Olympic Games hero Daire Lynch will wear new medal at homecoming in Tipperary

While gold medallists Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan were figuring out if they had the price of the bus fare from Dublin Airport back to Cork on their return from the Olympics, until eventually a fellow passenger on the flight had sympathy for them and gave them a lift, fellow rowers and bronze medallists Daire Lynch and Philip Doyle were living the life of Reilly in Paris.

They got the opportunity to take in some of the athletic events and took part in the Parade of Champions at the Eiffel Tower. They also celebrated a few evenings in O’Sullivan’s bar, which was the rendezvous point for Team Ireland.

We are all familiar with the iconic photograph of an Olympic athlete standing on the podium and biting on their medal to affirm whether it is actually gold, silver or bronze.

Whatever about the gold or silver medals, the quality of the bronze medals has been found to be suspect.

Daire Lynch won his bronze medal with Philip Doyle on Thursday August 1, but within a week the medal started to lose its lustre and other athletes said that there were little bits chipping off their medals.

The problem stems from the small pieces of steel taken from the Eiffel Tower that are used in the manufacture of the medals.
The bronze medals are actually composed of copper, zinc and tin and the resulting alloy oxidises when it comes into contact with perspiration or moisture.

Not to worry, the organisers have replaced Daire’s medal with a new one and have even given a two-year guarantee with it.
So Daire, you are not to use the medal as a hammer and you can’t be hanging it around the dog’s neck!

There was a homecoming for all the Irish Olympians in Dublin on Monday.

The President, Michael D Higgins congratulated our Olympic team on their magnificent achievement in winning seven medals, a result that is better than all our previous Olympic excursions.

Daire Lynch and Philip Doyle’s medal is the first to be won by Irish heavyweight rowers at Olympic level and the first medal to be won by an athlete from Tipperary in 92 years, since Bob Tisdall’s gold in the 400 metres hurdles at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932.

Clonmel has its own homecoming for Daire Lynch, which is taking place at the Kickham Barracks Plaza this evening, Wednesday, at 6pm.

Clonmel people will turn out in force to welcome home the first Olympic medallist to come from the town.