30/09/2004 - Irish Team return home to great reception

The Irish Paralympic Team today returned home to Ireland with 4 medals, a world record and a host of personal and seasons best performances.  Led by Chef de Mission, Jim McBride, the team were treated to a welcome reception courtesy of the Dublin Airport Authority and where met off the plane by Minister for Arts, Sport & Tourism, Mr. John O'Donoghue T.D.

A special welcome was reserved for our four medal winners Conall McNamara (T13 400m silver), Derek Malone (T38 800m bronze), David Malone (S8 100m Backstroke silver) and John McCarthy (F32/51 Discus silver).  The formalities began with a speech by Minister O'Donoghue praising the efforts of the team and re-iterating the government's commitment to the Irish Paralympic Team in the preparations for the Beijing 2008 Games.  He also read out a personal letter of congratulations from An Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern T.D.  President of the Paralympic Council of Ireland, Mr. Tony Guest, and Chairman of the Irish Sports Council, Mr. Pat O'Neill also gave speeches honouring the performances of the team as a whole.

Several special guests also appeared at the reception to acknowledge the outstanding performances of our team.  Olympic Show Jumping Gold Medalist, Cian O'Connor, Olympic Oarsman, Sam Lynch and ISC Board Member and former Republic of Ireland soccer player Niall Quinn congratulated individual team members on their performances.

Following the welcome reception, the team made their way to the arrivals area led by a piper where they were greeted to a rapturous reception by family, friends and supporters.  It was a particularly special occasion for one team member in particular.  Track cycling pilot, Ian Mahon met his son Cathal for the first time as his partner Barbara gave birth 2 days after Ian departed for the Cyprus Acclimatisation Camp.

The team will meet again at a reception by Uactarain na hEireann, Mrs. Mary MacAleese next Wednesday and a team dinner later in the year.

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28/09/2004 - Muted closing ceremony doesn't dampen the celebrations of the athletes

The Paralympic Council of Ireland wish to congratulate Ireland's 41 participants at this year's games and look forward to working closely with may of them again in the build up to the Beijing games.

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28/09/2004 - Irish Boccia Team complete Irish involvement in 2004 Games

The Irish Boccia Team of Keith Hayes, Gay Shelly, Martina Murphy and Bobbie Connolly today completed the interest of the Irish Paralympic Team at the Athens Games.  The Irish went into their last pool game against Hong Kong knowing a comprehensive victory may qualify them for the semi-final following their two victories yesterday afternoon against Denmark and Thailand.  Unfortunately the Irish couldn't repeat the heights of yesterday and lost 9:4.  This left the Irish in place in their pool which equates to a top eight finish which is inline with their world ranking.

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27/09/2004 - Malone and Walsh compete in final athletics session

The athletics competition came to an end in the Olympic Stadium this evening with Irish athletes Derek Malone and Catherine Walsh the final Irish representatives in action.  Derek Malone came 7th in the final of the T38 400m in a time of 54.84 seconds.  Derek, tired from his exertions over the past week remained happy with his performances and lookis forward to a rest on his return to Ireland with his 800m bronze medal.

Catherine Walsh put in a super performance finishing 6th in the T13 400m final in a new personal best time of 1.05.99, knocking almost two seconds off her previous best.  After the race, she paid tribute to the help she received from her coach, Eamon Harvey and her parents.

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27/09/2004 - Classy Kiwis end boccia pairs repeat gold dream

The decider came about from the Irish pairs earlier defeat to the Spanish by a score of 3:1.  In possibly the most evenly matched and exciting contest of the entire tournament, the Irish again narrowly lost out to the pair they defeated in the Sydney final.  Each end was decided by one ball and with the narrowest of margins on each occasion.

Meanwhile, in the the team event the Irish had a poor start to the day losing 8:3 to the highly fancied Portuguese.  In a turnaround however, the Irish defeated Denmark in the afternoon by a score of 7:3 having been 3:0 down early in the contest.  In their final game of the day against Thailand, the Irish were victorious by a score of 11:1.  The team have one further pool match tomorrow morning against Hong Kong where victory will assure them of at least third place in the group and a top six position overall.  This would be a fantastic achievement as they would improve their world ranking by a couple of places. 

