Brendan Dolan competed in the men’s lightweight double sculls at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games alongside Niall O’Toole, finishing 4th in their opening heat and then being eliminated from the main event in the repechage, edged out of the vital second qualifying place by Germany by 0.27 seconds.

The partnership of Dolan and O’Toole had only been confirmed in the weeks prior to the Games; it was Dolan who, partnered by Emmet O’Brien, had originally qualified the Irish boat for Atlanta by finishing 6th at the 1995 World Championships in Tampere, Finland.