don't know where that will stop. For the next year I want to keep going and see where this goes. Ideally, I’d love to row at a decent level internationally; that is the ultimate goal. The next few years will be all stepping stones to see where that final platform will be – or where that final road block will be. 

‘I definitely feel I am in the right place, and I’ll give it a go and see what happens.’

Working locally in Drinagh Pharmacies, living in Dunmanway and rowing with Skibbereen, Aisling has embraced life in West Cork, and was part of the club’s adventurous gang that cycled from Skibb to Paris as a fundraiser ahead of the Olympics. She’s giving back to the club that is supporting her dreams, with the shared feeling there’s more to come.