JAKE McCarthy knows the importance of the Irish Rowing Championships – this is where it all started for the Skibbereen rower, and his twin brother Fintan.
In the same summer of 2016 when another set of Skibbereen rowing brothers, Gary and Paul O’Donovan, captured the hearts of the nation with their Olympic silver medals in Rio, Jake and Fintan also reached a landmark moment in their rowing journey – they won their first national championship title together.
A photo of Jake and Fintan holding their ‘pots’ and pennant after winning the intermediate men’s double even graced the front page of The Southern Star sport section. That was a special championship for Skibbereen Rowing Club – they had officially become Ireland’s most successful rowing club after winning 13 titles on a glorious weekend.
Nine years on, the Skibbereen club – still the undisputed No. 1 rowing club in the country – has the opportunity to make it 200 titles at this weekend’s Irish Rowing Championships that run from Friday to Sunday at the National Rowing Centre. They currently have 199. It promises to be another special weekend for the club, and Jake (28) can’t wait.
‘The champs are really important – this is where it started for all of us,’ he says.
‘This is a great opportunity to give back to the club, and hopefully give them some success seeing as they have given us so much. This is where we started out. Look at all the coaching and resources they provided us, to give us the chance to improve and thrive and get to the next level.
‘The champs bring everyone together – you have younger rowers hanging out with the national rowers. I remember when I was starting out, that was really exciting, to be able to race with the club’s international rowers. This is a stepping stone for the younger rowers, and from my own experience it adds that sense of belief that it is achievable.’
Jake McCarthy and his twin Fintan were in the Star headlines in 2016.
Skibbereen Rowing Club is sending a star-studded team to this year’s championships – it’s not a matter of will they break the 200-title barrier, it’s when. Two time Olympic gold medallist Fintan will be the star attraction this weekend, and he has great company, with Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Emily Hegarty and Paris Olympic finalist Aoife Casey both returning from London to row for their home club. Add in Jake, who was back-up to Fintan and Paul O’Donovan (who is not racing this weekend) at the Paris Olympics, and the quality of the Skibbereen team is evident. World-class rowers.
The next generation of Skibb stars will also be in action. Keep an eye out for Mattias Cogan, Aoife Hendy, Sam Wheeler-O’Brien and Abigail Fowler who have all been selected on the Irish junior squad this year.
‘Even now we’re at this high level, the national championships are still really important,’ Jake explains.
‘With the Worlds being later this year, almost everyone on the Irish team is racing in one event or another. The standard will be pretty high.
‘For younger rowers, this is the pinnacle. Once they achieve this, they can move on to the next thing – that’s what it was like for Fintan and me. We wanted to win a national championship, and then make an international team, and go from there.’
Jake has a busy weekend ahead. He could race in up to four events, including the senior double with his twin Fintan in the senior men’s double on Friday.
‘I’m actually not sure when we raced together last,’ Jake mused, ‘but it will be good fun. He’s also hoping to race in the lightweight single, senior single and in a composite eight with UCC – Fintan, Finn O’Reilly and Mattias Cogan will also fly Skibb’s flag in that boat.
‘I’ve never raced a senior eight before and I don’t think Fin has either, there is always a lot of hype around that race.’
Every Skibbereen rower wants to get their name on the championship board that hangs in the hall.
For Jake, it’s another chance to race – and he loves that. He admits he doesn’t know what his future in rowing looks like, so he’s taking it one regatta at a time. While Fintan has stepped up into the heavyweight ranks and looked at home, Jake has remained in the lightweight category. He competed in a lightweight single at the European Rowing Championships, but missed the recent Rowing World Cup in Lucerne through illness.
‘The future is all still up in the air, to be honest,’ Jake explained. ‘Because last year, being an Olympic year, was so intense, this year is a chance to explore other things. It’s not as intense, from a training standpoint.
‘I was always going to wait to see what I will do, and I haven’t been full-time with the team at the National Rowing Centre, so I figured I’m better off staying lightweight for now. We’ll see how everything pans out.
‘I have been trying to explore other interests, as well as rowing, trying to plan for life after rowing whenever that may be – it could be sooner or later, I’m not sure yet,’ he added, having based himself back at home in Skibbereen, which he has enjoyed. It’s back to his roots, where it all started at Skibbereen Rowing Club and training on the Ilen River.
‘I remember when I used to see Paul, Gary, Mark (O'Donovan), Shane (O’Driscoll), Denise (Walsh) training at home, I’d be trying extra hard to impress them. I’m not saying the younger rowers now look at me and think I’m like them, but if having me around does help any little bit, that’s great,’ he added, giving back to the club that makes dreams come true.
Jake is confident Skibbereen Rowing Club will make more history this weekend and be the first Irish club to win 200 titles. It’s another chance to get his name on the championship board that hangs in the clubhouse. As a junior rower, he wanted his name up there. Now, with history in sight, he’s chasing that feeling all over again.
