By Cate McCurry, PA
Ireland will welcome home its 133 athletes from Paris on Monday after the most successful Olympic Games in the State’s history.
The athletes will take part in a celebratory homecoming in Dublin city on Monday afternoon to mark Ireland’s biggest medal haul.
Dublin City Council is organising an event in front of the GPO on O’Connell Street to celebrate their success.
A total of 64 women and 69 men competed for Team Ireland across 14 sports, winning seven medals in total.
Four gold medals were won across various events at the Paris games.
Daniel Wiffen (23) from Co Armagh won gold in the men’s 800 metres final and also took a bronze in the men’s 1500 metres final.
Rhys McClenaghan (25) from Co Down won gold in the pommel horse final, in what he called his “redemption story”.
Three athletes retained their Olympic titles from the Tokyo games: Skibbereen rowers Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy in the men’s lightweight double sculls; and Dubliner Kellie Harrington in the women’s 60kg boxing event.
Mona McSharry, from Co Sligo, won a bronze medal in the 100-metre breaststroke, while rowers Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch also won bronze.
Dublin lord mayor James Geoghegan said it was the first time there would be a welcome home event for Ireland’s Olympians.
“This Olympics has really been an event like no other. I was looking at a statistic earlier today and for a 50-year period in Ireland we won four Olympic golds. In this Olympics alone we won four Olympic golds,” he told RTÉ radio.
“The athletes made history on our behalf. Yes we have all these medal winners, but we’ve all these top 10 finishes and all these participants and that’s what today is a celebration of.”
He said he expects thousands to attend and more than 100 athletes, including those who won medals.
“We’re asking everyone to bring their Irish flags, to bring their green.
“On stage we may not have Snoop Dogg and Tom Cruise but we do have Marty Morrissey and Sinead Kissane.”
Minister for Sport Catherine Martin and Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education Thomas Byrne will later welcome the athletes.
Ms Martin said: “Team Ireland has made the nation so proud, our most successful team ever at an Olympic Games.
“Over these past few weeks, thousands of Irish supporters travelled to France to loudly cheer on the team and it was clear that our athletes greatly appreciated this support.
“Back home in Ireland, there has also been great support for our athletes every step of the way.
“I want to congratulate everyone who has been involved in this endeavour from the athletes to the coaches, the sporting bodies, the Olympic Federation through to the Sport Ireland Institute and beyond.
“This success has been a credit to our athletes’ dedication, and the support of their families, coaches and communities.
“This fantastic achievement also demonstrates the value of the continued and sustained investment into our sporting system.
“We have invested at all levels, from the high performance system right on down to the grassroots community level and we will continue to build on that investment in the years to come, to provide our athletes with the support they deserve.”
Mr Byrne said: “We sent our biggest ever team to the Paris Games, and they have returned with our greatest ever medal haul.
“That is an outstanding achievement and I want to congratulate each member of Team Ireland on their performance.
“We have seen national records set in sports like athletics and swimming.
“We have reached finals and the latter stages in sports and disciplines where we have never been in serious contention before.
“This has been a terrific Olympic Games for Ireland.
“I also want to thank the French people for hosting such a fantastic Games.
“What we have seen in Paris represents the very best of a strong Irish sports system that is delivering for a diversity of sports.
“I want to offer my sincere thanks to the team behind Team Ireland, from family members and friends, to volunteers and supporters, along with countless more.
“I also want to recognise and commend the Olympic Federation of Ireland, Sport Ireland and my department for their dedicated work in supporting our high performance athletes and sporting community.”
