Universal Honda Ltd., distributors of Honda cars in Ireland has presented Skibbereen Rowing Club with their new training boat - their prize for winning the Honda “Powering Local Dreams” Competition.

Designed to support the local community by telling their stories, the Honda – “Powering Local Dreams” initiative granted a €5,000 cash prize to the winning club, group or organisation. This is the second year of the competition and Skibbereen Rowing Club was announced as the overall winner at a prize-giving event in Páirc Uí Chaoimh Cork.

John Saunders Sales and Marketing Director, Universal Honda Ltd., Alison Canavan Honda brand ambassador, committee members and rowers from Skibbereen Rowing Club and representatives from the Honda dealer network in Cork were all in attendance.

Speaking at the prize giving today, John Saunders, Sales and Marketing Director, Universal Honda Limited said ‘It is fantastic to see the training boat being launched out on the River Ilen today. Powering Local Dreams was about finding a deserving cause or group in a community and helping them directly and we feel this was achieved today. We wish Skibbereen Rowing Club and all the athletes that will train in the new boat all the best for the future’.

Emily Dulohery, Public Relations Officer for Skibbereen Rowing Club said, ‘Skibbereen rowing club would like to thank the Honda team for traveling down to West Cork to help launch our new training boat. Skibbereen rowing club has seen a massive increase in young people taking up the sport of rowing since the O’Donovan brother’s success at the Rio Olympics in 2016. The rowing club now has 50 athletes (an equal mix of girls and boys) under the age of 18 training multiple times a week out on the River Ilen.

The ‘Honda training boat’ will be invaluable in getting Skibbereen rowing club’s next generation of athletes on the path to success”