LAST UPDATE | 9 Sep
TEAM IRELAND HAVE arrived at Dublin Airport following a successful stint at the 2024 Paralympics.
The team bring back six medals – one gold, three silver and two bronze – after Katie-George Dunlevy (twice with Linda Kelly and once with Eve McCrystal), Róisín Ní Riain and Orla Comerford climbed the podium in Paris.
There were six other fourth-placed finishes.
The team were greeted by friends, family and fans as they arrived at Dublin Airport this afternoon.
Minister for Sport Catherine Martin congratulated all who were involved with Team Ireland and acknowledged their years of dedication and hard work.
“These athletes have inspired the next generation of Paralympians and they are a credit to their families, coaches and communities,” she said adding that the government will continue to invest heavily in sport.
“It is helping to ensure that our athletes can prepare for these prestigious international sporting competitions in the best possible way.
“We will continue to do so in the coming years, not just in the high performance system but also at grassroots community level.”
Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education Thomas Byrne was at the Games last week.
“It was fantastic to see the hugely vocal support they received in their competitions and everybody is enormously proud of our 35-strong team,” he said.
“They have all represented their country with distinction and have created some truly historic moments this past fortnight that will be remembered for a very long time.
“The Government, for its part, is proud to have supported Team Ireland with record funding to support high performance sport.”
Team Ireland consisted of 35 athletes who were selected to compete in nine different sports – a larger team than the one that competed at the last Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.
Over 40% of Team Ireland athletes became first-time Paralympians in Paris. As well as the 6 medals won in Paris, including one gold, three silver, and two bronze, Team Ireland also had over 20 top 8 performances.
With reporting by Jane Moore