Skibbereen spirit shines through in rowing club’s tale
IT’S COMING up to four years now since the O’Donovan brothers, Gary and Paul, won Ireland’s first-ever rowing medal at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. For a few summery days in 2016, the country was glued to every stroke.
It sure made a change from everyone becoming boxing experts for two weeks, as clued-in new-age aficionados reeled off explanations on blades, looms and rigger jiggers to their buddies.
There were probably two things that really helped the O’Donovans gain traction in a country that has a small amount of sports it really loves, and a large smattering that struggle to get by year on year.
Medalling is the big part, as Ireland don’t boast double digit medal hauls in Olympic Games. Usually just a couple are spread around the place, with boxing obviously proving successful in the last few decades.
However, with the O’Donovans it was more, it was the personality they brought to the table, the sound bites they created.
Hundreds of athletes achieved their dreams in Rio ‘16, but there was only one set of O’Donovan brothers, the pride of Skibbereen in Co. Cork.
The brothers are the backbone of this week’s book, ‘Something in the Water’. While they might be the hook that help author Kieran McCarthy sell his first dip into the world of book writing, they are far from the only story in this history of the Skibbereen Rowing Club.
‘Something in the Water’ details the incredible success that the club has had since it was founded in 1970, going on to become the most successful in the country as they close in on two hundred national titles across the genders and disciplines.
Apart from the opening few chapters, where McCarthy tries a little too hard to make an immediate impression with unnecessary floury prose, the book is a fairly laidback read, flowing generally in a chronological order, but it does delve into the O’Donovans’ Olympic silver medal fairly early on.
The rest is an in-depth look at the rowers and coaches of the club, in particular paying attention to the many who pulled on the green singlet of Ireland.
It details the success, the highs and the memorable days, but also hones in on those tough situations through the years, in particular where rowers have lost seats in national team boats.
Not only does it tell the story of the rowers, but McCarthy is able to portray the importance of the club on an area that is used to success in other sporting spheres.
That sense of community radiates throughout the book and at times seems almost as important as the dogged determination of those involved.
The rowing market isn’t huge in this country, in comparison with the big favourites at the top of the tree. However, there is a great sense of community within the sport, right across the country, so this book will already sit on many shelves within that sphere, and rightly so.
The question is, can it bleed into the general sports book reading market and gain traction there? That’s a tough question; one feels like this isn’t something the younger demographic will have much interest in, as it just hasn’t got enough pull.
An older audience might appreciate this content a little more. The publication is not going to blow you away, it’s not going to sit in the row on your bookshelves with your favourites, but it will pass a few hours of semi-lockdown and make you just a little more knowledgeable about the sport of rowing when the Tokyo Olympics does eventually take place.
DEAN GOODISON
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