IRELAND’S TOKYO 2020 Paralympians returned home to a hero’s welcome late last night.
Having won four golds medals, two silvers and a bronze, the Team Ireland athletes who stayed until the end of the Games were re-united with family and friends at Dublin Airport (Jason Smyth, the fastest Paralympian on the planet, arrived back to Belfast last week after winning gold.)
And as always, there were emotional scenes in the arrivals hall. There were cheers, tears and applause as the athletes came through the doors and a guard of honour was formed.
And the pictures are just magic.
Golden Girls! Tandem cyclists Katie George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal celebrate their two gold medals and one silver
Ellen Keane’s family reunion was a special one, after she won gold in the 100m breaststroke at her fourth Paralympic Games
And it was all smiles for Nicole Turner and her family, the 19-year-old having clinched a silver medal in the 50-metre butterfly
Likewise, for hand cyclist Gary O Reilly, who returned home from his first Paralympics with a bronze medal