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27/09/2004 - Kehoe ends campaign in time trial

Mark Kehoe competed in his fourth and final event of the Athens Games in the time trial at the Vouliagmeni Olympic Centre today.  Competing in his first Paralympics, Mark exceeded his expectations with his pilot Denis Toomey by finishing in 18th place overall in a time of 35.34 minutes.  Mark was delighted with his run and now looks forward to competing in Beijing in 2008.

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26/09/2004 - Malone qualifies for 400m final

Following the race, Derek was relieved to have won the final place in the final for the fastest losers.  Commenting on the race he said "I'm happy with that, I just wanted to do enough to get into the final." 

The final takes place in the Olympic Stadium tomorrow night in the final athletics session of this year's games.

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26/09/2004 - Mixed start to boccia team and pair competition for the Irish

The of John Cronin and Gerard O'Grady had a better start in their pool of four with a 5:3 victory over the Czech Republic.  The Irish got off to a terrible start by losing 3 points in the first end on their own jack ball.  They replied immediately taking three in the second and one in each in the 3rd and 4th ends to close out the match.  The Irish will now play the Spanish and the New Zealanders tomorrow knowing that one victory will qualify them for Tuesday's semi-finals.

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26/09/2004 - McGlynn off his best in the pool

Aidan McGlynn from Strabane was today disappointed with his performance in the Men's S9 50m Freestyle at the Olympic Aquatic Centre this morning.  Competing in the first heat of three, Aidan finished seventh in his heat in a time of 29.15 seconds.  This was well outside his personal best of 28.04 seconds which he set last year to qualify for the Games.  Aidan finished 19th overall from a field of 21.

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25/09/2004 - Individual boccia hopes dashed

Shelly competed his competion by beating Great Britain's Peter Pearse 7:3.  This left Shelly in joint second in the pool but unfortunately his missed out on qualification for the quarter final by virtue of a lower number of points scored than Jose Macedo of Portugal.  Cronin followed suit when he lost in a thrilling encounter 4:1 to Greece's Gregoris Polychronidis. 

In the knockout stages of the BC2 event, both Irish competitors lost out.  Ross Flood (Nzl) defeated Keith Hayes by 9:0 and Pedro Silva (Por) defeated Bobbie Connolly 5:0

The team and pair competitions commence tomorrow.

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25/09/2004 - Kehoe and Toomey in cycling road race

Ireland's tandem cyclist along with pilot Denis Toomey today contested his first Paralympic Road Race at the Vouliagmeni Olympic Centre.  Mark an Denis exceeded their own expectations in finishing in 19th position overall.  The duo now look forward to the road race on Monday.

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25/09/2004 - Football team sign off with a win

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25/09/2004 - Mixed bag at the Olympic Stadium today

Two Irish athletes competed at the Olympic stadium today with a mixed set of results.  First up was Swords Catherine Walsh competing in the Women's F13 Long Jump.  Catherine who gave birth to daughter Alice a year ago achieved a season's best of 4.55m in the competition.  The competition was very tough but Catherine was pleased with her performance and her sixth place position.  She will compete in the final of her preferred event, the F13 400m on Monday night.

John Fulham had a disappointing start to the day when he failed to qualify for the final of his favourite event, the T53 200m.  John, European Champion in the event struggled to get any power around the bend and came home in 5th place in his heat in a time of 27.98.  The progress of the competition was for the first two and the two fastest losers to qualify.  Although John was within the top eight times, his fifth place finish ensured he didn't qualify for Monday night's final.

John returned to the track tonight to contest the final of the T53 100m.  John finished with a time of 15.67 in sixth place overall.  John was delighted with the run and his sixth place with special relief in that he didn't finish last in the final as in Sydney.  John will take some time away from racing and then make a decision as to his future plans.

