‘Gary is not done with this sport at all yet’

IT’S all about Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy right now – but Paul insists his older brother Gary is still in contention for the all-conquering Irish men’s lightweight double.

2016 Olympic silver medallist and 2018 world champion Gary (pictured), who shot to stardom in the Irish double alongside Paul, lost his place in the boat to Fintan McCarthy in 2019. Since then Paul and Fintan have gone from strength to strength, but Paul isn’t ruling Gary out of the equation heading into 2023.

Gary’s last competitive outing was World Rowing Cup II in June when he represented Ireland in a single scull, finishing 11th overall.

‘Gary is not done with this sport at all yet,’ said Paul, speaking at the launch of the National Dairy Council’s new ad campaign, From the Ground Up.

‘He’d some illness there, and bits and pieces last year, and sat out the latter half of the season. But he’s been back in the boat recently, training away and aiming for next year.

‘He's shown in the past that he's a really talented guy, he rows well, he's strong and he's fit so he could definitely feature again in the future.’