GYMNASTICS: A lot of our athletes have become heroes now, and there will be great celebrations when they get home, according to Irish head gymnastics coach Sinéad Byrne.
She was speaking at the culmination of a week's artistic and rhythmic gymnastics with the awards ceremony in the RDS.
"It was a tough week for all the athletes but they all improved on their preliminary scores and final scores," added Byrne.
"I'm looking forward to getting back to normality. It's been superb, the coaching team all got on great and were very supportive of one another. The athletes made great friends with all the other delegates, they mixed very well and took pleasure in congratulating one another after their performances.
"The gymnastics became very competitive as the week unfolded. The athletes were in awe on the first day, but once they settled into it they became competitive. They had all trained so hard in the run-up to the games," she added.
The athletes needed great stamina to take part in this year's Games. "We were all up at 5.45 a.m. every morning and didn't get to bed until after midnight," the coach explained.
"It's been exhausting. The athletes had a gruelling schedule. They were up until all hours and insisted on going to the mall to shop," said Team USA coach Patricia Clark.
MC Robert Harley started off a Riverdance craze at the gymnastic events earlier in the week. During a 10-minute lull in the competition he started to dance - much to the delight of the spectators. He kept enthusiasm high and spurred on the audience. There are often lulls, and the athletes need an enthusiastic audience.
"Every day from Wednesday we danced at the changeover and at the end of each day's events," said volunteer Colette Coughlan.
"The coaches, spectators, and over 150 volunteers and athletes all joined in. People compared it to the performance at the opening ceremony in Croke Park - and Robert even received his very own gold medal for his performance."
"The athletes were brilliant and the public support was amazing. People were queuing up for hours in the rain yesterday to get in to the gymnastics. I can't believe it's over, I won't know what to do with myself now," said volunteer Jessica Mejekodunmi, on Saturday.