Thousands turn out on O’Connell St to welcome Olympians home
There was a carnival-like atmosphere in Dublin city on Monday afternoon as thousands of people descended upon O’Connell Street to welcome Ireland’s record-breaking Olympics team home from Paris.
While Skibbereen rower Paul O’Donovan was a notable absentee on the day – he has already returned to training for the World Championships later this month – the remaining septet of medallists from Team Ireland, including his lightweight double sculls partner Fintan McCarthy, were all present for a homecoming that took place in front of an estimated crowd of more than 20,000 spectators.
Although the shops and stores on O’Connell Street remained open for business, the main stage that was erected by Dublin City Council right in front of the General Post Office was the main attraction in one of the busiest parts of the capital city for at least a couple of hours.
In addition to those on the ground, there were also a number of people waving tricolour flags out the windows of nearby buildings while others had elected to take in a rooftop view of this homecoming ceremony.
Even though the returning Olympians (who helped Team Ireland to claim a best-ever haul of seven medals in Paris) were first shown on a multitude of big screens at 12.52pm, it wasn’t until 50 minutes later that the first batch of athletes arrived on stage.
This was in part due to the DJ set that was performed by Declan Pierce of ‘Block Rockin’ Beats’ fame – Gala’s ‘Freed From Desire’ and ‘Dreams’ by The Cranberries being amongst the tunes he played.
Additionally, Marty Morrissey (the MC for the day along with his RTÉ colleague Joanne Cantwell) spoke briefly to Lord Mayor of Dublin James Geoghegan, An Taoiseach Simon Harris and Minister of State for Sport Thomas Byrne before the Olympians were finally presented to the public.
Fresh from defending her 60kg lightweight crown from the Tokyo Olympics at Roland Garros last Tuesday, Harrington was the first Paris medallist to take to the stage on O’Connell Street.
The setting for Monday’s ceremony was quite fitting for the 34-year-old as it was a mere 20 minutes walking distance from her family home on Portland Row.
She was jointly interviewed on stage with her coach Zaur Antia, who said he is convinced Harrington is capable of picking up a third Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles four years from now.
Whilst quick to reiterate – as she had done in Paris – that her time as a fighter is now at an end, Harrington acknowledged it will take some time until her achievements as an Olympic boxer fully sink in.
“It’s the stuff of dreams, to be honest with you. It’s going to be a few weeks when I actually sit down and have time on my own to think back over the last 20 years. I’m just looking forward to having that time to myself and see how far we’ve come,” Harrington remarked.
Despite the event running relatively smoothly, the medical personnel that were in attendance on a baking hot day in Dublin were called upon to give treatment to two members of the crowd. One of those – an adult female – was brought away in an ambulance, but thankfully was conscious and appeared in good spirits as she left the venue.
In the closing stretches of the homecoming, the aforementioned McCarthy was simultaneously joined on stage by his fellow gold medallists Daniel Wiffen and Rhys McCleneghan, as well as bronze winners Mona McSharry, Daire Lynch and Philip Doyle.
McCarthy had stepped in to replace Wiffen as the Irish flag bearer alongside McSharry for Sunday’s closing ceremony in Paris after the Armagh swimmer had withdrawn with a bug that required him to receive treatment in hospital, but he recovered in time to take his place on the O’Connell Street stage.
Like Harrington, McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan picked up their second successive Olympic gold medals in Paris courtesy of a majestic final performance in the lightweight double sculls. O’Donovan and his brother Gary had a previous homecoming of their own in Skibbereen after collecting silver medals at the Rio Games in 2016 and McCarthy recalled how attending that particular ceremony provided him with ideal motivation as he pursued his own Olympic dream.
“It was surreal because we all trained together, doing the same training. That I guess was the moment where I realised that any of us could do it,” explained McCarthy, who also said there is a possibility that himself and O’Donovan could team up with Lynch and Doyle at the Los Angeles Olympics.
After the on-stage interviews with Ireland’s Olympians had been rounded up, it was left to Dublin singer Roisin O to play out the event with a stirring rendition of ‘Grace’. Considering this was the song that Harrington sang in the wake of her gold medal bout with China’s Yang Wenlu, this seemed like a very poignant way to draw the proceedings to a close.