This is a list of flag bearers who have represented Ireland at the Olympics. Flag bearers carry the national flag of their country at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Men and women from across the country and from a variety of sports have carried the flag at both the Summer Olympic Games and the Winter Olympic Games.

Firsts Athletes from Ireland competed alongside Great Britain for the first Olympic Games, entering their own team for the first time in 1924. Many Irish Americans competed for the United States, achieving significant success particularly in athletics.Dwyer, Ryle. Flying the flag: Reliving Ireland's golden days of Olympic glory. 13 February 2010. Irish Examiner. Accessed 30 October 2011. Pat McDonald, who had moved to the United States at a young age, won the shot put at the 1912 Games and was chosen to carry the U.S. flag at the opening ceremony of the 1920 Games in Antwerp, Belgium.Pat McDonald. Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed October 26, 2011.United States. Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed 30 October 2011.

John O'Grady was the first athlete to bear the Irish tricolour in 1924. Ireland did not compete in the Winter Olympics until 1992, with Pat McDonagh, a former Summer Olympic rower turned bobsledder, leading out the team.Ireland. Olympics at Sport-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed 21 January 2016.

Boycotts The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet–Afghan War, saw many countries pull out of the Games and only 16 nations appeared at the opening ceremony. Taoiseach Charles Haughey declared his support for the boycott but the Olympic Council of Ireland still chose to send their team to Moscow. Ken Ryan, manager of the Olympic team, said that they supported the government but wanted to participate in the games "purely from the sporting point of view". At the opening ceremony Ryan was the sole representative of the team and marched under a white flag with bearing the Olympic rings.Olympics chief feared protests. 30 December 2010. Belfast Telegraph. Accessed 29 October 2011. The Soviet cameramen avoided the protesting marchers and few Soviet commentators mentioned it. Only one comment was recorded: "There is the clumsy plot that you all can see, against the traditions of the Olympic movement."Fimrite, Ron. Only The Bears Were Bullish. 28 July 1980. Sports Illustrated. Accessed 26 October 2011.

Other notes The McGarry sisters, Tamsen and Kirsten, both carried the flag for Ireland. Tamsen was the elder sister, born in 1982 in Bolton, England, and was selected as the flag bearer for the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. It was the only time that she would compete at the Olympics. Kirsten was chosen for the 2006 Games in Turin. Both sisters were alpine skiers.Tamsen McGarry. Olympics at Sport-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed 29 October 2011.Kirsty McGarry. Olympics at Sport-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Accessed 29 October 2011.

List of flag bearers

List of flag bearers: # Event year Season Flag bearer Sport 1 1924 Summer Athletics 2 1928 Summer Boxing 3 1932 Summer Athletics 4 1948 Summer Team official President of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association, "I.A.B.A. President criticises Olympics", Irish Times, 4 October 1942, page 2 5 1952 Summer Team official Honorary Secretary of Irish Olympic Council, "Unhappy situation at Helsinki", Irish Times, 2 September 1952, page 3; died 6 December 1975 when President of the Olympic Council of Ireland, see obituary "Death of former Garda Commissioner", Irish Times, 8 December 1975, page 13 6 1956 Summer Equestrianism 7 1956 Summer Boxing 8 1960 Summer Athletics 9 1964 Summer Athletics 10 1968 Summer Boxing 11 1972 Summer Equestrianism 12 1976 Summer Rowing 13 1980 Summer Team manager 14 1984 Summer Equestrianism 15 1988 Summer Boxing 16 1992 Winter Bobsleigh 17 1992 Summer Swimming 18 1996 Summer Boxing 19 1998 Winter Bobsleigh 20 2000 Summer Athletics 21 2002 Winter Alpine skiing 22 2004 Summer Equestrianism 23 2006 Winter Alpine skiing 24 2008 Summer Sailing 25 2010 Winter Bobsleigh 26 2012 Summer Boxing 27 2014 Winter Alpine skiing 28 2016 Summer Boxing292018 WinterSnowboarding302020Summer Boxing 31 322022Winter Luge 33Freestyle skiing342024SummerAthletics35Golf362026WinterCross-country skiing37Alpine skiing

See also Ireland at the Olympics

References