Paralympic homecoming announced

The Irish Paralympics team, who have won 15 medals to date, will have a public homecoming at Dublin Airport on Monday.

The team are due to fly in aboard CityJet flight AF5119 from London City and touch down on home soil just before 7pm.

Dublin Airport Authority will host a brief media reception in a restricted area with no public access when the team disembark the flight.

Minister of State for Sport Michael Ring will officially welcome the team back on behalf of the Government at the reception.

The team are then expected to make their entrance into the main arrivals hall of Terminal 1 at approximately 8.15pm to meet their family, friends, many supporters and well wishers.

The Irish team added gold and silver medals to their haul today.

Mark Rohan won gold in the handcycling road race, his second gold this week, while Catherine O’Neill won silver in the F51/52/53 discus.

Sprinter Jason Smyth is the odds-on favourite to win a second gold in the T13 (slight visual impairment) 200 metres at 7.15pm.

A Government reception will be held by the Taoiseach Enda Kenny and the Minister for Sport Leo Varadkar in Farmleigh on Friday.

A further reception for the team will be held on Monday, September 22nd in Aras on Uachtarain hosted by President Michael D. Higgins.

In addition a number of individual homecomings are planned. Double gold medal winner Rohan’s homecoming will take place on Tuesday night in his home village of Ballinahown.

Seperately, gold medal winning swimmer Darragh McDonald will have his homecoming in Gorey, Co Wexford, on Monday night at 7pm at the civic centre.

Other homecomings will be announced as planned.