Irish Olympians have been given a heroes’ welcome as thousands turned out to cheer on their homecoming in Dublin’s O’Connell St. Gold medalist, boxer Kellie Harrington, said that Ireland was “a small nation but we’re a mighty nation”, and that ‘whether we win or lose or draw, Irish supporters are always there to dust us down and help us go again”.
Loving the view from the office today. #Paris2024 #homecoming pic.twitter.com/XXqYTjBKtV
— David Killy (@davidk30) August 12, 2024
O'Connell Street erupts when Olympic gold-medalist Kellie Harrington and the Irish boxing team are welcomed to the stage | Follow live coverage from the homecoming: https://t.co/eCF0zJHhpY pic.twitter.com/xrTttW4mT3
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) August 12, 2024
Post boxes and lampposts in Harrington’s homeplace of Portland Row were painted gold ahead of the expected homecoming celebrations.
This Post Box on Summerhill Parade in Dublin’s Inner city, just outside Summerhill Post Office, has served the local community for generations.
— An Post (@Postvox) August 12, 2024
It has now been transformed to honour Kellie Harrington and her heroics. Thank You Kellie, you delivered for Ireland! pic.twitter.com/NYmW4O8Nky
Gymnast and Gold medal winner on the pommel horse, Rhys McClenaghan, said that he had been working towards this moment all his life and that we was “just glad it’s here now.”
🗣️"It's a moment i've been working towards all my life and i'm just glad it's here now"
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) August 12, 2024
🗣️"It's a different level when you come back home"
Gold medal winning hero Rhys McClenaghan spoke to @aisoreilly_ at The #TeamIreland #homecoming on O’Connell Street today 🥇#Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/sYb49vVega
McClenaghan said that he had overcome previous disappointment in Tokyo to come home from Paris with a medal. “That to me is the beauty of gymnastics, one tiny error can send you landing on your head. That’s what makes the sport exciting to me. It happened to me in Tokyo, but I’m glad to say it didn’t happen to me this time and we get to walk away as Olympic champions,” he said.
This was Ireland’s best ever Olympic medal haul, with Team Ireland capturing 4 Gold Medals and 7 Olympic Medals in totals – with, as one commentator noted, 26 Top 10 finishes also in the bag, from a total of 134 athletes.
Team Ireland:
— Daniel Hussey (@DanielHussey2) August 11, 2024
- Gold Medals (4)
- Total Medals (7)
- Top 10 Finishes (26)
- Total Athletes (134)
Our best-ever Olympics ☘️
pic.twitter.com/oDRl4QgIQY
The 7 who took home medals – in addition to Harrington and McClenaghan include Daniel Wiffen from Co Armagh who won gold in the men’s 800 metres final and also won a bronze medal in the men’s 1500 metres final.
The legendary Skibbereen rowers came up trumps again as Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy took gold in the men’s lightweight double sculls. Mona McSharry, from Co Sligo, won a bronze medal in the 100-metre breaststroke, while rowers Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch also won bronze.
Our medallists! 💚#TeamIreland pic.twitter.com/jZ36jVm1a3
— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) August 12, 2024
This was just insane, thank you 🫶 pic.twitter.com/HkM239vzw0
— Team Ireland (@TeamIreland) August 12, 2024