Updated July 2024
- Paralympics 2024: Alum Colin Judge will carry the flag for Ireland at Paris Games
- Olympics 2024: Record number of UCD sports stars to fly the flag for Team Ireland in Paris
Thank you for your contributions to our Olympic & Paralympic legacy project.
We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who made submissions for our Olympic & Paralympic legacy project during the consultation period. In particular, we want to express our gratitude to Eric Brady and James Nolan for their valuable input.
In advance of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, UCD Sport in association with renowned sports historian Dr. Tom Hunt compiled a list of UCD graduates that competed for Ireland and other countries in an Olympic or Paralympic Games.
To date we have identified the following graduates of level 7, 8 and 9 degree programmes in UCD. To ensure that the list is accurate and that we are not missing any graduates, we would ask you to email (opens in a new window)sport@ucd.ie if you notice any errors or omissions.
Olympic Games
UCD Graduates Who Competed for Ireland at an Olympics
| Name | Games | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tamsen McGarry | Salt Lake City (2002) | Alpine Skiing | Giant Slalom, Slalom |
| Ciara Everard | Rio | Athletics | 800m |
| Ciara Mageean | Tokyo, Rio | Athletics | 1500m |
| David Matthews | Sydney, Atlanta | Athletics | 800m |
| Deirdre Gallagher | Atlanta | Athletics | 10km Walk |
| Deirdre Ryan | London | Athletics | High Jump |
| Derval O’Rourke | London, Beijing, Athens | Athletics | 100m Hurdles |
| Eamonn Fitzgerald | Los Angeles (1932) | Athletics | Triple Jump |
| James Nolan | Athens, Sydney | Athletics | 1500m |
| Jamie Costin | Sydney, Beijing | Athletics | 50km Walk |
| Jerry Kiernan | Los Angeles | Athletics | Marathon |
| Joanne Cuddihy | London, Beijing | Athletics | 400m, 4x400m Relay |
| John Menton | Sydney | Athletics | Discus |
| Luke McCann | Paris | Athletics | 1500m |
| Mark English | Tokyo, Rio, Paris | Athletics | 800m |
| Mick Clohisey | Rio | Athletics | Marathon |
| Mick Hoey | Rome | Athletics | 5000m |
| Paul Opperman | Sydney | Athletics | 4x400m relay |
| Rob Daly | Sydney | Athletics | 4x400m relay |
| Róisín Smyth | Los Angeles | Athletics | 3000m |
| Sarah Healy | Tokyo, Paris | Athletics | 800m, 1500m |
| Sarah Lavin | Tokyo, Paris | Athletics | 100m Hurdles |
| Seán Lavan | Amsterdam, Paris (1924) | Athletics | 200m, 400m |
| Theo Phelan | Amsterdam | Athletics | Triple Jump |
| Victor Costello | Barcelona | Athletics | Shot Put |
| Harry Boland | London (1948) | Basketball | |
| David Connolly | Torino (2006) | Bobsleigh | Skeleton |
| Jeff Pamplin | Nagano (1992) | Bobsleigh | 2 Man Bobsleigh & 4 Man Bobsleigh |
| Lara Gillespie | Paris | Cycling | Team Pursuit |
| Megan Armitage | Paris | Cycling | Women's Road Race |
| Aoife Clark (nee Sisk) | London, Paris | Equestrian | Eventing |
| Michael Ryan | Mexico, Tokyo | Fencing | Foil, Épée, Sabre Team and Individual |
| Brendan O’Kelly | London (1948) | Football | |
| Emmett McLaughlin | London (1948) | Football | |
| Anna O’Flanagan | Tokyo | Hockey | |
| Chloe Watkins | Tokyo | Hockey | |
| Deirdre Duke | Tokyo | Hockey | |
| Hannah McLoughlin | Tokyo | Hockey | |
| Katie Mullan | Tokyo | Hockey | |
| Kirk Shimmins | Rio | Hockey | |
| Lena Tice | Tokyo | Hockey | |
| Michelle Carey | Tokyo | Hockey | |
| Ben Johnson | Paris | Hockey | |
| Benjamin Walker | Paris | Hockey | |
| Jeremy Duncan | Paris | Hockey | |
| Michael Darling | Rio | Hockey | |
| Shane O’Donoghue | Rio, Paris | Hockey | |
| Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe | Rio, London | Modern Pentathlon | |
| Jerome Hartigan | Moscow | Modern Pentathlon | |
| Aileen Crowley | Tokyo | Rowing | Coxless Pairs |
| Barry McDonnell | London (1948) | Rowing | Eights |
| Claire Lambe | Rio | Rowing | Lightweight Double Sculls |
