Olympic rower Philip Doyle has revealed he watched a video from his late father the night before competing in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The 31-year-old from Banbridge went on to win bronze for Ireland with his partner Daire Lynch.
His father Eamonn Doyle was a BBC cameraman, who passed away in 2015 following a pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
“He left me a video before he passed,” Doyle told BBC’s Good Morning Ulster.
“It’s the most hilarious thing but when you watch it back you are kind of crying and he’s telling me all these things.
“I think I’ve watched it three times, the first time was on my own, second time was with my mum the week after he died and the last time was the night before the Olympic final. I’ve never watched it since because it’s too much.”
Philip joked his father wasn’t initially a fan of rowing.
“I remember I brought him my first ever medal in rowing when he thought I was a lunatic, training twice a day and it was too much.
“He found protein powder in my room and thought it was drugs. I used to have to sneak out of the house in the morning to go for a run because he would shout at me for training twice a day,” he said.
Eamonn eventually became a fan of the sport, which turned into something the father and son could bond over.
“He came round to it then when he saw the success and we watched the boat race together in the hospice in Newry. Tthere’s just so much about the sport he saw in me,” Philip said.
Philip dedicated his win to his late father, saying the video message from Eamonn gave him extra motivation during the race:
“It was the motivation I wanted and I needed.
“I needed something to ground myself and take my mind away from it, it just was another channel of emotion.”
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Philip is currently enjoying his Olympic success alongside NI’s other Olympians.
“It’s actually phenomenal, we all met up for a photo and there are four gold medals, two bronze and a sliver.”
However, he admits there’s no room for boasting amongst his friends.
“I’m in the high performance centre down in Cork and there are six other Olympic medalists training with me everyday so it becomes a bit blasé when you are in that sphere all the time,” he explained.
“Everyone is like ‘It must be amazing to be an Olympian’ and I’m like ‘all my mates are Olympians’”.
He’s been amazing by the sportsmanship amongst Team Ireland and Team GB athletes in Northern Ireland.
“For Ireland and GB to come together and take a photo, I’d say most of the Olympic village were saying ‘what the hell is going on?’ It’s such a crazy and unique situation.
“When Hannah Scott won her gold, I was like ‘The pressure is on because if Hannah can get a medal then I’m getting a medal’ and while I was waiting at the podium, I saw Rebecca cross the line and I was cheering for her.
“People were wondering why is this Irish guy cheering for Team GB but it was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had in my life so far,” he said.
Ireland’s gold medal-winning rower Fintan McCarthy speaks at a homecoming event in Dublin