Pride of Ireland: the 133 competitors who will represent us in Paris
Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch during the Team Ireland Paris 2024 rowing team announcement at the National Rowing Centre in Cork. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Age: 21
Hometown: Tallaght
Event: 400m, mixed 4x400m, women’s 4x400m
It’s the first Olympics for the fastest Irishwoman in history, who goes into the 400m aiming to win Ireland its first ever medal in a flat sprint event. The European 400m silver medallist has had the season of her life to date and will fear no one.
Age: 32
Hometown: Dunmore East, Co Waterford
Event: mixed 4x400m
In his third and final Olympics, the Ferrybank star will hope to go out with a bang. Having narrowly fallen short of individual qualification, Barr will focus fully on the mixed relay, in which he helped Ireland to European gold in Rome via his blazing 44.90-second split.
Age: 27
Hometown: Ballykelly, Co Wexford
Event: 400m, mixed 4x400m, women’s 4x400m
It’s been a huge year for Becker, who smashed her 400m PB in Belfast in May with 51.13 to qualify for the individual 400m via her world ranking. She helped Ireland to eighth in the mixed relay at the Tokyo Olympics and to women’s 4x400m silver at the Europeans in Rome.
Age: 28
Hometown: Balbriggan
Event: 1500m
An Olympic semi-finalist in Tokyo and a world semi-finalist twice since then, could this be the year the Irish record holder steps up and makes a global final. It would take the race of his life, but it’s been an inconsistent season for the classy miler.
Age: 26
Hometown: Dublin
Event: 1500m
Highly impressive when kicking to victory to win his third national title in Santry, Doyle goes to his first Olympics in fine form. Making it to the semi-final will be his chief goal, and he looks capable of it. Anything beyond that would be huge.
Age: 26
Hometown: Dublin
Event: 1500m
McCann will go to his first Olympics after a breakthrough season in which he lowered his PB to 3:33.66, putting an injury nightmare firmly behind him. He’ll be joined in Paris by his younger sister Jodie, who will race the 5000m.
Age: 31
Hometown: Letterkenny, Co Donegal
Event: 800m
He’s won four European medals, but the one gap in his CV is that he’s never made a global 800m final. The standard is vicious in the 800m but English is in the form of his life, having twice lowered the Irish record this year, most recently to 1:44.53 in Madrid.
Age: 27
Hometown: Rockland County, New York
Event: Shot put
Favors was born and raised in the US and qualifies to represent Ireland through his grandmother, a native of Ballina, Co Mayo. He smashed the national record this year with 20.93m and will be looking to reproduce that or more at his first Olympics.
Age: 25
Hometown: Dublin
Event: 5000m
A graduate of DCU and later the University of Washington, Fay is the Irish record holder over 5000m, qualifying for Paris with a time of 13:01.40 last summer. Will need the race of his life to reach the final, given the depth in the 5000m.
Age: 23
Hometown: Dublin
Event: 1500m
A teenage prodigy who is now making good on her vast talent at senior level. Based in Manchester under the guidance of British coach Trevor Painter, Healy smashed her PB in Paris recently, clocking 3:57.46. Repeat that and she could reach the final.
Age: 32
Hometown: Portaferry, Co Down
Event: 1500m
The reigning European champion goes to Paris knowing it has never been as tough to win a 1500m medal. Mageean could run the race of her life and finish sixth. But if everything clicks, a podium finish is not out of the question.
Age: 22
Hometown: Melbourne
Event: 1500m
After an injury-hit year, the daughter of Sonia O’Sullivan will go to her first Olympics without much pressure. Reaching the semi-final would be a decent showing by the reigning European U-23 champion. She will fight to the very last metre to make that happen.
Age: 30
Hometown: Limerick
Event: 100m hurdles
An Olympic final would be a just reward for Lavin, who has been as consistent as she is classy in recent years. To achieve that, she’ll likely have to smash her Irish record of 12.62. But she’s capable of doing that.
Age: 25
Hometown: Newport, Co Tipperary
Event: 400m, mixed 4x400m, women’s 4x400m
Having anchored Ireland to golden glory in the mixed relay at the Europeans, Mawdsley will hope for more magic in Paris. She will likely face two mixed relay rounds before her individual 400m, where she’ll be looking to lower her PB of 50.72 and make the semi-final.
