5 Irish athletes who won Olympic medals for other countries

Analysis: Meet the Cork hammer thrower, the Antrim marathon runner, the Kerry rifle-shooter, the Louth archer and the Fermanagh sprinter

Before Ireland competed as an independent delegation at the Olympic Games in Paris in 1924, Irish-born people competed for other nations. Most competed for the United Kingdom, of which Ireland was a part until 1922, but several Irish-born athletes also competed for other nations in the early to mid-1900s. This was usually the United States and Canada or, in one case, South Africa – countries where the athletes had settled after emigration. Some of the athletes were victorious and brought medals back to their respective new homelands.

Walsh represented Canada in the hammer throw at the 1908 Games in London. From Carriganima near Macroom, he played for Cork in the 1899 and 1901 All-Ireland football finals. Walsh took part in the local sports in Macroom and he almost beat the 56lb weight throwing world record in 1904 with a throw of 27 foot 2 inches. He won several GAA football place-kicking titles in the early 1900s.

After a move to America in 1907, Walsh became a member of the Irish American Athletic Club of New York, many of whose members worked for the New York City Police Department. Walsh was one of the so-called 'Irish Whales', a group of eight Irishmen who dominated weight-throwing competitions and earned the nickname thanks to their tall and robust physiques. They managed to win an amazing 23 medals at the Olympics. Walsh won a bronze medal in the hammer throw at the 1908 Games for Canada, having moved there from New York in 1907.

McArthur represented South Africa in the marathon at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm. Born in Dervock, Co. Antrim, he emigrated to South Africa in