Ireland (IRL)

Overview

NOCOlympic Federation of Ireland
Flagbearers66

Participants

Olympic Games 909
Youth Olympic Games 61
Other competitors with IRL nationality 86

Description

Ireland formed a National Olympic Committee in 1922, shortly after it became independent of Great Britain in December 1921. Ireland first competed as a separate state in the 1924 Olympic Games at Paris. Prior to that time, however, many Irish athletes had competed – mostly for Great Britain. In addition many of the great American weight-throwers had been recent Irish emigrants. Ireland also entered separate teams in 1908 field hockey and the 1912 cycling road race, although both were technically second teams representing Great Britain. Since 1924, Ireland has competed at every Olympic Games except those of 1936.

Through 2022, Ireland has won 38 Olympic medals, all at the Summer Olympics: 11 gold, 11 silver, and 16 bronze. One Irish athlete has won four medals – swimmer Michelle Smith, with three golds and one bronze, all won in 1996. She is followed by hammer thrower Pat O’Callaghan (two gold), rower Paul O’Donovan (one silver and one bronze), and boxer Paddy Barnes (two bronze).

Ireland has competed at the Olympic Winter Games in 1992 and continuously since 1998, represented by athletes competing in Alpine skiing, bobsleigh, cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing, luge, skeleton, and snowboarding.

Ireland has not won a medal at the Olympic Winter Games, but it came close in 2002, when Clifton Hugh Lancelot de Verdon Wrottesley, the 6th Baron Wrottesley, finished fourth in men’s skeleton. His father, a former racer on the Cresta Run, had a reputation as a playboy and eloped to Las Vegas to marry his mother when she was just 18. The family settled in Ireland, where Clifton was born, but mother and son later moved to Spain after the death of his father in a car accident, when he was just 2-years-old. He inherited the title of 6th Baron Wrottesley on the death of his grandfather in 1977. Wrottesley was educated at Eton School, Edinburgh University, and Sandhurst Military Academy, and spent two years in the British Army before becoming a stockbroker in the City of London. Baron Wrottesley began sliding on the Cresta Run in 1988 and became the most successful slider in the history of the track, winning a record number of victories in each of the St. Moritz track’s four classic races.

Participations by edition

Olympic Games

Edition As Men Women Total
1924 Summer Olympics Ireland 46 2 48 Results
1928 Summer Olympics Ireland 33 5 38 Results
1932 Summer Olympics Ireland 14 2 16 Results
1948 Summer Olympics Ireland 76 5 81 Results
1952 Summer Olympics Ireland 19 0 19 Results
1956 Summer Olympics Ireland 11 1 12 Results
1956 Equestrian Olympics Ireland 6 0 6 Results
1960 Summer Olympics Ireland 47 2 49 Results
1964 Summer Olympics Ireland 24 1 25 Results
1968 Summer Olympics Ireland 25 6 31 Results
1972 Summer Olympics Ireland 51 8 59 Results
1976 Summer Olympics Ireland 41 3 44 Results
1980 Summer Olympics Ireland 44 3 47 Results
1984 Summer Olympics Ireland 28 14 42 Results
1988 Summer Olympics Ireland 52 9 61 Results
1992 Summer Olympics Ireland 49 9 58 Results
1992 Winter Olympics Ireland 4 0 4 Results
1996 Summer Olympics Ireland 62 16 78 Results
1998 Winter Olympics Ireland 6 0 6 Results
2000 Summer Olympics Ireland 40 24 64 Results
2002 Winter Olympics Ireland 5 1 6 Results
2004 Summer Olympics Ireland 32 14 46 Results
2006 Winter Olympics Ireland 3 1 4 Results
2008 Summer Olympics Ireland 39 16 55 Results
2010 Winter Olympics Ireland 3 3 6 Results
2012 Summer Olympics Ireland 36 28 64 Results
2014 Winter Olympics Ireland 4 1 5 Results
2016 Summer Olympics Ireland 50 26 76 Results
2018 Winter Olympics Ireland 4 1 5 Results
2020 Summer Olympics Ireland 63 57 120 Results
2022 Winter Olympics Ireland 4 2 6 Results

Youth Olympic Games

Edition As Men Women Total
2010 Summer Youth Olympics Ireland 4 21 25 Results
2012 Winter Youth Olympics Ireland 0 1 1 Results
2014 Summer Youth Olympics Ireland 7 9 16 Results
2016 Winter Youth Olympics Ireland 1 0 1 Results
2018 Summer Youth Olympics Ireland 5 11 16 Results
2020 Winter Youth Olympics Ireland 1 1 2 Results