Age: 24
Hometown: Dublin
Event: 5000m
A long spell training in Australia late last year has paid huge dividends for McCann, who’s made good on her junior potential this year to smash her PB and clock 15:20.93 for 5000m. At her first Games, this will be all about experience.
Age: 39
Hometown: Kilcoole, Co Wicklow
Event: Marathon
There is no more respected figure in Irish athletics than the teak-tough Wicklow woman, who will become the first Irishwoman in history to compete at five Olympics. A top-20 finish in the marathon would be a stellar showing for the mother of three.
Age: 23
Hometown: Dundalk
Event: Heptathlon
After missing out on Tokyo through injury, O’Connor will compete at her first Games in Paris and the rising star of the heptathlon could crack the top-12. She was the European U-20 silver medallist in 2019 and Commonwealth Games silver medallist in 2022.
Age: 20
Hometown: Bandon
Event: Hammer throw
The hammer cage her father built in the backyard in her Junior Cert year has paid dividends for Tuthill, who will reignite Ireland’s proud legacy at the event by taking her place at the Games four years ahead of her planned schedule. There will be zero pressure on her young shoulders.
Age: 26
Hometown: Grange, Co Sligo
Event: Mixed 4x400m
It’s a second Olympics for the Sligo sprinter, who’s been based for several years at Loughborough University. He helped Ireland into the last Olympic mixed relay final in Tokyo and had a fine showing to help them to gold at the Europeans in Rome.
Age: 23
Hometown: Dublin
Event: Mixed 4x400m
It’s been a breakthrough year for the former 800m runner who has blossomed under the guidance of the Dublin Sprint Club in Santry, claiming the national 400m title with a clutch performance in Santry last month, clocking 45.95.
Age: 29
Hometown: Bandon
Event: Mixed 4x400m, women’s 4x400m
This will be a second Olympics for Healy, who raced over 200m and 400m at the last Games in Tokyo, also helping Ireland to eighth in the mixed relay. She’ll only be on relay duty in Paris, having narrowly come up short of individual qualification.
Age: 24
Hometown: Skreen, Co. Sligo
Event: mixed 4x400m, women’s 4x400m
The Sligo sprinter took a big step forward this year, smashing her 400m best with 52.87. She won bronze in the national senior 400m final to book her spot at her first Olympics and was also part of the 4x400m squads at the Europeans and World Relays.
Age: 27
Hometown: Laghey, Co Donegal
Event: Mixed 4x400m, women’s 4x400m
Having been below her best at nationals last month, finishing fifth, McGrory faced a nervous wait before she secured selection. She smashed her 400m PB with 52.62 in Brussels in May and competed for Ireland at the Europeans in Rome in the 400m hurdles.
Age: 22
Hometown: Bangor, Co Down
Event: Mixed 4x400m, women’s 4x400m
A recent graduate of Queen’s University Belfast, McCann has enjoyed a breakthrough year, smashing her lifetime best in the national 400m final last month, clocking 53.60 to earn her place at her first Olympics – but likely not her last.
Age: 27
Hometown: Limerick
Event: Mixed 4x400m, women’s 4x400m
The daughter of Hayley and Drew Harrison, the coaching team behind Thomas Barr, Róisín will be a non-travelling reserve for the 4x400m relays and can be drafted in if anything goes amiss with the others. She was part of the women’s 4x400m teams that finished eighth in last year’s world final.
Age: 27
Hometown: Kilkenny
Event: Mixed 4x400m, women’s 4x400m
Manning travelled to the Tokyo Games in 2021 as a reserve on the mixed relay team, and she will be a non-travelling reserve for both 4x400m relay teams in Paris. The Kilkenny City Harrier finished fourth in the national 400m final recently.
Age: 24
Hometown: Dublin
Event: Men’s singles
Born in Vietnam, Nguyen moved to Ireland as a child and this will be his second Olympics after Tokyo. All but confirmed his spot by winning the last Irish Open, his sister Thammy is a European silver medallist in weightlifting but failed to make Paris.
