Shane Lowry and Sarah Lavin named as Team Ireland flag-bearers for Paris Olympics

"Anybody that knows me knows how patriotic I am and how much I love Ireland and how much I love my country," said Lowry.

FLAG BEARER: Shane Lowry and Sarah Lavin will carry the flag for Ireland. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Shane Lowry and Sarah Lavin have been named as Ireland’s flag-bearers for the Olympics' opening ceremony in Paris on Friday evening.

The opening ceremony, which will begin at 6.30pm Irish time, is expected to run for more than three hours and for the first time ever it will not take place in a stadium.

Instead the Olympics teams involved will parade along the River Seine in boats where they are expected to be greeted by a crowd of over 300,000 spectators.

This will be the second Olympics for the Offaly golfer and the Limerick athlete, as they both competed at the Tokyo Games in 2021.

“It’s a huge honour for me and my family," admitted Lowry.

"You know, anybody that knows me knows how patriotic I am and how much I love Ireland and how much I love my country.

Athlete Sarah Lavin during the Team Ireland Paris 2024 team announcement for Athletics at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blanchardstown, Dublin. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

“So it is something like I’m not sure you’d even dream about as a kid because it’s so far out there that it does not seem achievable. But to get to do something like that is a huge honour for me.”

Lavin added: “It’s surreal to be honest with you. It is the greatest honour I have ever been given and I would even go so far as to say, probably any Olympic athlete ever could be given, to carry the country’s flag.

“I’m so grateful to those who’ve trusted me and put me in this position, I’m deeply touched and just excited to get out there.”