Ireland at the 1924 Summer Olympics
Ireland competed as a national delegation for the first time at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.[n 1] The Irish Olympic Council had been admitted to the International Olympic Committee after the Irish Free State's 1922 independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Council regarded itself as an all-Ireland body, including Northern Ireland as well as the Free State; it competed as "Ireland" (Irlande) rather than "Irish Free State" (État libre d'Irlande). The team used the Irish tricolour as its flag and "Let Erin Remember" as its anthem.
Ireland at the 1924 Summer Olympics | |
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IOC code | IRL |
NOC | Olympic Federation of Ireland |
Website | olympics |
in Paris | |
Medals |
|
Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Other related appearances | |
Great Britain (1896–1920) |
Aquatics
Water polo
Ireland made its debut Olympic water polo appearance.
- Roster
- Charles Barrett
- James Beckett
- James Brady
- John Convery
- Cecil Fagan
- Charles Fagan
- Norman Judd
- John O'Connor
- Michael O'Connor
- Noel Purcell
- First round
- Bye
- Quarterfinals
Czechoslovakia | 4–2 | Ireland | Piscine des Tourelles |
Athletics
Ten athletes represented Ireland in 1924. It was the nation's debut appearance in the sport as well as the Games.
Ranks given are within the heat.
Athlete | Event | Heats | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | ||
Paddy Bermingham | Discus throw | N/A | 40.42 | 4 | Did not advance | ||||
Sean Kelly | 3000 m steeplechase | N/A | Unknown | 7 | Did not advance | ||||
Sean Lavan | 200 m | 23.2 | 1 Q | Unknown | 4 | Did not advance | |||
400 m | 51.2 | 2 Q | 49.8 | 4 | Did not advance | ||||
Norman McEachern | 800 m | N/A | Unknown | 2 Q | 1:58.3 | 5 | Did not advance | ||
William Lowe | 100 m | Unknown | 4 | Did not advance | |||||
200 m | 23.0 | 2 Q | Unknown | 5 | Did not advance | ||||
John O'Connor | Triple jump | N/A | 13.99 | 5 | Did not advance | ||||
John O'Grady | Shot put | N/A | 12.75 | 8 | Did not advance | ||||
John Ryan | 10000 m | N/A | Did not finish | ||||||
Cross country | N/A | Did not finish | |||||||
William Shanahan | Decathlon | N/A | 5426.680 | 19 | |||||
Larry Stanley | High jump | N/A | 1.80 | 4 | Did not advance |
Boxing
Seven boxers represented Ireland at the 1924 Games. It was the nation's debut in the sport as well as the Olympics as an independent nation. Dwyer was the most successful Irish boxer, taking fourth place. His three bouts won were three times as many as the rest of the team combined, with Murphy getting the only other win.
Boxer | Weight class | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final / Bronze match | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opposition Score |
Opposition Score |
Opposition Score |
Opposition Score |
Opposition Score |
Rank | ||
Mossy Doyle | Featherweight | Fields (USA) L |
Did not advance | 17 | |||
Patrick Dwyer | Welterweight | Basham (GBR) W |
Cornelissen (NED) W |
Stauffer (SUI) W |
Méndez (ARG) L |
Lewis (CAN) L |
4 |
Robert Hilliard | Bantamweight | Bye | Pertuzzo (ARG) L |
Did not advance | 9 | ||
James Kelleher | Lightweight | Rothwell (USA) L |
Did not advance | 17 | |||
John Kidley | Light heavyweight | Bye | Sørsdal (NOR) L |
Did not advance | 9 | ||
Myles McDonagh | Flyweight | Bye | Biete (ESP) L |
Did not advance | 9 | ||
William Murphy | Middleweight | Bye | Nowak (POL) W |
Black (CAN) L |
Did not advance | 5 |
|
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Football
The Football Association of the Irish Free State or FAIFS (now the Football Association of Ireland or FAI) sent a team of amateur players to the Olympic tournament, which was a single-elimination tournament. The Irish Olympic Council shunned the FAIFS as the Council saw itself as an all-Ireland body and the FAIFS was "partitionist" by restricting itself to the Free State.[n 2] The FAIFS had to liaise directly with FIFA regarding its entry, rather than going through the Council. Contemporary records, such as the FAIFS annual report, regarded these three internationals as full internationals, despite featuring amateur teams. After the 1960s these games were reclassified as amateur internationals. However, in June 1999 FIFA declared that early Olympic internationals could be considered as full internationals. That would make them the first games of what is now the Republic of Ireland team.
