Press release
Ministers wish Irish Olympic Athletes the Best of Luck as they head off for Tokyo
From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, and Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht, Jack Chambers TD, extended their best wishes to the 116 members of Team Ireland as they prepare to compete at the Olympic Games in Tokyo from the 23rd of July to the 8th of August. With over 100 athletes travelling, this will be Ireland’s largest ever team competing at an Olympic Games.
The Ministers were speaking at the Sport Ireland Campus in Blanchardstown at the socially-distanced “Wave-off” event for the departing athletes. In attendance also were Peter Sherrard, CEO of the Olympic Federation of Ireland, Sarah Keane, President of Olympic Federation of Ireland and John Treacy, CEO of Sport Ireland. Representing the Irish Olympic Team were Billy Dardis, Captain of the Irish Rugby Sevens team and athlete Michelle Finn, who will be competing in the 3000m steeplechase.
Minister Chambers said:
“This team that we are sending, our largest ever team, represent the culmination of years of investment and hard work by people across the sporting sector.
With the recent publication of the Sport Ireland High Performance Strategy setting out our ambitions and funding plans for the next decade, the future of Irish high performance sport looks bright, despite all the challenges that this last year has brought.
These will be a challenging Games, owing to all the necessary precautions that will be taken in order to ensure the health of our athletes and the health of the public at large, both in Japan and in Ireland. But it will also hopefully be a successful games and I wish all of our athletes well. Adh mór agus go n-eirí an bóthar libh.”
Minister Martin said:
“To be sending our largest team ever, with a nearly 50/50 gender balance, is a strong indicator of the success of our work in Sport and the effectiveness of funding we have been providing to high performance and women’s sport.
Many of our athletes have already departed for Tokyo, and we wish them all the best as they go through the necessary public health measures. I know from discussion with the OFI and Paralympics Ireland that they have put enormous work into ensuring that our athletes are able to comply with all the necessary measures.
I am confident that with our new High Performance Strategy, and the continuing development of our National Sports Campus and other sporting facilities, we can look forward to further successes in the years ahead. I wish all of the Irish team the best of luck in Tokyo.”