Ireland's medals
Dr Pat O'Callaghan
In 1928, Ireland won its first Olympic gold medal as an independent country with Dr Pat O'Callaghan's unexpected victory in the hammer event in Amsterdam. Barely out of the novice class, he had been included in the Irish team mainly to gain experience of top-class competition. Over the years he was to develop into one of the world's greatest hammer-throwers and he demonstrated this by winning his second Olympic gold medal at Los Angeles in 1932.
Bob Tisdall
Bob Tisdall won a second gold medal for Ireland an hour later in the 440 yard hurdles. Although he was born in Ceylon, he considered himself to be Irish by lineage.
Ronnie Delany
Probably the most celebrated Irish Olympic gold medal was Ronnie Delany's in the 1,500 metres in 1956. After qualifying comfortably in his semi-final, Delany ran an astute race in the final and finished it with a glorious burst of speed, which in addition to the gold medal gave him an Olympic record.
Michael Carruth
Ireland had to wait 36 years until 1992 to once again capture Olympic gold. Barcelona was the scene for the victory of Dublin's Michael Carruth, who became the first Irishman to win a boxing gold medal.
Michelle Smith
The 1996 Games in Atlanta were a personal triumph for Michelle Smith de Bruin, who became the first Irish woman to win an Olympic gold medal and also the first Irish competitor to do so in swimming. In all, she won three gold medals and a bronze, a record by an Irish competitor at a single Games.
The Doping Panel of the Federation Internationale de Nation Amateur (FINA) suspended her in 1998 for a period of four years. The Irish swimmer was found to have committed a doping offence under the FINA Doping Rules prohibiting the "use of substances and methods which alter the integrity and validity of urine samples used in doping control".
PRE-INDEPENDENCE: The first Irish-born winner of an Olympic gold medal was John Pius Boland, who won the tennis singles at Athens in 1896 and he was to win a second gold medal when he partnered Fritz Traun in the doubles. Tom Kiely won the all-round championship, the forerunner of the modern decathlon, at the Games in St Louis in 1904. Peter O'Connor and Con Leahy who won gold medals at the Intercalated Olympic games at Athens in 1906 protested the claims they were part of the UK or Great Britain, amid much controversy.
- Compiled by Daniel McConnell