Of the 22 entrants, 12 teams played in the first round. The 6 winners then joined another 10 teams, including Ireland, in the second round. On May 28 at the Stade Olympique, the Ireland beat Bulgaria 1-0 with Paddy Duncan scoring the only goal. As a result of this win they qualified for the quarter-finals. On June 2 they played the Netherlands at the Stade de Paris in Saint-Ouen but lost 2-1 after extra-time. However, the following day, before returning home, the team played one more game, beating Estonia, 3-1 in a friendly at the Stade Olympique.
- Round 1
- Bye
- Round 2
Ireland (FAIFS) | 1–0 | Bulgaria |
---|---|---|
Duncan 75' | Report |
- Quarterfinals
Netherlands | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Ireland (FAIFS) |
---|---|---|
Formenoy 7' 104' | Report | Ghent 33' |
- Final rank
- 5th place
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders
Forwards |
Players reserves:
- John Lea (Shelbourne)
- Frank Heaney (St James's Gate)
- Robert Cowzer (Shelbourne)
- Ernie Crawford (Bohemians)
- Th. Aungier
- J. Healy
*Note: Murphy, Thomas, Robinson and Dowdall only played in friendly against Estonia.
Tennis
- Men
Athlete | Event | Round of 128 | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opposition score |
Opposition score |
Opposition score |
Opposition score |
Opposition score |
Opposition score |
Opposition score |
Rank | ||
William Ireland | Singles | Halot (BEL) L 1–6, 4–6, 4–6 |
Did not advance | ||||||
Edwin McCrea | Singles | Debran (SUI) L 4–6, 4–6, 0–6 |
Did not advance | ||||||
William Ireland Edwin McCrea |
Doubles | N/A | Debran / Syz (SUI) L 6–4, 2–6, 2–6, 6–1, 4–6 |
Did not advance |
- Women
Athlete | Event | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opposition score |
Opposition score |
Opposition score |
Opposition score |
Opposition score |
Opposition score |
Rank | ||
Rebecca Blair-White | Singles | Bye | Gagliardi (ITA) L 6–4, 5–7, 2–6 |
Did not advance | ||||
Mary Wallis | Singles | Covell (GBR) L 6–3, 0–6, 2–6 |
Did not advance | |||||
Rebecca Blair-White Mary Wallis |
Doubles | N/A | Bye | Fick / von Essen (SWE) L 2–6, 7–5, 2–6 |
Did not advance |
- Mixed
Athlete | Event | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opposition score |
Opposition score |
Opposition score |
Opposition score |
Opposition score |
Rank | ||
Rebecca Blair-White William Ireland |
Doubles | Covell / Godfree (GBR) L 2–6, 4–6 |
Did not advance | ||||
Edwin McCrea Mary Wallis |
Doubles | Bye | Polley / Jacob (IND) W 9–7, 4–6, 9–7 |
McKane / Gilbert (IRL) L 1–6, 5–7 |
Did not advance |
Notes
- Ireland teams had competed in polo in 1908 and cycling in 1912, accredited as part of the British Olympic Association.
- The Irish Football Association governed the sport in Northern Ireland
References
Sources
- Ryan, Sean (1997). The Boys In Green; The FAI International Story.
- (ed.) M. Avé, Comité Olympique Français. Les Jeux de la VIIIe Olympiade Paris 1924 – Rapport Officiel (PDF) (in French). Paris: Librairie de France. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)