Ireland at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Ireland at the
2016 Summer Olympics
IOC codeIRL
NOCOlympic Federation of Ireland
Websiteolympics.ie
in Rio de Janeiro
Competitors77 in 14 sports
Flag bearers Paddy Barnes (opening)[1]
Gary O'Donovan (closing)
Medals
Ranked 63rd
Gold
0
Silver
2
Bronze
0
Total
2
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
 Great Britain (1896–1920)

Ireland competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's twenty-first appearance at the Summer Olympics, having attended every edition, either in its own right or as part of a Great Britain and Ireland team before 1924, with the exception of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Germany.

The Olympic Council of Ireland fielded a team of 77 athletes, 51 men and 26 women, across 14 sports at the Games.[2] It was the nation's largest delegation sent to the Olympics since 1996, due to the historic comeback of the men's field hockey squad after a century-long absence.[3][4] Apart from field hockey, Ireland also made its Olympic return to diving after nearly seven decades, as well as its debut in golf (new to the 2016 Games) and women's track cycling.

The Irish roster featured four Olympic medalists from London 2012, namely defending boxing champion Katie Taylor in the women's flyweight division, boxers Michael Conlan and Paddy Barnes (bronze in 2008 and 2012), who was selected as the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony, and race walking veteran Robert Heffernan, who became the first Irishman in history to participate in five Olympics.[1][5] Kevin Kilty was named as Team Ireland Chef de Mission for the Games.[6]

Ireland returned home from Rio de Janeiro with two silver medals. Brothers Gary and Paul O'Donovan etched their names on Irish sporting history by winning the country's first ever medal in rowing, and instantly became internet sensations after several videos of them being interviewed went viral.[7] Meanwhile, Laser Radial sailor Annalise Murphy banished her pain of missing out the podium at London 2012 with a silver-medal effort in the Laser Radial class, ending Ireland's 36-year-old drought on the sport.[8] For the first time in 12 years, Ireland failed to collect a single medal in boxing, as none of its boxers progressed beyond the quarterfinal round.[9]

  1. ^ a b "Rio 2016 Olympics: Paddy Barnes will be Ireland's flag bearer at Games". BBC Sport. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Team Ireland confirms final squad for Rio 2016". Olympic Council of Ireland. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Irish hockey thrilled to be back on the Olympic stage". Olympics. 31 July 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Ireland men's field hockey ends century-long Olympic drought". NBC Olympics. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ "Paddy Barnes chosen as Ireland's flag bearer at Olympics". Irish Independent. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  6. ^ "Kilty named as Team Ireland Chef de Mission". Olympic Council of Ireland. 4 December 2013. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  7. ^ Slawson, Nicole (14 August 2016). "Ireland's O'Donovan brothers become web sensations after medal win". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Ireland's Annalise Murphy claims Olympic silver medal in Rio". The Irish Times. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  9. ^ McClatchey, Caroline (20 August 2016). "Rio 2016: The highs and lows of athletes from Ireland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 December 2016.