Timmy Harnedy was a member of Ireland’s men’s lightweight coxless four squad at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, having been a key part of the crew that qualified Ireland’s place at the 2003 World Championships in Milan.

From Skibbereen, Co. Cork, Harnedy was widely regarded by his crewmates as the engine of the qualifying four – Eugene Coakley later described him as “the conductor” with an uncanny ability to draw the best out of those around him, making the boat stronger than the sum of its parts.

Harnedy lost his seat in the crew before the Games and did not race in Athens; the crew that competed without him finished 6th in the A final.

He returned to the crew for the following year’s campaign, winning World Cup gold in Lucerne and silver at the 2005 World Championships in Gifu alongside Coakley, Paul Griffin and Richard Archibald, and a bronze medal at the 2006 World Championships at Eton.

A role model for the generation of Skibbereen rowers who followed him, he was cited by Gary and Paul O’Donovan as one of the athletes who showed them that Skibbereen rowers could compete at the highest level. He is married to Áine Harnedy, herself a six-time Irish national champion and international rower.