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24/09/2004 - Double silver medal for Ireland in the Olympic Stadium tonight

The medal haul of the Irish Paralympic Team in Athens doubled in the space of two glorious hours in the Olympic Stadium tonight with two further silver medals won.  First into action was 17 year old Conall McNamara from Achill in the final of the men's T13 400m.  In a thrilling final with 5 of the competitors realistic possibilities for the medals the race sprung into life with the burst of eventual winner Royal Mitchell from the gun.  He eventually sped away to victory but the real race was happening behind him for the silver medal.  From the 300m mark, McNamara found an extra gear to move from 4th to 2nd and claim the glory in a new personal best time of 50.62 seconds.

Following the race, McNamara was delighted but was willing the Mayo men's football team to repeat his success on Sunday next in the All-Ireland Final.  In a typical McNamara moment of humour he urged the people of Mayo to start getting the bonfires ready for "McNamara and Mayo."
 

The second medal of the evening was secured an hour later and was somewhat of a surprise.  John McCarthy from Dunmanway in Co. Cork was hoping to break into the top six in his first Paralympics but his personal best throw of 9.74m in the second round was enough to secure him the silver medal.  He missed out on the gold medal by a mere 3 cms.   Commenting on the competition McCarthy said:
"It went brilliant.  It couldn't have been any better.  I threw alot further than I was expecting and had a new personal best and with that a new Irish record.  To finish second and only 3cms off the gold is a dream.  I am absolutely delighted.  There are better athletes in the field and this is such a surprise.

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24/09/2004 - Hayes & Connolly qualify for knockout stages of BC2 boccia competition

Connolly today realised her dream of qualifying from the pool stages of a major championships.  Connolly has competed in every major championship since 1999 but this is the first occasion she has been successful in the individual competition.  Playing Hong Kong's highly fancied Hoi Ying Kwok, Connolly stole an early lead which she held to the end of the game to secure a 4:3 victory.  It wasn't plane sailing however as Connolly pulled off a sensational shot in the final quarter to ensure the victory by the slimmest of margins.

The news wasn't so positive for other Irish Boccia players.  With the pool stages nearing completion, Gerard O'Grady and Martina Murphy have been eliminated.  Medal hopes Gay Shelly and Johnny Cronin are hanging in by the skin of their teeth having both lost two preliminary matches.  Depending on a combination of results tomorrow, both could steal sneak the final qualifying place from their respective pools.

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24/09/2004 - Tallon finishes 4th in women's javelin final

This was Tallon's first Paralympic Games and one which has given her the motivation to look forward to Beijing with confidence.  Rosemary was particularly thrilled to compete in front of the huge attendance in the stadium this morning with in excess of 30,000 people watching.

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24/09/2004 - Fulham qualifies for 100m Final

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24/09/2004 - Competition too hot for Bernie

Breda Bernie today completed her programme in the dressage events with a with a score of 61.833% in the freestyle competition.  Breda who finished 19th was disappointed with the result especially considering the work she had put in in the last few months.  Breda who is ranked 12th in the world tried gallantly throughout the competition but ultimately couldn't improve on her previous best performances.

The event was won by Sweden's Irene Slaettengren on Larino with a phenomenal score of 78.944%.

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23/09/2004 - Irish Team struggle in opening day of boccia competition

Keith Hayes from Bunclody was first into action against world no. 1 and defending champion, Nigel Murray of Great Britain.  Murray was always in control of the game and ran out victorious by 8:1.  Hayes was fortunate in his second game as his Greek opponent Maria Tsilikopoulou failed to appear and was duly awarded a 6:0victor in accordance with boccia rules.

Bobbie Connolly from Foxrock, started with a bad 9:1 defeat at the hands of Portugal's Fernando Ferreira.  Bobbie made amends however with a fine victory over Claudio Scalise of Argentina by 4:1.  Both Keith Hayes and Bobbie Connolly will qualify for the final 16 if they can win their remaining pool matches tomorrow.

Martina Murphy from Wicklow appeared nervous and unsettled as she lost her two opening matches to Mansoor Siddiqi of Denmark (7:3) and Hubert Steirer of Austria (7:0).  Martina is now unlikely to progress to the knockout stages but will compete in .the team event later.

