He is from
Skibbereen, County Cork. McCarthy and twin brother
Fintan McCarthy both compete in rowing. A member of Skibbereen Rowing Club, McCarthy won his first national title in rowing with his brother in 2016. The brothers qualified for the
European Rowing Championships final in 2019. After missing two years of competition with a back injury, McCarthy returned to racing and alongside Fintan and Jake, took silver in the directors’ challenge men’s quads at the Head of the Charles regatta in
Boston, Massachusetts in October 2024. He won a place in the A final of the lightweight men’s single sculls with a second-place finish in his heat at the
2025 European Rowing Championships in
Plovdiv in May 2025, placing fourth in the final. He won the bronze medal at the
2025 World Rowing Championships in the lightweight single sculls competing in
Shanghai, China, in September 2025. == References ==