Sport Ireland Welcomes 2016 Olympians Home

Team Ireland returns with two medals after a series of exceptional performances across a wide range of sports, including a further fourteen top-ten finishes and a series of personal-bests.

SPORT IRELAND Chairman, Kieran Mulvey, today welcomed Team Ireland home after a strong performance at the Rio Olympic Games.

The 2016 Olympic Games saw Ireland claim two silver medals, with O’Donovan brothers Gary and Paul claiming second spot in the men’s lightweight double sculls, while Annalise Murphy won Ireland’s first medal in sailing in 36 years.

Speaking ahead of the team landing at Dublin Airport, Mr Mulvey said: “Firstly, I would like to welcome home and congratulate all of our athletes. I would especially like to commend Annalise, Gary and Paul on their achievement; all three have captured the imagination of the Irish public throughout the games both on and off the water, and have been excellent ambassadors for Ireland.”

In Rio many Irish athletes secured personal bests with Team Ireland recording sixteen top-ten finishes and a further fourteen top-twenty finishes. Mr Mulvey credited the positive showing with advancements in the Irish High Performance system over the course of the last four years.

“Since the 2012 Games the High Performance system has moved on considerably”, Mr Mulvey continued, “with a large team of athletes, including a team in a field sport for the first time since 1948, qualifying for through tough qualification routes.

“The majority of the Irish team are now based in Ireland and the Irish Institute of Sport has had a transformational impact with athletes utilising the facilities and professional supports available.”

Ireland was represented in thirteen sports in Rio and the number of disciplines in which athletes were competitive when it came to medals has risen.

Sport Ireland CEO, John Treacy, commented: “Ireland is becoming more competitive in more sports, which shows more of our National Governing Body High Performance programmes are delivering. In Rio there was a clear improvement in performance as highlighted in the number of top ten and top twenty finishes.

“Looking ahead to the next Olympic cycle, the Rio review is underway and as we move forward Sport Ireland will continue to bring progressive change with the completion of a world-class National Indoor Arena later this year the next major impact.”