Pat O’Callaghan (Gold) – Amsterdam 1928

Pat O’Callaghan was the first Irishman to win an Olympic medal under the tricolour in the men’s hammer throw at the 1928 Games. He travelled to Amsterdam along with his younger brother Con, who also competed and, after finishing sixth in the preliminary round, O’Callaghan used Swedish rival Ossian Skiold’s hammer to throw a gold medal winning 168’ 7” with his second throw in the decider.

Bob Tisdall (Gold) – Los Angeles 1932

Raised in Nenagh, Bob Tisdall holds the honour of being the first Irishman to win an Olympic medal on the track, claiming gold in the men’s 400m hurdles. Not only that but Tisdall also set a World record time in doing so, clocking 51.7 seconds though the record wasn’t officially acknowledged at the time due to Tisdall hitting the final hurdle. That decision was later amended.

Pat O’Callaghan (Gold) – Los Angeles 1932

After claiming gold in Amsterdam, Pat O’Callaghan competed again at Los Angeles looking to add another Olympic medal to his trophy cabinet and he duly did so in the hammer throw once again, firing his second throw 176’ 11” to retain his title on the same day Tisdall too ascended to the top of the podium.

John McNally (Silver) – Helsinki 1952

20 years passed before Ireland tasted success at the Olympics again though admittedly there were only two more games held in that time due to WWII. Boxing has long been the sport where most of the Irish medal hopes lie and it was John McNally who began that wonderful success in the ring for Ireland, claiming silver at the 1952 Games. McNally lost his bantamweight final to home boy Pentti Hamalainen via split-decision.

Ronnie Delany (Gold) – Melbourne 1956

Ronnie Delany is widely regarded as one of Ireland’s greatest ever Olympians after winning the men’s 1500m in a then World record time in Melbourne. Delany was up against local runner John Landy in the decider and stalked his opponent throughout the contest before striding by on the final circuit to claim gold. It would be Ireland’s last gold medal for 36 years at the Games.

Fred Tiedt (Silver) – Melbourne 1956

At the age of 21, Fred Tiedt won silver for Ireland in the welterweight division, defeating Polish, American and Australian opposition on his way to the decider where he fell to Romanian Nicolae Linca. He would go on to claim bronze at the following years’ European Championships.

John Caldwell (Bronze) – Melbourne 1956

From Belfast, Caldwell was regarded as the baby on the travelling Irish team at the 1956 Games at the tender age of 18 but he came home a hero after earning himself a bronze medal with a win over gold medal favourite Warner Batchelor in the flyweight division. Unfortunately for Caldwell, his run was ended in the semi-final by Mircea Dobrescu of Romania.

Freddie Gilroy (Bronze) – Melbourne 1956

Gilroy was another Belfast native to earn bronze in the boxing ring in Melbourne. Competing in the bantamweight division, Gilroy started his Olympics with a third round knockout of Boris Stepanov, securing his medal in his next bout against Mario Sitri before losing out to Wolfgang Behrandt on points in the semi-final.

Anthony Byrne (Bronze) – Melbourne 1956

Anthony ‘Socks’ Byrne required a fundraiser in his local community to ensure of his participation at the Games and it was money well spent by all who donated as Byrne became one of Ireland’s five medal winners at the Games and one of four in boxing with the Drogheda man winning bronze in the lightweight division. He was also captain of the boxing team and flag bearer for Ireland at the opening ceremony.

Jim McCourt (Bronze) – Tokyo 1964

Following the huge success of Melbourne, Ireland came home from Rome in 1960 empty-handed and had boxer Jim McCourt to thank for ensuring the same didn’t happen four years on in Tokyo. McCourt lost a controversial semi-final bout to Russian Velikton Barannikov and had to be content with bronze in the lightweight division. He went on to win bronze at the 1956 European Championships and gold at the following years’ Commonwealth Games.

Hugh Russell (Bronze) – Moscow 1980

Not even the boxers could take home a medal for Ireland in the three Games’ which followed. That changed in 1980 though when Hugh Russell, also from Northern Ireland like McCourt, took home bronze in the flyweight division. Russell beat opponents from Iraq, Tanzania and North Korea on his way to the final four where he came unstuck against Bulgarian opposition in the shape of Peter Lessov.

David Wilkins & James Wilkinson (Silver) – Moscow 1980

Not since Ronnie Delany in 1956 had Ireland won a medal outside of the boxing ring and in 1980, David Wilkins and James Wilkinson became the first Irishmen to win a medal on the sea and outside of singles competition in sailing. Wilkins and Wilkinson competed in the Flying Dutchman class and although the Games were hosted in Moscow, the sailing event took place in Talinn, Estonia.

John Treacy (Silver) – Los Angeles 1984

John Treacy’s Olympic career started at a low-ebb when the Waterford man collapsed with just 200m to go in his 10,000m heat when in pole-position to qualify at Moscow. Four years later he returned to finish ninth in the 10,000m final before going on to claim silver in the marathon, overtaking Charlie Spedding with just 150 metres to go to claim second spot.

Michael Carruth (Gold) – Barcelona 1992

Dubliner Carruth competed at the 1988 Games but was eliminated via knockout in the lightweight boxing division. Four years later, he returned to go all the way at welterweight, in the process becoming Ireland’s first gold medal winner since Ronnie Delany and first-ever inside the ring. Carruth defeated Cuban Juan Hernandez Sierra in the decider 13-10.

