“We had a pretty good start. Sometimes we don’t. First 500 metres we just settled into the race. The Germans and Italians, they went out. That always happens. So we were third at the 500m mark. I was glad there was no one else ahead.” – Fintan McCarthy on the Olympic final.
Swinging right at Ovens just outside of Ballincollig, west of Cork city, the road begins with a rise up the slope of the Lee valley and winds around past the golf club to a clear point. The high hedges either side, the stone walls and trees in the fields below eventually give way to sky and water.
On Inniscarra Lake nothing is moving but for three white boats cutting through the water at the far side, a motor launch behind th …
- April 2, 2022
