Two-time Olympic champion Fintan McCarthy has an unbreakable bond to the club where his journey all started
BY KIERAN McCARTHY
THE first person Fintan McCarthy spotted in the colourful crowd at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium in Paris after he got his hands on his second Olympic gold medal was a familiar face from home – Skibbereen rowing legend Nuala Lupton.
Fintan was a long way from Skibb on that fantastic Friday, but the unbreakable connection to home was there. It’s that constant throughout his journey from the River Ilen to Olympic gold and greatness.
Just last week as Fintan’s second Olympic gold medal, won in Paris alongside Paul O’Donovan in the Irish men’s lightweight double, was celebrated with his latest West Cork Sports Star monthly award, Nuala Lupton made the trip to the Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery too. Again, she was there to support Fintan, like she does with all the club’s athletes.
Lupton is the original Skibbereen rowing trailblazer – she was the first rower from the club to represent Ireland, at the 1975 World Rowing Championships in Nottingham, and a year later Nuala won the club’s first-ever national rowing title. She has dedicated 50 years of her life to Skibbereen Rowing Club – and the new trailblazers appreciate the path Lupton and her contemporaries have created to link Skibb to the world stage.
Fintan McCarthy in Skibb rowing colours.
Founding member Richard Hosford made the trip to this latest award presentation too, just like he had when Paul O’Donovan picked up his the previous week. Their support is unconditional.
‘I remember looking up into the crowd after Amhrán na bhFiann played and saw Nuala there beaming, flying the Skibbereen Rowing Club flag as well as the tricolour,’ Fintan recalled, reflecting on the medal ceremony after Paul O’Donovan and himself won gold at the Paris Olympics.
‘To see Richie still come to these awards and showing that support, it’s what it’s all about. They have done so much for us, and it’s nice to give back a small bit to them for all that they have done.
‘They’re always so delighted for us, they are the first people to come out and support us.’
Fintan has hit the highest of highs in rowing – the 27-year-old is a two-time Olympic gold medal winner and a three-time world champion, but he’s never forgotten where it all started, at home with Skibbereen Rowing Club.
‘One of the things about Skibb is you feel such loyalty and you are part of the club forever. You always somehow find your way back there. I hope that continues. I think everyone does feel they are part of the club,’ Fintan says, and it’s why he ranks winning the men’s senior single sculls at the 2022 Irish Rowing Championships as one of his top achievements in rowing. He won in Skibb’s red and white colours.
Because of the international season Skibbereen’s elite stars rarely get to compete at the Irish Rowing Championships, but Fintan is optimistic about racing for Skibb in next year’s championships.
‘Fingers crossed, it’s looking good,’ he says, and if the Olympic legend does row in Skibbereen colours in 2025, think of the impact that will have on the club’s younger athletes – they’ll get to share the Skibb tent at Farran Wood with one of greatest Irish rowers of all time. Fintan knows what that means because he was once in their shoes.
‘I don’t know if I am getting older or nostalgic or whatever, but it’s great to go back to the club and see some of myself in the younger kids there, to see them all genuinely excited about the sport and being from Skibb, that’s all you can ask for really,’ he explains.
‘We don’t do it to be these big inspirational stars, but I remember being that age and seeing all those who have come before us, watching their races on TV, watching the Olympics and then being buzzed to go and train after that. That’s what sticks in my mind as to what inspired me and what that inspiration did for me so to recognise that feeling now, rather than being told you’re a role model or an inspiration, you realise that other kids might have that same feeling now, watching me.’
Bandon’s David O’Callaghan holds Fintan McCarthy’s Olympic gold medal at the Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery.
Fintan’s journey from young gun to club legend is an inspirational one, and he is carrying the baton that was first held in 1970 when Skibbereen Rowing Club was founded, and then passed on to Nuala Lupton in the 1970s to his coach Dominic Casey in the 80s and by those who followed after, each ensuring this club continues to thrive on both national and international stages.
The Skibbereen club couldn’t wish for a better ambassador. The latest evidence: at the West Cork Sports Star award presentation, rising Bandon AC star Eoin O’Callaghan (17) received a Paudie Palmer Youth Award, and his family were thrilled to share the stage with Olympic champ Fintan. He posed for photos and selfies, passed his Paris Olympic gold medal around, and chatted to them all. That resonates more than Fintan might realise. From Nuala to Fintan, the club is in good hands.
