Double Olympic Champ McCarthy Headlines Star-Studded Irish-Kiwi Composite Crew for Golden Oar

  • Double Olympic Champ McCarthy Headlines Star-Studded Irish-Kiwi Composite Crew for Golden Oar image

Fintan McCarthy, Philip Doyle, Margaret Cremen and Ella Cossill to race together on Lake Burley Griffin

Golden Oar is thrilled to announce that an outstanding Irish-Kiwi Composite Crew featuring Fintan McCarthy, Philip Doyle, Margaret Cremen and Ella Cossill will compete at The Golden Oar 2026. The combination brings together some of Ireland’s most decorated Olympians and world medallists alongside a rising New Zealand international in a single boat.

Fintan McCarthy, from Skibbereen Rowing Club, is a double Olympic gold medallist in the lightweight double sculls (Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024) and a multiple World Champion. After the removal of lightweight events from the Olympic programme, he has successfully transitioned to heavyweight, claiming World Championship bronze in the men’s double sculls in 2025 and becoming the inaugural Mixed Double Sculls World Champion the same year.

Philip Doyle, from Belfast Boat Club, is a two-time Olympian who won bronze in the men’s double sculls at Paris 2024, having also competed at Tokyo 2020. He has multiple World Championship medals, including silver in 2019 and bronze in both 2023 and 2025.

Margaret Cremen, from Cork and UCC Rowing Club, completed a golden weekend at the 2026 World Championships in Amsterdam: gold in the women’s double sculls with Zoe Hyde, followed by silver in the mixed double sculls alongside Konan Pazzaia. A two-time Olympian in the lightweight double sculls (Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024), she also won World Championship bronze in 2022 and, in 2025, partnered McCarthy to gold as the first-ever Mixed Double Sculls World Champions. Now racing heavyweight, she remains one of Ireland’s most consistent performers.

Ella Cossill, a New Zealand international since 2020, returns to Golden Oar for a second year, having raced in the Open Mixed Quadruple Sculls at the inaugural 2025 event. A breakthrough 2026 season saw her medal twice on the World Cup circuit in the women’s coxless four — bronze in Seville and silver in Plovdiv — building on a strong collegiate career that included stroking the University of Washington’s Varsity Eight to silver at the 2023 NCAA Championships. She also raced in New Zealand’s coxless four and eight at the 2026 World Championships in Amsterdam.

The Irish trio’s Golden Oar debut comes alongside another string of star turns, with Croatian rowing legends Martin and Valent Sinković — three-time Olympic gold medallists — returning to Australian water for a second year, this time teaming up with Australian Olympians Tara Rigney and Laura Gourley.

Canberra’s premier international rowing festival, presented by Canberra Airport and hosted by Red Shed, takes place from 30 October to 1 November on the iconic waters of Lake Burley Griffin at Black Mountain Peninsula.

For more details, visit goldenoar.com.au or follow on Instagram

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