Age: 26
Hometown: Raphoe, Donegal
Event: Women’s singles
Daragh is the latest in a distinguished badminton line. Her aunt Chloe is a three-time Olympian, uncle Dan is Badminton Ireland’s HP director and other uncles, Sam and Josh, are also accomplished international players. This is Daragh’s first Games.
Age: 22
Hometown: Bray
Event: 50kg
Last June, the Enniskerry boxer travelled to Thailand knowing she was in last chance saloon as she finally qualified for Paris after disappointing outings in Poland and Italy.
Age: 25
Hometown: Ashbourne, Co. Meath
Event: 54kg
The primary school teacher put her career on hold to pursue this dream. The 5’ 3” southpaw left behind a highly successful career in the sport of ITF taekwondo.
Age: 31
Hometown: Belfast
Event: 57kg
Competed at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Michaela and her brother Aidan are both Commonwealth champions in boxing. She boxes out of the Emerald boxing club in Belfast.
Age: 34
Hometown: Dublin
Event: 60kg
The World champion and Olympic gold medallist is looking to become the first Irish boxer to successfully defend an Olympic crown. She suffered her first defeat in over three years in the European semi-finals last April.
Age: 28
Hometown: Tullamore
Event: 66kg
She overcome a litany of injuries and setbacks to make it to Paris. Since 2020 she has ruptured the ligament in her thumb three times, endured four different surgeries, dislocated and fractured her toe, was on the wrong end of an extremely controversial defeat at the Olympic qualification tournament last March. It was an emotional scene when she qualified in Bangkok.
Age: 27
Hometown: Castlerea
Event: 75kg
Now set to become a two-time Olympian. O’Rourke is a four-time continental champion after her latest gold medal at the European Boxing Championships in Belgrade. A serious medal prospect.
Age: 22
Hometown: Newtownstewart, Co. Tyrone
Event: 57kg
A commonwealth Games gold medallist, Gallagher boxes out of the Three Castles Boxing Club and is coached by former pro Eric Donovan.
Age: 22
Hometown: Sligo
Event: 63.5kg
A gold medallist at the 2021 European U22 Championships and bronze at the 2023 European Games. He secured his place in Paris with a poignant win in 2023, triumphing at the European Games on the same day his grandfather was laid to rest back home.
Age: 27
Hometown: Belfast
Event: 71kg
A bronze medallist in Tokyo. He left boxing for 14 months only to return and become a two-time Olympian with his sister, Michaela.
Age: 21
Hometown: Sallynoggin, Dublin
Event: 92kg
A gold medallist at the 2022 European U22 Championships and silver at the 2023 European Games. The Monkstown clubman is Ireland’s first heavyweight qualifier since 1996.
Age: 21
Hometown: Maryland, America
Event: K1 Women’s
Corcoran’s success at the 2023 European Games qualified the first Women’s spot in Canoe Slalom since London 2012, where Hannah Craig competed for Ireland. Dublin-born dad Mike Corcoran represented Ireland at two Olympic Games in the same sport.
Age: 21
Hometown: Maryland, America
Event: C1 Women’s
While her sister Madison secured her place in the K1 class back in October of last year, Michaela’s spot in the C1 was only confirmed two weeks ago through a late quota re-allocation. Michaela, incidentally, is one minute older.
Age: 28
Hometown: Huningue, France
Event: CI Men
Jegou was born in Brittany to an Irish mother and Breton father, he grew up in Switzerland before moving to Clare for five years. They then relocated to France. He started in the sport as a four-year old in Galway Bay. Set to become a two-time Olympian having represented Ireland in Tokyo.
Age: 26
Hometown: Clane, Co. Kildare
Event: K1 men
His twin brother, Robert, also tried to qualify for Paris but competed in the same category as Liam Jegou. Noel specialises in the K1 kayak, seated in the boat using a double-bladed paddle. Secured his place at the Canoe Slalom World Championships in London last year.
Age: 27
Hometown: Shinrone, Offaly
Event: Women’s road race
The former runner who took up cycling in March 2020 rides for UCI Women’s team EF Education-Cannondale but missed out on the 2023 women’s Tour de France due to concussion. She became the first Irishwoman to win a UCI-ranked stage race last year with triumph in the final stage of the Vuelta Extremadura Féminas.
