SINCE the opening of the impressive Grange Rath development, there has been much talk of the new Colpe Village. Older members of the community will remember the original Colpe Village around the delightful Colpe Church, a nod towards a bygone age. Local historian and Colpe man Eamonn Maguire tells a great tale of Colpe, which has a long and varied history. It was the original parish in the area which is now divided between St Mary’s Drogheda and Mornington and Laytown. Eamonn revealed that the name comes from Inver Colpa, which is said to be the name of St Patrick’s brother or priest who landed with him at the estuary at the bottom of Mill Road. It is also said that it was the apologetic cry of the natives who first attacked St Patrick and his crew when they tried to land in the area, believing them to be invaders. When they discovered that they were coming in peace, they cried out ‘Inver Colpa’ in contrition.

Boyne Regatta, Rowing season opens at Drogheda.

Old postcards are a great source of information for rowing historians, especially if they have been posted and can be easily dated. The above postcard, shows the boat house of the now defunct Drogheda Rowing Club, Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland (Est’d 1867) nestled beside the 12 stone-arches of the Boyne Viaduct, on the southern shore of the River Boyne. The club moved to their newly built premised in 1879 which according to Memories from the Boyne, The Story of Drogheda Rowing Club (2000) cost the princely sum of £212. The building was seventy-foot by forty-foot and contained a meeting room and a bathroom!

Drogheda Rowing Club was host of the ‘Boyne Regatta’ which traditional began the Irish rowing season. The IARU (Irish Amateur Rowing Union) was founded in 1899 and the first regatta held under their rules was held on the Boyne but the first recorded boat races on the Boyne were in 1862. Here is a short clip showing the finish of a couple of races outside Drogheda Rowing Club in 1921.

The camera pans across the spectators sat in the stands. L/S of people stood at the side of the river, we see a band playing among them. A group of men pose for the cameras, one waves. M/S of the two teams rowing down the river. M/S as one team carries their boat out of the water and up the bank. There are more shots of the teams on the river. M/S of some of the rowers posing for the camera with their oars