Defending champion in the BC1 competition, Gay Shelly started poorly against one of the tournament favourites, Francisco Beltran of Spain.  Gay was lying 9:0 down after three ends but secured three points inthe final end to put a better gloss on the final score of 9:3.  Gay continued his form in the second match by beating Gabriela Vallano of Argentina by 11:0.  Gay is in a pool of 6 players.  He will play 3 matches tomorrow as he attempts to qualify for the quarter-finals on Saturday.

In the BC3 category, Mallows John Cronin started with a defeat to Portugal's Jose Macedo by 7:3.  Drawing 3 apiece going into the final end, Cronin's opponent laid his first ball tight on the jack causing Cronin to use his complement of balls early in the end leaving the door open for Macedo to score 4.  Cronin is still confident of beating his remaining three opponents and qualifying for the quarter finals.

Gerard O'Grady from Askeaton, playing in his first Paralympics almost held out to win a close encounter with Radovan Krenek of the Czech Republic.  He was unfortunate to lose by 3:2.

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23/09/2004 - Sailors complete the Paralympic regatta

Ireland's sailors in both the Sonar and 2.4mR classes both completed their ninth and final races in this year's Paralympic Games at Agios Kosmos today.  The Sonar crew of John Twomey, Sean McGrath and Brian O'Mahony finished 4th in their final race leaving them in 9th place overall.  Feargal Kinsella, competing in his first Games finished 15th overall and 16th in today's final race.

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23/09/2004 - Football team lose third pool match to Iran

The Irish Team will now contest the 7th and 8th place play-off game on Saturday at 10 am against USA.

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23/09/2004 - Dockery fails to qualify but sets PB in 1500m

Patrice Dockery's Paralympic adventure continued today in the Olympic Stadium.  Competing in heat 1 of the Women's T54 1500m, Patrice failed to qualify for the final but set a new personal best time of 3.43.49.  Due to the on-going injury problems resulting from Monday night's crash in the 5000m, Patrice is unlikely to compete in Sunday's Marathon.

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22/09/2004 - Culliton sets new PB in Men's F52 Shot Putt

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22/09/2004 - David Malone claims silver medal for Ireland

27-year-old David Malone from Ballinteer in Dublin produced another magnificent performance to claim silver for Ireland at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens in the S8 100m Backstroke. Malone, a World Record holder and former Paralympic gold medal winner, produced a swim full of courage and determination to finish behind American Thomas Mohr and ahead of Croatian Milhovil Spanja in a time of 1.12.55, his fastest in over three years.

He may be a much-decorated athlete and a well-known Paralympian but after the race an exhausted Malone described the final as the toughest of his career. "I am delighted with a silver medal today, it is a fantastic feeling. Coming into the Games I wasn't sure if I was a genuine medal prospect and today was a really tough swim, probably the hardest of my career. The last 15 metres were really, really difficult but I got there and I am thrilled", he said.

Malone also paid tribute to his coaches and backroom team, particularly Kevin Williamson, who along with others played a huge role in focusing the talented Dublin swimmer on competitive swimming after he took a break in the aftermath of the 2000 Sydney Games.

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22/09/2204 - Penultimate racing day for Ireland's sailors

Ireland's sailors in both the Sonar and 2.4mR classes competed in their respective races 7 & 8 today.  The Irish boats maintained their consistent form.  The Sonar team led by John Twomey finished 6th and 11th today leaving them in 9th place overall.  Meanwhile, Feargal Kinsella competing on his own had his best race with a 13th place in race 7 and followed it with a 15th in race 8.

Both boats have one final race tomorrow.

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22/09/2004 - Breda Bernie disappointed with opening event

Breda now looks forward to her preferred Freestyle Test  on Friday where she is hopeful of a better score.

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22/09/2004 - Mark Kehoe sets second PB at the Olympic Velodrome

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22/09/2004 - Fulham opens his Paralympic Campaign

John Fulham, from Limerick, opened his Paralympic campaign in his least favoured 400m event for T53 men in the Olympic Stadium this morning.  John was using the event to warm up for his 100m and 200m events later in the week.  John completed the heat in a time of 55.12 and did not qualify for tomorrow's final.

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22/09/2004 - David Malone qualifies for tonight's final