Sporting smiles: Paralympians get hero’s welcome
At that moment, a piper led the first members of Ireland’s Paralympics team through the arrivals gate and into the waiting arms of family, friends and fans, all there to hail the record-breaking achievements of Ireland’s most successful sports team ever. The throng spilled forward, children leading the way in a welcome fit for the return of sporting heroes.
By the time the team members finally met the smiles of their families, the piper’s lungs must have been fit to burst. He had first tuned up at 8pm when the team entered a designated area in Terminal One, and played on as athlete after athlete, bearing medal after medal, came through. Each entrance felt like a fresh victory, and the medals added more than a touch of glitter.
Each team member has memories they will store forever. Michael McKillop recalled the moment he looked up and saw his mum was going to present him with one of his two gold medals. “I was thinking, what the hell are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be up in the stand,” he said.
“I am not going to give up. I can’t wait to get on the track in Rio.”
As for the rest of this week? “I want to see my family, relax and enjoy it because you don’t come home to this too often.”
Another double medallist, sprinter Jason Smyth, said the same — the thrill of elite competition was an irresistible draw. “Standing at the start lines of both races,” he said, when asked for his favourite moment. He narrowly missed out on Olympic qualification, but his achievements in London proved, as if proof were needed, that the Paralympics are simply another strand of world-class sport.
Helen Kearney, who claimed three medals in equestrian events, said: “I think I am looking forward to going home and the peace and quiet.”
Good luck with that — your phone will be hopping for weeks, if the tumult of Dublin Airport is anything to go by.
Her mother, Mary, said: “We’ve enjoyed every minute of it. We are thrilled.”
Double gold medallist Mark Rohan said he might indulge in “cheesecake and whiskey” to wind down. His favourite memory was “the sheer delight and pride in people’s faces” when he looked around the crowd from the podium.
There was more of that last night, marking a Games in which Ireland took 16 medals, half of them gold, and a bundle of personal bests and national records.
Each member of the team was cheered as they entered into arrivals, and afterwards the throng didn’t so much dissipate as just move in the general direction of the bar. Outside, the rain fizzled out, although we won’t remember this summer for the poor weather, but rather our athletes’ sporting achievements.
Sometimes, this “being Irish” thing isn’t half bad.
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