Philip Doyle: ‘This is when you have to step up and do your bit’

Medicine comes first and rowing second but that doesn’t mean Philip Doyle can’t give everything possible to achieving his goals in both fields, even in the midst of the worst health crisis the world has seen in a century.

21 May 2020; Ireland rower Philip Doyle supporting Circle K Little Thank Yous initiative. Little Thank Yous is a community initiative created by Circle K to give special recognition to the people of Ireland who are working hard to keep the country moving right now. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Philip Doyle took a bit of stick for an interview he gave to BBC Northern Ireland last December.

A World Championship silver medallist alongside Ronan Byrne in the double sculls only two months earlier had confirmed the pair’s candidacy for a podium finish at the Olympics but then the Banbridge man said that success in Tokyo wasn’t the “be all and end all”.