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List of flag bearers for Ireland at the Olympics

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Ireland at the
Olympics
IOC codeIRL
NOCOlympic Federation of Ireland
Websitewww.olympicsport.ie
Medals
Gold
15
Silver
10
Bronze
17
Total
42
Summer appearances
Winter appearances
Other related appearances
 Great Britain (1896–1920)

This is a list of flag bearers who have represented Ireland at the Olympics. Flag bearers carry the national flag of their country at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Men and women from across the country and from a variety of sports have carried the flag at both the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games.

Firsts

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Athletes from Ireland competed alongside Great Britain for the first Olympic Games, entering their own team for the first time in 1924. Many Irish Americans competed for the United States, achieving significant success particularly in athletics.[1] Pat McDonald, who had moved to the United States at a young age, won the shot put at the 1912 Games and was chosen to carry the U.S. flag at the opening ceremony of the 1920 Games in Antwerp, Belgium.[2][3]

John O'Grady was the first athlete to bear the Irish tricolour in 1924. Ireland did not compete in the Winter Olympics until 1992, with Pat McDonagh, a former Summer Olympic rower turned bobsledder, leading out the team.[4]

Boycotts

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The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet–Afghan War, saw many countries pull out of the Games and only 16 nations appeared at the opening ceremony. Taoiseach Charles Haughey declared his support for the boycott but the Olympic Council of Ireland still chose to send their team to Moscow. Ken Ryan, manager of the Olympic team, said that they supported the government but wanted to participate in the games "purely from the sporting point of view". At the opening ceremony Ryan was the sole representative of the team and marched under a white flag with bearing the Olympic rings.[5] The Soviet cameramen avoided the protesting marchers and few Soviet commentators mentioned it. Only one comment was recorded: "There is the clumsy plot that you all can see, against the traditions of the Olympic movement."[6]

Other notes

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The McGarry sisters, Tamsen and Kirsten, both carried the flag for Ireland. Tamsen was the elder sister, born in 1982 in Bolton, England, and was selected as the flag bearer for the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. It was the only time that she would compete at the Olympics. Kirsten was chosen for the 2006 Games in Turin. Both sisters were alpine skiers.[4][7][8]

List of flag bearers

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Sonia O'Sullivan, flag bearer at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Pat O'Callaghan, flag bearer at the 1932 Summer Olympics

List of flag bearers:[4]

# Event year Season Flag bearer Sport
1 1924 Summer John O'Grady Athletics
2 1928 Summer Matt Flanagan Boxing
3 1932 Summer Pat O'Callaghan Athletics
4 1948 Summer Paddy Carroll Team official [9]
5 1952 Summer Paddy Carroll Team official [10]
6 1956 Summer Kevin Barry Equestrianism
7 1956 Summer Tony Byrne Boxing
8 1960 Summer Ron Delany Athletics
9 1964 Summer John Lawlor Athletics
10 1968 Summer Jim McCourt Boxing
11 1972 Summer Ronnie McMahon Equestrianism
12 1976 Summer Frank Moore Rowing
13 1980 Summer Ken Ryan Team manager [5]
14 1984 Summer Gerry Mullins Equestrianism
15 1988 Summer Wayne McCullough Boxing
16 1992 Winter Pat McDonagh Bobsleigh
17 1992 Summer Michelle Smith Swimming
18 1996 Summer Francie Barrett Boxing
19 1998 Winter Terry McHugh Bobsleigh
20 2000 Summer Sonia O'Sullivan Athletics
21 2002 Winter Tamsen McGarry Alpine skiing
22 2004 Summer Niall Griffin Equestrianism
23 2006 Winter Kirsten McGarry Alpine skiing
24 2008 Summer Ciara Peelo Sailing
25 2010 Winter Aoife Hoey Bobsleigh
26 2012 Summer Katie Taylor Boxing
27 2014 Winter Conor Lyne Alpine skiing
28 2016 Summer Paddy Barnes Boxing
29 2018 Winter Seamus O'Connor Snowboarding [11]
30 2020 Summer Kellie Harrington Boxing [12]
31 Brendan Irvine
32 2022 Winter Elsa Desmond Luge [13]
33 Brendan Newby Freestyle skiing
34 2024 Summer Sarah Lavin Athletics [14]
35 Shane Lowry Golf

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Dwyer, Ryle. Flying the flag: Reliving Ireland's golden days of Olympic glory. 13 February 2010. Irish Examiner. Accessed 30 October 2011.
  2. ^ Pat McDonald. Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed October 26, 2011.
  3. ^ United States. Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed 30 October 2011.
  4. ^ a b c Ireland. Olympics at Sport-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed 21 January 2016.
  5. ^ a b Olympics chief feared protests. 30 December 2010. Belfast Telegraph. Accessed 29 October 2011.
  6. ^ Fimrite, Ron. Only The Bears Were Bullish. 28 July 1980. Sports Illustrated. Accessed 26 October 2011.
  7. ^ Tamsen McGarry. Olympics at Sport-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed 29 October 2011.
  8. ^ Kirsty McGarry. Olympics at Sport-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed 29 October 2011.
  9. ^ President of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association, "I.A.B.A. President criticises Olympics", Irish Times, 4 October 1942, page 2
  10. ^ Honorary Secretary of Irish Olympic Council, "Unhappy situation at Helsinki", Irish Times, 2 September 1952, page 3; died 6 December 1975 when President of the Olympic Council of Ireland, see obituary "Death of former Garda Commissioner", Irish Times, 8 December 1975, page 13
  11. ^ "The Flagbearers for the PyeongChang 2018 Opening Ceremony" (PDF). olympics.com. IOC. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  12. ^ "The flagbearers for the Tokyo 2020 Opening Ceremony" (PDF). olympics.com. IOC. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  13. ^ "The flagbearers for the Beijing 2022 Opening Ceremony" (PDF). olympics.com. IOC. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Paris 2024: Opening ceremony flagbearers information" (PDF). olympics.com. IOC. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
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