| Denis Lambert Sugrue | London (1948) | Rowing | Eights |
| Eimear Lambe | Tokyo, Paris | Rowing | Coxless Fours |
| Jay Renehan | Montreal | Rowing | Coxless Fours |
| Joe Hanly | London (1948) | Rowing | Eights |
| Martin Feeley | Montreal | Rowing | Coxless Fours |
| Morgan McElligott | London (1948) | Rowing | Eights |
| Neville Maxwell | Atlanta, Sydney | Rowing | Lightweight Men's Four |
| Paddy Dooley | London (1948) | Rowing | Eights |
| Paul O’Donovan | Tokyo, Rio, Paris | Rowing | Lightweight Double Sculls |
| Tom Dowdall | London (1948) | Rowing | Eights |
| Adam Leavy | Tokyo | Rugby 7s | |
| Billy Dardis | Tokyo | Rugby 7s | |
| Bryan Mollen | Tokyo, Paris | Rugby 7s | |
| Foster Horan | Tokyo | Rugby 7s | |
| Gavin Mullin | Tokyo, Paris | Rugby 7s | |
| Harry McNulty | Tokyo, Paris | Rugby 7s | |
| Hugo Keenan | Paris | Rugby 7s | |
| Ian Fitzpatrick | Tokyo | Rugby 7s | |
| Lucy Rock (nee Mulhall) | Paris | Rugby 7s | |
| Megan Burns | Paris | Rugby 7s | |
| Niall Comerford | Paris | Rugby 7s | |
| Terry Kennedy | Tokyo, Paris | Rugby 7s | |
| Aisling Byrne-Bowman | Atlanta, Seoul | Sailing | One Person Dinghy - women, Two Person Dinghy - women |
| Denis Lyttle | Atlanta, Barcelona | Sailing | One Person Dinghy, Two Person Dinghy |
| Ger Owens | London, Beijing, Athens | Sailing | Two Person Dinghy |
| Johnny Hooper | Rome, Tokyo | Sailing | Two Person Heavyweight Dinghy; One Person Dinghy |
| Aisling Cooney | Beijing | Swimming | 100m Backstroke |
| Aisling O’Leary | Munich | Swimming | 800m Freestyle; 4x100m Freestyle Relay; 4x100m Medley Relay. |
| Darragh Greene | Tokyo, Paris | Swimming | 100m & 200m Breaststroke. 4 x100m Medley Relay |
| Earl McCarthy | Atlanta | Swimming | 100m & 200m Freestyle |
| Erin Riordan | Paris | Swimming | 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay & 4 x 100m Medley Relay |
| Gary O'Toole | Seoul, Barcelona | Swimming | 100m & 200m Breaststroke; 100m & 200m Individual Medley |
| Michelle Smith | Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta | Swimming | 100m & 200m Backstroke; 100m & 200m Individual Medley; 400m Freestyle; 200m Butterfly |
UCD Current Students Who Competed for Ireland at an Olympics
| Name | Games | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicola Tuthill | Paris | Athletics | Hammer |
| Sarah McAuley | Tokyo | Hockey | |
| Claire Boles | Paris | Rugby Sevens | |
| Emily Lane | Paris | Rugby Sevens | |
| Eve McMahon | Paris | Sailing | Dinghy |
UCD Graduates Who Competed for another country (other than Ireland) at an Olympics
| Name | Games | Sport | Event | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Graham | London (1908) | Field Hockey | GB & Ireland | |
| John Christopher Sellars | London (1908) | Rifle Shooting | GB & Ireland | |
| Peter Byrne | Munich | Sailing | Two Person Heavyweight Dinghy Open | Canada |
| Nicola Muscat | London, Rio | Swimming | 50m Freestyle | Malta |
Paralympic Games
UCD Graduates Who Competed for Ireland at a Paralympics
| Name | Games | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kerrie Leonard | Tokyo, Paris | Archery | Individual Compound Open |
| David McNally | New York, Seoul, Atlanta | Athletics, 7-a-Side Football | C8 Men's 800m, C8 Men's Long Jump, C8 Men's Cross Country 1500m, C7-8 Men's 4x100m, C8 Men's 200m, Football 7-a-Side |
| Mark Rohan | London | Cycling | Time Trial H1, Road Race H1 |
| Martin Gordon | Paris | Cycling | 4000m Individual Pursuit & 1000m Road Time Trial |
| Helen Kearney | London & Rio | Equestrian | Team, Individual, Freestyle |
| Katie O'Brien | Paris | Rowing | PR2 Mixed Double Sculls |
| Darragh McDonald | London & Beijing | Swimming | S6 100m Freestyle |
| David Malone | Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing | Swimming | S8 100m Backstroke, S9 100m Backstroke |
| Patrick Flanagan | Tokyo | Swimming | S6 400m Freestyle, S6 100m Backstroke |
| Colin Judge | Tokyo, Paris | Table Tennis | Class 3 Men’s Singles |