Team Ireland’s Paralympians received a rapturous welcome when they arrived home to Dublin Airport on Monday afternoon, with families, friends and supporters turning out to celebrate the six medals won at the Paris Games.
Katie-George Dunlevy, who won three medals in Para cycling events, said her achievement was “finally, slightly” starting to sink in.
Dunlevy won silver with pilot Eve McCrystal in the B 3,000m individual pursuit, and a further silver and gold with Linda Kelly in the B road race and the B individual time-trial events respectively.
“I’ve been working incredibly hard and to come away with it, it just means so much,” she said shortly after touching down.
Dunlevy said the raucous reception received by her and her fellow Team Ireland Paralympians in Terminal 2′s arrivals hall was “brilliant to see”.
“Sometimes, as Para athletes, we don’t get this reception. I’m just delighted for the whole team, it’s really, really brilliant,” she added.
The cyclist paid tribute to her parents, John and Alana, who had travelled to Paris to see her in action but were waiting for her at the arrival gate. “Without my parents, I wouldn’t be here. They’ve supported me since I was a child, to get into sport and encouraging me,” she said.
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“I’m just so glad that I can bring back medals for them. I know that’s not important to them either, but to actually, to get that for them, with all the hard work that they’ve given to me, it’s kind of giving back.”
Sprinter Orla Comerford, who won bronze in the T13 100m final, said the homecoming was a “lifetime in the making”.
“Any moment like this starts with finding a love and a passion for a sport and a community who supports you,” she said.
Comerford’s medal came after two previous Paralympics appearances – in 2016 in Rio, and in 2021 in Tokyo, – where she did not make the podium.
“I’ve been on the other end of if, I’ve been the athlete who comes home disappointed, that athlete who wants to avoid everybody and get home, but I’m excited today not to be in a rush,” she said. “It makes me appreciate these moments so much more.”
The 26-year-old added: “I know I’m not the youngest in my career, but I feel like I’m just getting going and I’m really excited for what’s to come.”
Comerford’s father, Ger, said he was “delighted” by his daughter’s success in Paris. “[I’m] proud of what she’s achieved, but I’m actually more proud of how she achieved it, because of the dedication and time that she’s put into it,” he said.
Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times
Double silver medal winning swimmer Róisín Ní Ríain said her celebrations would mainly be about heading home, seeing family and friends and then heading to bed.
“I’m very tired,” she said. “I’m delighted with my performances over in Paris. It feels like a while ago now since I finished racing. I had some time to look back and reflect, and I’m really, really happy.”