Age: 23
Hometown: Wordsley, England
Event: Men’s road race
Healy rides for world tour team EF Education-EasyPost since 2022. The Irish road race champion secured a stage win at the Tour of Slovenia earlier this year.
Age: 29
Hometown: Colwyn Bay, Wales
Event: Men’s road race, men’s time trial
Mullen has been representing Ireland since he was a youth rider competing in the European Youth Olympics. The seasoned pro is an eight-time national champion in the road race and time trial.
Age: 23
Hometown: Wicklow
Event: Women’s team pursuit, women’s Omnium and women’s Madison.
One of the 15 individual recipients of OFI Paris Olympic Scholarships. A 2017 European Youth Olympic Festival silver medallist (Time Trial).
Age: 25
Hometown: Glenmore, Kilkenny
Event: Women’s team pursuit
Came to the sport through a talent transfer programme. Griffin grew up playing camogie, but once she got a taste for cycling there was no looking back. She also rides with the UK-based pro team DAS-Hutchinson-Brother.
Age: 30
Hometown: Antrim
Event: Women’s team pursuit, women’s Madison.
A two-time national road race champion after winning the 2019 and 2022 National Championships women’s road races. She was born near Munich in Germany and raised in Cambridgeshire, England.
Age: 34
Hometown: Birmingham
Event: Women’s team pursuit
She currently rides for the UCI Women's Continental Team IBCT. On the road, Murphy is a four-time national champion in the time trial after wins in 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023. Born in London to Irish parents.
Age: 23
Hometown: London
Event: 10m platform
McGing initially thought she had missed out on a place on Paris until she was selected in early July. She qualifies to compete for Ireland through her grandparents who are from Mayo, and her other grandmother from Donegal. She graduated from Ohio State this spring.
Age: 19
Hometown: Bradford
Event: 3m springboard
Only the third ever male to compete for Ireland in diving at the Olympics. He qualifies for Ireland through his Dublin-born grandmother. Decided when he was 10 and getting serious about diving that his allegiance would be to Ireland.
Age: 30
Hometown: Ardmore, Derry
Event: Individual and team show jumping
Coyle is the highest FEI-ranked rider in an Irish team that qualified for Paris as far back as the World Championships in August of 2022. That same team is considered a huge contender for a collective gold medal.
Age: 45
Hometown: Johnstown, Kildare
Event: Individual and team show jumping
Stripped of his Athens gold after traces of a banned substance were found in his horse Waterford Crystal, O’Connor won a bronze in London eight years later. Finished in seventh place finish in Tokyo as well.
Age: 43
Hometown: Castlemagner, Cork
Event: Individual and team show jumping
Florida-based Sweetnam’s first Olympic experience ended disappointingly with a fall in Tokyo but he is 12th in the world ranking and a key member on an Irish team that has claimed some huge wins in Nations Cup and the Aga Khan in the last two years.
Age: 49
Hometown: Howth, Dublin
Event: Individual and team eventing
Ennis was part of the Ireland team that won silver at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in North Carolina. Grew up in a house with four sisters, countless horses and other assorted animals and is now based in Dunboyne, Co. Meath.
Age: 28
Hometown: Banbridge, Down
Event: Individual and team eventing
Based near Kettering in Northamptonshire, Berry is very much the baby of the eventing team but she played a huge role in qualifying Ireland’s place in Paris at the World Championships in Italy in the autumn of 2022 where they finished fifth.
Austin O’Connor (Colorado Blue)
Age: 50
Hometown: Mallow, Cork
Event: Individual and team eventing
Just turned 50, this will be O’Connor’s fourth Games after Sydney, Beijing and Tokyo and he has finished top-ten in the past. A rider of enormous experience, he is the highest-ranked among the eventing team that goes to Paris.
Age: 39
Hometown: Bangor, Down
Event: Individual Dressage
Lyle is based in Morpeth having moved to the UK in 2009. She describes her horse, nicknamed Arty, as being absolutely ‘perfect’. Ranked just inside the world’s top 100, she represented Ireland at the World Championship in 2022.