Participations by discipline

Olympic Games

Discipline (Sport) Men Women Total
Alpine Skiing (Skiing) 6 4 10 Results
Archery 5 2 7 Results
Art Competitions 29 10 39 Results
Artistic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) 3 2 5 Results
Athletics 140 65 205 Results
Badminton 2 2 4 Results
Basketball (Basketball) 13 0 13 Results
Bobsleigh (Bobsleigh) 9 2 11 Results
Boxing 108 4 112 Results
Canoe Slalom (Canoeing) 7 2 9 Results
Canoe Sprint (Canoeing) 11 1 12 Results
Cross Country Skiing (Skiing) 5 0 5 Results
Cycling Mountain Bike (Cycling) 3 2 5 Results
Cycling Road (Cycling) 35 1 36 Results
Cycling Track (Cycling) 9 2 11 Results
Diving (Aquatics) 2 1 3 Results
Equestrian Dressage (Equestrian) 1 3 4 Results
Equestrian Eventing (Equestrian) 30 19 49 Results
Equestrian Jumping (Equestrian) 25 3 28 Results
Fencing 14 3 17 Results
Football (Football) 23 0 23 Results
Freestyle Skiing (Skiing) 1 0 1 Results
Golf 4 2 6 Results
Hockey 16 18 34 Results
Judo 14 2 16 Results
Luge 0 1 1 Results
Modern Pentathlon 4 1 5 Results
Rowing 49 12 61 Results
Rugby Sevens (Rugby) 13 0 13 Results
Sailing 53 9 62 Results
Shooting 15 1 16 Results
Skeleton (Bobsleigh) 4 0 4 Results
Snowboarding (Skiing) 1 0 1 Results
Swimming (Aquatics) 25 24 49 Results
Taekwondo 1 0 1 Results
Tennis 5 2 7 Results
Triathlon 3 3 6 Results
Water Polo (Aquatics) 12 0 12 Results
Weightlifting 3 0 3 Results
Wrestling 6 0 6 Results

Youth Olympic Games

Discipline (Sport) Men Women Total
Alpine Skiing (Skiing) 2 2 4 Results
Artistic Gymnastics (Gymnastics) 0 1 1 Results
Athletics 3 7 10 Results
Badminton 1 0 1 Results
Boxing 4 4 8 Results
Canoe Sprint (Canoeing) 1 0 1 Results
Diving (Aquatics) 0 1 1 Results
Equestrian Jumping (Equestrian) 1 0 1 Results
Golf 2 2 4 Results
Hockey 0 16 16 Results
Karate 1 0 1 Results
Mixed Sports 0 1 1 Results
Modern Pentathlon 0 1 1 Results
Rowing 0 2 2 Results
Sailing 0 1 1 Results
Swimming (Aquatics) 2 4 6 Results
Tennis 1 1 2 Results
Triathlon 0 1 1 Results

Medals by Games

Edition Competition Type Gold Silver Bronze Total
1996 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 3 0 1 4
2020 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 2 0 2 4
1932 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 2 0 0 2
2012 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 1 1 4 6
1956 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 1 1 3 5
1992 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 1 1 0 2
1928 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 1 0 0 1
2010 Summer Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 1 0 0 1
2014 Summer Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 0 2 1 3
2016 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 0 2 0 2
2008 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 0 1 2 3
2018 Summer Youth Olympics Youth Olympic Games 0 1 2 3
1924 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 0 1 1 2
1980 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 0 1 1 2
1952 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 0 1 0 1
1984 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 0 1 0 1
2000 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 0 1 0 1
1948 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 0 0 1 1
1964 Summer Olympics Olympic Games 0 0 1 1

Medals by sport

Olympic Games

Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
Athletics 4 2 1 7
Boxing 3 5 10 18
Swimming 3 0 1 4
Rowing 1 1 1 3
Sailing 0 2 0 2
Art Competitions 0 1 2 3
Equestrian Jumping 0 0 1 1

Youth Olympic Games

Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total
Boxing 1 1 2 4
Canoe Sprint 0 1 0 1
Swimming 0 1 0 1
Karate 0 0 1 1

Most successful competitors

Includes medals won as part of mixed teams.

Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Michelle Smith IRL 3 0 1 4
Pat O'Callaghan IRL 2 0 0 2
Paul O'Donovan IRL 1 1 0 2
Michael Carruth IRL 1 0 0 1
Ronnie Delany IRL 1 0 0 1
Bob Tisdall IRL 1 0 0 1
Katie Taylor IRL 1 0 0 1
Kellie Harrington IRL 1 0 0 1
Fintan McCarthy IRL 1 0 0 1
Wayne McCullough IRL 0 1 0 1
John McNally IRL 0 1 0 1
Fred Tiedt IRL 0 1 0 1
David Wilkins IRL 0 1 0 1
Jamie Wilkinson IRL 0 1 0 1
Sonia O'Sullivan IRL 0 1 0 1
John Treacy IRL 0 1 0 1
Kenny Egan IRL 0 1 0 1
John Joe Nevin IRL 0 1 0 1
Annalise Murphy IRL 0 1 0 1
Gary O'Donovan IRL 0 1 0 1
Jack Yeats IRL 0 1 0 1

Youth Olympic Games

Athlete Nat Gold Silver Bronze Total
Ryan Burnett IRL 1 0 0 1
Michael Duffy IRL 1 0 0 1
Ciara Ginty IRL 0 1 0 1
Robert Hendrick IRL 0 1 0 1
Niamh Coyne IRL 0 1 0 1
Michael Gallagher IRL 0 0 1 1
Sean Crean IRL 0 0 1 1
Dearbhla Rooney IRL 0 0 1 1

IOC Members

John Keane 1922—1951
Sir Michael Morris, Lord Killanin 1952—1980
Kevin O'Flanagan 1976—1994
Sir Michael Morris, Lord Killanin 1980—1999
Kevin O'Flanagan 1994—2006
Pat Hickey 1995—2022
Pat McQuaid 2010—2013