Olympians to be welcomed home after record medal haul

Ireland's 133 athletes will be welcomed home from Paris today, after the most successful Olympic Games in the State's history.

The athletes will take part in a celebratory homecoming in Dublin city later today to mark Ireland's biggest medal haul.

Dublin City Council is organising an event at the GPO to celebrate the success. Crowds are expected to gather from 12.30pm for the event which will begin around lunchtime.

Taoiseach Simon Harris will thank the athletes from Team Ireland. He will tell the team that they have inspired the nation and that there must now be a legacy from the Paris Olympics and that means Ireland’s investment in sport will be higher than it has ever been before.

A total of 64 women and 69 men competed for Team Ireland across 14 sports, winning seven medals in total.

Four gold medals were won across various events at the Paris games.

Daniel Wiffen, 23, won gold in the men's 800m final and also took a bronze in the men's 1,500 metres final.

Rhys McClenaghan, 25, won gold in the pommel horse final, in what he called his "redemption story".

Three athletes retained their Olympic titles from the Tokyo games: Skibbereen rowers Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy in the men's lightweight double sculls; and Dubliner Kellie Harrington in the women's 60kg boxing event.

Mona McSharry, from Co Sligo, won a bronze medal in the 100 metre breaststroke, while rowers Philip Doyle and Daire Lynch also won bronze.

O'Connell Street will be closed to traffic from 10:30am until 5pm and diversions will be in place. All buses with stops on O'Connell Street will be diverted from 10am.

On the Luas, there will be no trams running between Smithfield and Connolly on the Red Line from 9:20am until 10pm.

There will be no trams running between