Age: 35
Hometown: Holywood, Down
Event: Men’s golf
A man in need of no introduction. One of golf’s pre-eminent players who has won a succession of titles even during a decade spent chasing another elusive Major. Didn’t always embrace the Games but lost out on a bronze medal to a play-off in Tokyo.
Age: 37
Hometown: Birr, Offaly
Event: Men’s golf
Another Major winner and a man also appearing at his second Olympics after Tokyo. Lowry has been in superb form this year and he is another live contender in a field with just four Americans at Le Golf National.
Leona Maguire
Age: 29
Hometown: Ballyconnell, Cavan
Event: Women’s golf
Made history, more of it, by becoming the first Irishwoman to win on the Ladies European Tour in London this month. A Solheim Cup superstar, she has had an up-and-down year but is capable of putting a seriously strong challenge down over four days.
Age: 32
Hometown: Jordanstown, Antrim
Event: Women’s golf
As with Maguire, this will be a third Olympic appearance for Meadow whose seventh spot in Tokyo three years ago is by the far the best of their sixth combined performances to date. Struggling for form through much of this summer though.
Age: 25
Hometown: Newtownards, Down
Event: Pommel horse
One of Ireland’s main gold medal hopes. McClenaghan is the reigning World champion having retained the title first won in 2022. All told he has six major golds and the Olympics is the one he needs to complete the set. A huge hope.
Men's Squad: Peter Brown (Banbridge), Lee Cole (Monkstown), Timothy Cross (Hampstead & Westminister, UK), Jeremy Duncan (Monkstown), David Harte (SV Kampong, Netherlands), Ben Johnson (Three Rock Rovers), Kyle Marshall (Old Georgians, UK), Johnny McKee (Banbridge), Peter McKibbin (Lisnagarvey), Seán Murray (Gantoise, Belgium).
Age: 30
Hometown: Skibbereen, Cork
Event: Men’s lightweight double sculls
Rated as the world’s best rower bar none by many. O’Donovan rose to fame winning Olympic silver with brother Gary in Rio in 2016. He has ten major golds to his name and he could become the first Irish athlete to retain an Olympic title.
Age: 27
Hometown: Skibbereen, Cork
Event: Men’s lightweight double sculls
Make no mistake, this is a world-class rower in his own right. McCarthy has partnered O’Donovan for six of those major wins and he has admitted to becoming more comfortable in his skin and in the boat since Tokyo.
Age: 25
Hometown: Skibbereen, Cork
Event: Women’s lightweight double sculls
Daughter of renowned rowing coach Dominic Casey, Aoife has made a name for herself, not least with a brilliant bronze at the 2022 Worlds in Racice. That was alongside Margaret Cremen who was with her in Tokyo and will be again here.
Age: 25
Hometown: Rochestown, Cork
Event: Women’s lightweight double sculls
Cremen and Casey have long shown promise together, claiming silver at the 2017 European Juniors and another at the 2020 European U23s. The pair finished seventh at the 2023 Worlds which was enough to qualify this boat for Paris.
Age: 22
Hometown: Kildinan, Cork
Event: Women’s double sculls
Bergin started out at Fermoy Rowing Club. She has won a gold and a silver in single sculls at World U23 level and qualified the double sculls boat with Zoe Hyde by making the world final in Belgrade last year. They came close to a medal too, finishing fourth.
Age: 27
Hometown: Killorglin, Kerry
Event: Women’s double sculls
Hyde and Bergin’s fourth place in Serbia was all the more impressive for the fact they had only been sharing the boat a matter of weeks. Go back to 2022 and Hyde was winning a World bronze with Sanita Puspure in the same class.
Age: 32
Hometown: Na Forbacha, Galway
Event: Women’s pair
One quarter of the women’s four boat that claimed a surprise bronze in Tokyo, Keogh intimated there and then that she might be done with rowing. Instead, she took some time out, came through injury and is again a medal fancy here for Paris.
