Ennis uncle proud of historic Olympic win

THE Clare uncle of gold medal winning Olympic rower Paul O’Donovan has spoken of their family’s pride in his achievement describing the historic win in Paris as “fantastic”.
O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy won a gold medal in the Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls final at the Paris Olympics and among those cheering them on during the finals at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium by Paul’s uncle Mike Doab.
Mike and his wife were part of a strong contingent of Irish fans who travelled to Paris to show their support for the Cork rowers as they successfully defended their title to claim back-to-back golds, crossing the finish line with a time of 6:10:99.
O’Donovan has become the first Irish athlete to medal at three Olympics, having previously won in Rio and Tokyo.
He is the grandson of John Doab from Connolly Villas in Ennis, with their uncle Mike who lives in Ennis, is well-known locally having run a butchers in Clarecastle.
Speaking in the aftermath of the amazing win, Mike told us, “It is absolutely fantastic, we are so proud to have him there and he is after making history now as the first Irish man to win at three Olympics. It’s great, it was fantastic watching him.”
Mike joined his sister, Paul’s mother Trish, and Paul’s father Teddy, in Paris for the event, proudly watching from the stands as the pair rowed to impressive victories in the semi-finals and the finals.
Recalling the atmosphere of the finals, and the emotional medal presentation ceremony as Ireland’s national anthem played he says, “It was unbelievable. The crowds that were there, people were saying 40% of the crowd was Irish. It as just fantastic.
“When they won, and they were getting presented with their medals, it was so special to see the tri-colour going up, looking at Paul and seeing the flag. There would be a tear in the eye alright.”
Mike and his wife joined O’Donovan and his parents as they celebrated the win afterwards. “We met Paul and had a few drinks that evening. He doesn’t really drink, he had a bottle of beer and I don’t think he finished it. It was just nice to meet him and he was talking about the race and the crowd.”
While some of the family were lucky enough to travel to France, there was also plenty of support for O’Donovan in his home county of Cork. One of his biggest supporters is his grandmother, and Mike’s mother, Mary Doab who avidly watched the races from her home in Ballincollig.
“Her house was full with family and friends watching the final. My mother was glued to the television, roaring at the telly and throwing holy water at it. It was great for everyone to come together and support Paul as he made history. It was such a proud moment for the whole family.”
While O’Donovan has a strong connection to Clare there are no immediate plans for him to travel to the Banner as his training schedule keeps him busy.
Mike tells us, “He’s off to Canada for the World Championships next. There is so much training involved. He took 12 months off to train for the Olympics, it’s been 12 months training non-stop for this. I’m trying my best to get him to come here, but it will be a while.”
The winning rowers arrived back in Ireland from Paris on Tuesday, making headlines yet again when it emerged that they were taking a lift back to Cork from a person they met on the plane having first planned on catching a bus.
Among those congratulating them on their epic win President Michael D Higgins described them as “phenomenal sportsmen who have represented the country with immense distinction.”