Paul Griffin represented Ireland in the men’s lightweight coxless four at two Olympic Games – finishing 6th in the A final at Athens 2004 and 10th in the B final at Beijing 2008.

From Fossa, near Killarney, Co. Kerry, Griffin began rowing aged 13 at Fossa Rowing Club – having, as he freely admitted, no great talent for the Gaelic football that occupied most of his peers – before moving to Muckross, where he helped win national honours.

He became Kerry’s first two-time Olympic rower. His Athens crew of Griffin, Eugene Coakley, Richard Archibald and Niall O’Toole had qualified at the 2003 World Championships in Milan with genuine medal ambitions, but finished 6th in the A final. His Beijing crew of Griffin, Richard Archibald, Cathal Moynihan and Richard Coakley reached the B final and finished 10th overall.

Griffin was described by a teammate as “the toughest man in Irish sport” – a judgment borne out by the conditions of his preparation, which in the lean years before Athens included cycling through dark winter mornings to Muckross Community Centre for rowing machine sessions, then cycling home, running, and cycling to evening weights – all without a car.

As part of the preparation for Beijing, national coach Harald Jahrling had taken the lightweight four on cross-country skiing camps, and Griffin excelled to the point where he gathered the qualification points needed for Vancouver 2010 – only to be overlooked for selection. He went on to win silver at the World Championships in 2005 and bronze in 2006.