THE ACHIEVEMENT of Ireland's boxing team in securing three Olympic medals is now part of Irish sporting history and will serve as an inspiration to athletes of the future, Minister for Sport Martin Cullen said last night.
Greeting the Irish Olympic team at Dublin airport on their return from Beijing, Mr Cullen thanked them for the "sheer excitement" and "emotional rollercoaster" they had taken the people of the country on over the past three weeks.
He paid tribute to the boxing team for winning three medals, but said the entire team of 75 athletes, coaches and staff deserved recognition for their efforts. "We are all hugely proud of everything you have achieved over the last number of weeks," he said.
Mr Cullen said the Olympics had been a success from an Irish perspective, but that there had been some disappointments.
Referring to Denis Lynch, the Irish rider who was disqualified from the individual equestrian final when his horse Lantinus failed a drugs test, Mr Cullen said he felt Lynch had been honest in his comments about the matter and he believed there was no premeditation in his actions.
Mr Cullen said equestrian sport was important in Ireland and he would fight to ensure equestrian events were not dropped from the Olympic programme after a number of doping scandals in recent years. "There are issues to be dealt with by all the Olympic family in ensuring that such occurrences are eliminated in the future," he said.
John Treacy of the Irish Sports Council commended the passion of the Irish team and said they had all exceeded their objectives during a "great two weeks".
"There was achievement after achievement and you went out and did it on the toughest stage of all . . . and we look forward to working with you all in building on this success," he told them.
Olympic Council of Ireland president Pat Hickey thanked the athletes and coaches for their contribution to Irish sport throughout the two weeks of the Olympics and paid tribute to China for organising the event.
Liu Biwei, the Chinese ambassador to Ireland, said it was a great honour to welcome the team back to Ireland at a "lovely and happy time" for the public.
Mr Liu said the Olympics had been "a big success" for China and that all the competing athletes had had done a "good job in strengthening relations" between China and the rest of the world.
