Ireland won a total of 12 medals at the 13th World Transplant Games in Kobe, Japan last week and the team can expect a hero’s welcome on their return to Dublin tonight.
The 16 strong Irish team competed in track and field, swimming, tennis, table tennis, badminton, volleyball, cycling, 5K road race, ten pin bowling, lawn bowls and golf.
The highlight of the games came on Thursday last when Waterford’s Brendan Mulhall won the gold for the overall winner of a ‘Gross Competition’ golf event.
Mulhall boasts a golf handicap of eight and won by five shots with a total of three over par. Mary Behan from Baldoyle, Dublin won both a silver medal in the Gross Competition, again in golf, and a bronze in the Double Peria Formula Competition.
Kerryman Peter Ashe and John Synnott from Dublin secured silver medals in the Men’s under 35’s Badminton Doubles. In the Men’s over 35 competition Ireland team manager Paul Bryan and playing partner John Cormican won bronze.
On the track, Mayoman Darren Cawley collected his second bronze of the championships after finishing third in Saturday’s 200 metre final. Cawley had picked up a bronze in the 1500 metres the previous day.
Over 1,600 transplant recipients participated in the games.
IRELAND TEAM:Brendan Mulhall, Mary Behan, Peter Ashe, John Synnott, Paul Bryan, John Cormican, Darren Cawley, Tony Gartland, Karen Jackson, Douglas Counihan, Paddy Booth, Dominick Purcell, John Paul O'Neill, Declan O'Doherty, Terry Mangan, Pat Dunning.