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MESSAGES OF CONGRATULATIONS are pouring in for Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy who were crowned Olympic champions in Tokyo this morning after winning the men’s lightweight double sculls final.
President Michael D Higgins has led the messages of congratulations to the Skibbereen pair on winning Ireland’s first-ever rowing Olympic gold in Tokyo.
“After the magnificent success in women’s rowing yesterday, today we celebrate Ireland’s first Olympic gold medal in rowing, won so deservedly by Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy in the lightweight double sculls,” said President Higgins on Twitter.
“Theirs is a tremendous achievement, which gives great inspiration to young people and aspiring athletes all over Ireland.”
Germany, who had dominated the first half of the race, took second after a final surge from O’Donovan and McCarthy in the last 500m was enough for the pair to take gold.
“The Germans and Italians always have a quick start, so for the first time we had a quick start as well, not for lack of effort,” O’Donovan said after the race.
“It was a bit of a surprise that it paid off and we weren’t totally dropped in the first 500m, so that was good. And then we put the heads down and ploughed on so it was good.”
Reacting to the win, McCarthy said:
“It feels pretty good. We can’t complain! We had a really good race – but a tough one. The Germans were flying so it was hard. I was really excited when we first crossed the line and there was a bit of relief as well.
We have had a good time all week, so we are a bit sad that it is all over. We hadn’t had too much time to think about it but it feels pretty good and hopefully it will be that way for a while.
The pair told Morning Ireland their success was down to a combination of hard work and luck.
“You need a bit of luck. We were born into the place we were born into and there’s a rowing club nearby,” O’Donovan said.
“Fundamentally, we did a whole lot of training – that’s the main ingredient,” he said.
Fintan’s mother Sue told the same programme that pride doesn’t cover how the family are feeling, “it is so much more than that.”
“We hope beyond hope that they would [win]. They were on form, they’ve been on form all season, and it seemed that no one could touch them. So, we just hoped that would be the case again today. They didn’t let us down.”
The welcome and love for @TeamIreland rowing gold medallists Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan as they return to the Olympic village pic.twitter.com/UaXU2ivwLl
— Gary Lemke (@GaryLemke) July 29, 2021
本日、フィンタン・マッカーシー選手とポール・オドノヴァン選手が、 #ボート 男子軽量級ダブルスカルの決勝を制しました。
— アイルランド大使館 Ireland in Japan (@IrishEmbJapan) July 29, 2021
ボートでの #金メダル 獲得は、アイルランド史上初の快挙！選手のお二方と #TeamIreland の皆様、本当におめでとうございます。アイルランドにとって誇れる1日になりました。 pic.twitter.com/POiXz8X99o
Taoiseach Micheál Martin offered his congratulations to the pair this morning, saying it will “inspire generations to come”.
An outstanding gold medal for Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy. Breathtaking victory in the lightweight double sculls – a race that will live long in history.
“A special day for Irish rowing and the Irish people,” he tweeted.
“I’m so happy about it – I think the extraordinary commitment is something to behold. This will inspire generations to come,” Martin also told Newstalk Breakfast.
“To the people of Ireland, it’s a proud moment.”
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar tweeted: “Gold!!! What an outstanding result for Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan. World champions and now Olympic Gold!”.
Fianna Fáil TD for Cork South West Christopher O’Sullivan said the win was the “proudest ever moment in West Cork’s sporting history”.
The proudest ever moment in West Cork’s sporting history.
— Christopher O’Sullivan TD (@COSullivanTD) July 29, 2021
Olympic Gold for Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy.
They carried the weight of an entire nation on their shoulders and now there are 2 Olympic gold medals on the way back to Skibbereen Rowing Club. pic.twitter.com/tr4KRlqG7E
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Moorooned
No bull there, it was the magic mushrooms that done it..!!
if u read it all than u seen that it sed two months old calf and the cow was missing for two months…cows expecting for 9 months just like humans…so think agen about ur magic mushrooom!!
Ah poor moo cow. The udders didn’t like her!!!
I’m delighted she was rescued the steaks were high.
The weathers nice now but in another few weeks she would have been friesian.
Amoozing!…… I’ll grab my coat.
Baaaaaah
I’d say the farmer creamed himself when he found her
Milking this story…..only been told calf of it …..