Age: 29
Hometown: Moycullen, Galway
Event: Women’s pair
Keogh’s partner in the women’s pair is another of those who claimed that historic Olympic bronze three years ago. The Galway duo sealed Paris spots with an impressive fourth at last year’s Worlds and have been in superb form this year at World Cups.
Age: 31
Hometown: Banbridge, Down
Event: Men’s double sculls
The holder of two World silver medals, one with Ronan Byrne with whom he experienced a disappointing Tokyo Games, the other and later of the pair with current partner Ronan Byrne. Doyle has balanced his sport with medical work the last two cycles.
Age: 26
Hometown: Clonmel, Tipperary
Event: Men’s double sculls
A Clonmel man and a Yale man. That bronze at the 2023 Worlds qualified the boat for Paris and it followed an encouraging fourth at the Europeans earlier that year. Lynch won gold at the 2020 European U23s alongside Byrne too.
Ross Corrigan
Age: 25
Hometown: Enniskillen, Fermanagh
Event: Men’s pair
Corrigan and Nathan Timoney have been rowing together since they were kids at the Enniskillen Royal Boat Club. Now they’re going to the Games together in the one boat. Olympic stories don’t come much cooler than that.
Age: 23
Hometown: Enniskillen, Fermanagh
Event: Men’s pair
Timoney has had to overcome injury and illness earlier this year but this crew delivered a breakthrough performance at last year’s Worlds in Belgrade when clinching a superb bronze medal and qualifying the boat for Paris.
Age: 25
Hometown: Skibbereen, Cork
Event: Women’s four
One of two crew members to repeat in the women’s four from the quartet that claimed the brilliant bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Another product of the famed Skibbereen club, she has also medalled at World and European underage levels.
Age: 34
Hometown: Cobh, Cork
Event: Women’s four
Long began rowing at Imperial College London to stay fit, now she is off to the Olympics. Injuries prevented her pushing for Tokyo but she is part of this revamped women’s four now and one of two survivors from the crew that won European silver in 2022.
Age: 26
Hometown: Cabra, Dublin
Event: Women’s four
Lambe’s pedigree in the four goes back way further than her star turn in Tokyo. She won a silver at the World U23s in the boat five years ago. She has also won bronze and silver in the European seniors in 2020 and 2021.
Age: 25
Hometown: Johannesburg
Event: Women’s four
Tennis was her first love until Magner turned to rowing via the GB ‘Start’ programme. That was in 2018, she trialled for Ireland four years later. One of the four that qualified this boat, Ireland’s seventh, only two months ago.
: Niall Comerford (UCD), Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers), Hugo Keenan (Leinster), Jack Kelly (Dublin University), Terry Kennedy (St Mary’s College), Hugo Lennox (Skerries), Harry McNulty (UCD), Gavin Mullin (UCD), Chay Mullins (Galway Corinthians), Mark Roche (Lansdowne), Andrew Smith (Connacht), Zac Ward (Ballinahinch).
Sean Cribbin (Suttonians), Bryan Mollen (UCD).
: Kathy Baker (Blackrock College), Megan Burns (Blackrock College), Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union), Alanna Fitzpatrick (Blackrock College), Stacey Flood (Railway Union), Eve Higgins (Railway Union), Erin King (Old Belvedere), Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Wicklow), Emily Lane (Blackrock College), Ashleigh Orchard (Cooke), Béibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College), Lucy Rock (Wicklow).
Claire Boles (Railway Union), Amy Larn (Athy).
Age: 20
Hometown: Howth
Event: ILCA 6 class
McMahon, who has been sailing since age 7, retained her world 21 title in the ICLA 6 class, a small single-handed dinghy, in early July. The UCD student qualified for the Games via the Olympic Sailing regatta in Argentina back in January.
Age: 28
Hometown: Carlow
Event: ILCA 7 class
Lynch, who learned to sail on Blessington lake, became Ireland's youngest ever Olympic sailor at the 2016 Games where he finished 32nd. He qualified for Paris by winning bronze at this year's European Championships.
Age: 26
Hometown: Sutton Event: 49er skiff
Dickson and Waddilove finished 13th in the skiff at the Tokyo Olympics. They earned Ireland a Paris place in the 49er class at November's European Championships and were officially selected following the conclusion of the Irish trials in May.