Wayne McCullough (Silver) – Barcelona 1992

McCullough is one of Ireland’s greatest ever professional boxers, holding the World title from 1995-97 but it all began for the ‘Pocket Rocket’ at the 1992 Games where he claimed silver in the bantamweight division. McCullough had to go through four opponents just to reach the decider in Barcelona where he was defeated by Cuban Joel Casamayor.

Michelle Smith (3 X Gold, 1 X Bronze) – Atlanta 1996

Controversy still surrounds her name but Michelle Smith remains Ireland’s most successful Olympian after claiming three gold medals and one bronze in swimming at the Atlanta Games. Smith triumphed in the 400m freestyle, 400m individual medley and the 200m individual medley whilst also making it onto the podium in third place in the 200m butterfly.

Two years later, Smith was banned for four years for tampering with her urine sample using alcohol, effectively ending her swimming career. Smith was never stripped of her Olympic medals as she never tested positive for a banned substance.

Sonia O’Sullivan (Silver) – Sydney 2000

O’Sullivan is one of the most recognisable faces in Irish athletics for her achievements on the track in both the 2000m and 5000m events. O’Sullivan was World champion in 1995 and claimed Olympic silver in 2000 in the 5000m, clocking a time of 14:41.02 to become only the second Irishwoman ever to claim an Olympic medal and the first on the track. Her 2000m World record time set in 1994 stood right up to 2017.

Kenny Egan (Silver) – Beijing 2008

Athens in 2004 yielded no medal joy for Ireland but Kenny Egan came up with the goods at Beijing four years later in the boxing ring when, competing as team captain, he made it all the way to the final of the light-heavyweight tournament. There the Dubliner faced a stiff task in home favourite Xiaoping Zhang and in the end it proved too tough for Egan to overcome both his opponent and the judges who failed to acknowledge a number of scoring punches landed by Egan in the final round. He lost 11-7.

Darren Sutherland (Bronze) – Beijing 2008

Darren Sutherland formed part of the hugely successful Irish boxing team at the Beijing Games and made it right through to the penultimate stage of the middleweight tournament where he faced Britain’s James DeGale. DeGale proved too strong in the end but Sutherland returned home a hero with his bronze medal around his neck.

Paddy Barnes (Bronze) – Beijing 2008

Paddy Barnes grabbed the attention of a nation with his outgoing, cheeky persona outside the ring and his stand and bang style inside it. That approach took Barnes on a memorable run in the light flyweight division right through to the semi-finals where he was defeated by local hope Zou Shiming.

Katie Taylor (Gold) – London 2012

The hopes of a nation rested on Katie Taylor in London 2012. She had dominated the women’s boxing game for the previous seven years and with it being added to the Olympic roster in 2012 for the first time, Taylor was Ireland’s great medal hope. Just like she always does, the Bray woman delivered, reaching the decider where she edged Russian Sofya Ochigava 10-8, falling to her knees in celebration when her name was called out as winner.

John Joe Nevin (Silver) – London 2012

John Joe Nevin competed at the 2008 Games at the age of 18 and was a real medal hope heading into the ring in London four years on. It took the Mullingar man four fights to reach the final of the bantamweight division. There he faced Britain’s Luke Campbell, with Nevin losing out 14-11 on the judges’ scorecards.

Michael Conlan (Silver) – London 2012

Conlan represented Ireland in boxing’s flyweight division in London and was one of four medalists for Team Ireland. The Belfast fighter beat Ghanaian and French opposition to advance through to the final four where he was beaten by Cuban Robeisy Ramirez who would go on to claim gold.

Paddy Barnes (Bronze) – London 2012

Barnes became the first Irish boxer to claim medals at back-to-back Games when winning bronze once again at London 2012. Barnes drew old foe Zou Shiming in the penultimate round, performing heroically to earn a 15-15 draw but there was to be heartbreak for Barnes as Shiming was awarded the win 45-44 following a countback. Shiming went on to claim gold just as he did in Beijing.

Cian O’Connor (Bronze) – London 2012

Cian O’Connor was Ireland’s hero at the 2004 Games when winning a gold medal aboard Waterford Crystal in the individual showjumping event but following the Games, it emerged that the horse had tested positive for a banned substance and O’Connor was stripped of his medal. Eight years later, he wrote those wrongs aboard Blue Loyd 12, losing the silver medal jump-off to Gerco Schroder of the Netherlands but taking home the bronze.

Robert Heffernan (Bronze) – London 2012

Heffernan’s Olympic medal for the 50km walk didn’t come about in normal circumstances. The Cork man finished ninth in the 20km walk and a week later, came fourth in the 50km walk, a full seven minutes ahead of the previous national record. There’s no medal for fourth though so Heffernan came away disappointed until in early 2015, it was revealed that race winner Sergey Kirdyapkin was under investigation for doping violations and in March 2016, Heffernan was upgraded to the bronze medal position.

Annalise Murphy (Silver) – Rio De Janeiro 2016

There was heartache for Annalise Murphy in London 2012 competing in the laser radial sailing class when finishing just outside the medals in fourth spot having led for much of the week. She made amends in Rio however going two spots better to win silver and realise a dream years in the making.

Gary and Paul O’Donovan (Silver) – Rio De Janeiro 2016

Not much was known about the O’Donovan brothers or indeed Skibbereen rowing club prior to Rio but by the end of the Games, they were household names all over the country. The O’Donovan ‘s made waves both in the water and outside it with their hilarious post-race interviews. Having only just qualified for the Games, they went on to claim silver in the lightweight double sculls, the first rowing medals ever won by Ireland at the Olympics. How did they do it? They simply pulled like dogs!