Irish Athletics History at the Olympics

Irish athletes figured quite prominently in during the birth of the modern-day Olympic movement in 1896, but the expense of travelling far from home prevented some athletes from competing at the Olympic Games until 1908. Pat O’Callaghan’s Gold in the Hammer at the Amsterdam 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam proved a key milestone for Irish athletics.

Los Angeles 1932 provided one of the great highlights in Irish Olympic History, with Pat O’Callaghan in the Hammer Throw, and Bob Tisdall in the 400m Hurdles both taking home gold. Sam Ferris, from County Down, won silver for Britain in the marathon; while Éamon Fitzgerald, a member of the all-powerful Kerry gaelic football team, narrowly missed out, coming fourth in the triple jump.

In 1956 Maeve Kyle became Ireland’s first female Olympic track and field athlete (100m and 200m). The Irish athlete had to raise £200 to cover the cost of the trip to Melbourne, where a 28-year-old Kyle came up against Betty Cuthbert who went on to become the undoubted star of the Games by walking away with three gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay. Maeve Kirk went on to represent Ireland in two more Olympic Games, Rome in 60' and Tokyo in 64'

Irish Medal History (Athletics)

Pat O’Callaghan, Gold, Hammer 1928

In the summer of 1928, the three O’Callaghan brothers paid their own fares when travelling to the Olympic Games in Amsterdam. Pat O’Callaghan finished in sixth place in the preliminary round and started the final with a throw of 155’ 9”. This put him in third place behind Ossian Skiöld of Sweden, but ahead of Malcolm Nokes, the favourite from Great Britain. For his second throw, O’Callaghan used the Swede's own hammer and recorded a throw of 168’ 7”. This was 4’ more than Skoeld's throw and resulted in a first gold medal for O’Callaghan and for Ireland. The podium presentation was particularly emotional as it was the first time at an Olympic Games that the Irish tricolour was raised and Amhrán na bhFiann was played.

Bob Tisdall, Gold, 400H, 1932

In 1928, Ireland, as an independent nation, had won its first Olympic gold medal at Amsterdam with Dr Pat O'Callaghan's victory in the hammer event. Within the short space of an hour at the 1932 Games Ireland won two Olympic gold medals on Monday, 1 August 1932. The first was won by Tisdall.

Pat O’Callaghan, Gold, Hammer 1932

By the time the 1932 Summer Olympics came around O’Callaghan was regularly throwing the hammer over 170 feet. O’Callaghan's second throw reached a distance of 176’ 11”, a result which allowed him to retain his Olympic title. It was Ireland's second gold medal of the day as the aforementioned Bob Tisdall had earlier won a gold medal in the 400m hurdles.

Ronnie Delany, Gold, 1500m 1956

Ronnie Delany was just 21 when he crossed the line to win the Olympic 1500m gold medal in Melbourne on December 1, 1956. Victory in that Olympic final was the realisation of a dream that was sown many years previously. The young Ronnie dabbled in many sports but he discovered his greatest talent was in athletics.

John Treacy, Silver, Marathon 1984

In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, John Treacy placed ninth in the 10,000-metre final before crowning his athletics career with a silver medal in the men's marathon. Winner Carlos Lopes of Portugal was largely unchallenged for much of the race, with Treacy down the field until entering the top six around the 20-kilometre mark. Treacy continued to work his way up the rankings until entering the Los Angeles Coliseum stadium just behind second-placed British athlete Charlie Spedding. Treacy overtook Spedding with 150m to go, during which the Irish television commentary of Jimmy Magee listed the previous Irish Olympic medal winners up to that time.

Sonia O’Sullivan, Silver, 5000m 2000

At Sydney, on 22 September, O'Sullivan won her 5000m heat with a season's best of 15:07.91. In the final three days later, after an enthralling sprint finish, O'Sullivan won the silver medal behind Gabriela Szabo in a National Record 14:41.02. She became only the first Irish Track and Field Olympic Medalist since John Treacy took Silver in Los Angeles.

Rob Heffernan, Bronze, 50km Walk 2012

Robert Heffernan finished fourth in the 2012 men's 50 kilometres walk won by Sergey Kirdyapkin. On 24 March 2016, the Court of Arbitration for Sport disqualified all Kirdyapkin's competitive results from 20 August 2009 to 15 October 2012. Hefferan was upgraded to third, and formally presented with a bronze medal in November 2016.

Click HERE for information on our Tokyo 2020 Olympians.