Age: 27
Hometown: Skerries
Event: 49er skiff
Waddilove has been sailing with Dickson since their early teens. The pair even spent Transition Year in La Rochelle where they doubled their time on the water and continued with their intensive preparation through the wild winters.
Age: 23
Hometown: Belfast
Event: 400m freestyle relay, 400m medley relay
Will compete in the freestyle relay but must await selectors decision as to who from herself, Grace Davison, and Erin Riordan gets the nod for the freestyle leg of the medley relay.
Age: 16
Hometown: Bangor
Event: 400m freestyle relay, 400m medley relay
At only 16 years of age, Davison is the youngest member of Team Ireland, across all sports but she has the experience of competing in the 2022 Commonwealths. Paris send-off included a bronze medal in the 100 free at this month's European Juniors.
Age: 24
Hometown: Newtownabbey
Event: 100m backstroke, 50m freestyle, 400m freestyle relay, and 400m medley relay
Didn’t progress from the heats in Tokyo. Difficult 2022 and ‘23 seasons left her on the brink of quitting. Teaming up with performance psychologist Jessie Barr since September has helped to reignite her flame. Hill’s 59.11 at the Olympic trials in her favourite backstroke event put her seventh in the world this year.
Age: 23
Hometown: Grange, Sligo
Event: 100m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke, and 400m medley relay
Eighth in the 100m breaststroke at Tokyo, and fifth at the last two World Championships, McSharry can harbour realistic ambitions of a podium finish. Last month shaved over two seconds off her 200m breaststroke Irish record.
Age: 24
Hometown: Born in Japan
Event: 400m freestyle Relay, 400m medley relay
Retired from swimming when the 400m relay team fell to 17th in the Paris rankings - one spot outside the cut-off - after February’s World Championships. Japan's decision to withdraw, returning Ireland to a top-16 berth, made it a short-lived retirement.
Age: 22
Hometown: Templeogue
Event: 100m butterfly, 200m IM, 400m IM, and 400m medley relay
The second-time Olympian is the sole Irish swimmer competing in three individual events in the pool at Paris. Broke Michelle Smith de Bruin’s 28-year-old 400 medley Irish record at the beginning of May. This is an event Walshe won a short-course World silver medal in three years ago.
Age: 26
Hometown: Torquay, England
Event: 50m freestyle
Originally competed for GB but declared for Ireland through his Galway-born grandfather after the covid hiatus. Snuck in under the qualifying mark by two one-hundredths of a second at the Olympic trials.
Age: 24
Hometown: Belfast
Event: 400m medley relay
An Olympic debutant who will swim the backstroke leg of the relay. Ferguson fell agonisingly short of individual qualification for the 100m backstroke in 2016, 2021, and again this year.
Darragh Greene
Age: 29
Hometown: Longford
Event: 400m medley relay
Competed in the 100m and 200m breaststroke three years ago at Tokyo without advancing from either heat, but failure to post the required times for Paris means he travels as a relay member only on this occasion.
Age: 24
Hometown: Essex, England
Event: 400m medley relay
Dipped under the 52-second mark for the first time in the 100m butterfly last month. That 51.90 Irish record bodes well for his fly leg of the medley relay. McCusker has swam at collegiate level in the US with Florida State University and Arizona State University.
Age: 30
Hometown: Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania
Event: 400m medley relay
Shoulder surgery forced him to quit his favourite 100m backstroke event. Didn’t make the 100m free qualifying time and achieved the 50 free mark outside Swim Ireland’s window. Will swim the freestyle leg of the relay. Ireland's first three-time Olympian in the pool.
Age: 23
Hometown: Magheralin, Down
Event: 800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle, and Open Water 10km
Ireland’s outstanding medal hope in the water. Three golds at the short-course European Championships in December, including an 800m freestyle swim that took down Grant Hackett’s 2008 world record. Won double gold at February’s World Championships.
Age: 25
Hometown: Tallaght
Event: 58kg
Woolley was Ireland’s first Olympian in taekwondo in Tokyo where he lost in the round of 16 having voiced ambitions for gold. A former European silver medallist, he qualified this time at the last European qualifier in March.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