So the others wanted rid of her… Bunch of cows!!
thats great, they should have her on the late late.
Great idea !!! Bet she would make more sense that the 2 legged mad dog that was on it last week!
lucky cow
“She was pushed into the lake by other cows while they were drinking.” A typical student night out then really…
What a mooving story… Sorry.. Couldn’t resist
Moderators, can you please give this thread the hoof.
Well I’ll beef hooked
Who are these people that don’t turn their camera’s sideways!
Celebrity survivor moooove over. Survivor – Meath style is coming.
Wish some of the cattle in the dail would go missing.
I don’t think there is cattle in the dail.
the island the cow is on is the site of an old crannog. its fairly possible she walked over. In summer months you can walk to the island in waders
What a load of bullocks !!!
Great story but did anyone notice that farmer thick nor his young companion were not wearing life jackets while out on a lake.
We wonder how these accidents happen when hear of lives lost on small lake to drowning.
Load of bull ?
Awh I’m glad they found her and her baby :-)
Why are cattle being allowed access to a lake! With all the talk of septic tank inspections to protect groundwater, would it not make sense to keep cattle covered in faeces from wading in a lake! The farmer should be prosecuted and forced to protect the lake.
Looks like a lot of people have developed a taste for e coli.
Well you’re obviously not from the country and know nothing about farming or the countryside in general. It’s a very rare thing that cattle out in fields are covered in faeces. Cattle usually only get dirty when they are kept indoors during the winter or when they are corralled for an extended period of time in yards due to being medicated, awaiting milking, etc. Anyway, lots of other animals urinate and defecate into rivers and lakes, including badgers, foxes, rabbits, hares, fish, and pretty much every other animal we have in this country. On top of that, no one in Ireland uses water directly from a river or lake for any domestic use. It’s always treated unless you have your own well, in which case the water has been a long time removed from rivers and lakes and cleansed naturally by the surrounding rock. Oh, and maybe we can let the cows do what’s natural until we humans stop pumping billions of gallons of our own excrement and waste into our own water supplies.
Well said Brian…
I am 50 yards from a herd of cattle right now. They in turn are fenced off from a stream 100 yards in the other direction. Thanks for the lecture though.
You, sir, are a fool
Btw, aside from the faecal contamination of groundwater, which in no way compares with natural levels, there is the additional risk of spreading bovine TB by allowing cattle access to grounwater in this manner. Even farmers organisations acknowledge the need to keep cattle out of our waterways. The debate was whether 10m was sufficient or over the top.
Lake water is surface water Colin C.
Hoof Hearted!
Mad cow is still about so
The island on Lough Breakey is a Crannog that has now become overgrown with trees. The cow is likely to have waded out onto the ‘island’ to calf, cows are naturally forest animals and instinctively seek the cover of woodland if available, particularly when calving.
As an aside, cows do not as a general rule push other cows into lakes, that’s more of a human trait!
The young male cow went in search of a female as they are highly sexual creatures at this time of season,as you can see his skin is brown from the green grass he eats..
David Attenborough will be back in 5..
Male cow? It’s not, by any chance, looking for a female bull? Let’s just say, if you ever decide to milk a cow, let me know. I’ll bring a chair, some popcorn and something to calm me down after the inevitable bout of side-splitting laughter. Oh, and I’ll have the ambulance on speed dial for you…
I’ll go along for the craic too Brian!!
No popcorn for me though. Gets caught in me throat ..
Congratulations to my Grand daughter Niamh Carolan, Lossett for starting all the story of the cow and calf on Breakey Lake as I always called it when fishing there rather than Lough Breakey. That was in the good old days of the 1950′s. I did notice that she got very little comments or good wishes for her efforts. She posted the original video after using her Iphone when visiting the shore of the lake. Well done to her Dad Kevin who also.appears in the video link. You became famous overnight Niamh so well done from Grandad Peter
(insert cow pun here)
“She was pushed into the lake by other cows when they were drinking.” A typical student night out really…
Was Wilson ok.
Bet ya enda put the cow there
I don’t think the farmer put a lot of effort into the search at any time the animal was after all able to walk onto the island due to very dry summer anyway he had free grazeing
Don’t bother watching the video. 3min 47 seconds of boring.
have your say