THE BIG INTERVIEW: How Paul's drive ignited the champion in Gary O'Donovan

In an incredible year that brought him and his brother from the European and Olympic podiums to the Graham Norton Show, and a host of awards ceremonies in between, Gary O’Donovan describes the special local Lisheen moment that meant the most. And he recalls how watching the driven younger Paul one day ignited the champion inside him too

Even someone from whom talk spills so easily needs a drop of fuel back in the tank first. Gary O’Donovan has sliced 20km through Inniscarra lake this morning, soaked the pain away in the shower and has half an hour before he lifts weights.

He leads the way to the kitchen at the National Rowing Centre at Farran Wood, 22 km from Cork city, mixes his porridge and prods the microwave. On the notice board is pinned Eamonn Sweeney’s article about the Sports Person of the Year Awards from the Sunday Independent, headline: ‘RTÉ wins award for silliest shortlist’. In the corner, the fourth best lightweight pair in the world this year — Shane O’Driscoll and Mark O’Donovan — hunch over an iPad, sliding frame by frame through footage of their own 20k ‘paddle’ this morning, picking holes. The lads are sweep rowing — one oar each — compared to Gary and Paul O’Donovan’s sculling.