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Cheers on the streets of north Dublin city as Olympic star Kellie Harrington arrives home

The champion boxer returned with other members of the Olympic team today.

LAST UPDATE | 10 Aug 2021

Kellie Harrington 025 Locals celebrate as Irish Olympic boxer Kellie Harrington travels through the streets of north inner city Dublin on an open top bus Sam Boal Sam Boal

OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALLIST Kellie Harrington has made a victorious return to Ireland and travelled through her local community on an open-top bus this evening.

The 31-year-old travelled from Tokyo alongside bronze medallist Aidan Walsh and the rest of Team Ireland’s remaining Olympians, arriving back at Dublin Airport this afternoon.

Despite the excitement around the team’s homecoming, people were urged not to travel to the airport due fears about the spread of Covid-19.

Harrington arrived home to a hero’s welcome in the north inner city this evening.

She toured through her local community by open top bus, which commenced in Ballybough, before moving through Gardiner Street, Killarney Street, Portland Row, Sean McDermott Street, Summerhill and the North Strand. 

Prior to this evening, Dublin City Council encouraged only local people to line the streets for the occasion.

In a message ahead of her arrival home, Harrington said asked those out celebrating this evening to “stay safe and keep your social distance”. 

“We aren’t out of the woods with Covid-19 yet and we need to stick together as a community and look out for each other,” she said.

The council has approved the lighting of the Five Lamps landmark to acknowledge Harrington’s achievement.

Kellie Harrington 008 Olympic gold medal winner Kellie Harrington arriving in Dublin Airport this afternoon Sam Boal Sam Boal

Speaking outside Dublin Airport this afternoon, Harrington said she “can’t wait” to get to spend time with her family and girlfriend. 

“It means the world to me to bring back the gold. But my mentality is, anybody who steps through those ropes and makes it to an Olympic Games is a champion, regardless of whether you bring a medal back or not,” she told reporters.

“For me, it’s not always about winning medals and stuff like that. It’s about getting through the doors of the boxing club, for all the young people out there, all the teenagers out there,” she said.

“It’s about stepping through the doors first, meeting people and becoming part of a family then. Whatever happens after that is a bonus really.

“Boxing is an escape for a lot of people. I just hope that with the success that we’ve had out here, that we get a lot of funding now into local boxing clubs and we support local boxing clubs. That’s what we need.”

Kellie Harrington homecoming 002 Pictured this morning is neighbour and Portland Row resident Sabrina Dunne as preparations take place on the street for the homecoming of Irish Olympic gold medal winner Kellie Harrington Leah Farrell Leah Farrell

KELLIE HARRINGTON_I2A7462 Crowds wait on Portland Row for the homecoming of Irish Olympic gold medal winner Kellie Harrington Leon Farrell Leon Farrell

On her emotional reunion with her parents and partner Mandy, the gold medallist said: “I have no tears left to cry. Normally I’m crying all the time.

“They’re all bawling their eyes out. I’m really happy with that, it’s them instead of me this time!”

The Lord Mayor of Dublin Alison Gilliland congratulated Harrington in a statement, saying that today is a “wonderful day” for the city. 

“Dublin is bursting with pride. Kellie and all our local Olympians have allowed us to journey with them over the last few weeks,” Gilliland said. 

Harrington is Ireland’s ninth gold-winning medallist in Olympic history.

The gold medal winning rowing team returned to Ireland nine days ago after their competition ended in Tokyo.

Fintan McCarthy and Paul O’Donovan won gold in the lightweight double sculls, while the women’s four of Emily Hegarty, Fiona Murtagh, Eimear Lambe, and Aifric Keogh won bronze.

With reporting by Céimin Burke, Press Association and Gráinne Ní Aodha in north inner city Dublin.

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    Mute The Divils Avocado
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    Mar 30th 2021, 6:24 AM

    No smoke without fire. An eradication of morale would fit with the recent reports on banning its members from partaking in a dance that every other emergency and voluntary rescue service in the country took part in. Publicising the organisation for all the wrong reasons. I don’t think I’d have much confidence in the management.

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    Mute David Corrigan
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    Mar 30th 2021, 6:17 AM

    “The official ‘Great Place to Work’ survey, commissioned by the Irish Coast Guard…”

    One would have to wonder if there are any connections between management and the company behind their own survey.

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    Mute Anto Curran
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    Mar 30th 2021, 6:56 AM

    @David Corrigan: wow that’s a fairly baseless accusation, one would have to wonder if there’s any connections between yourself and the unofficial survey that has no accountability or transparency (see I can do it too)

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    Mute David Corrigan
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    Mar 30th 2021, 7:02 AM

    @Anto Curran: Their own commissioned survey paints them in good light while the “unofficial” survey says that things are not so good within camp. Couple this to the fact that there is plenty of evidence of underhanded behaviour in this country means that there will always be suspicions around internally driven surveys.
    It’s not that hard to understand Anto is it?

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    Mute Madra
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    Mar 30th 2021, 7:21 AM

    @David Corrigan: those ‘Great places to work’ are a joke. A company I worked for won it once. They had more staff out on mental health issues due to senior directors and bully boy tactics.

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    Mute David Corrigan
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    Mar 30th 2021, 7:34 AM

    @Madra: Stone cold. There are a lot of people in this country who refuse to believe that kind of thing. It just couldn’t be true they say!!!

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    Mute Petulant mcbarity
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    Mar 30th 2021, 10:41 AM

    @David Corrigan: An unofficial survey might easily have a bias, being started by and forwarded to people with a grudge already.

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    Mute patrick boland
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    Mar 30th 2021, 12:48 PM

    @Madra: but it’s a great place to shop??

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    Mute Fintan Keating
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    Mar 30th 2021, 8:30 AM

    Why use a picture of RNLI boat and crew? Very different organisations.

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    Mute Mick McGuinness
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    Mar 30th 2021, 6:40 AM

    How many people actually use or know about the Coast Guard. Very few I’d imagine they do a great job when needed.

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    Mute flexfinn
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    Mar 30th 2021, 7:15 AM

    @Mick McGuinness: tbh here, everybody knows how good a job the coast guard and their volunteers do and luckily not many need to use their services

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    Mute Pat O'Leary
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    Mar 30th 2021, 10:21 AM

    Just as an aside, any sign of the official report on R116 crash in March 2017 (that would be fully 4 years ago) ever being published?? Not aware of any equivalent accident where within a couple of days they had the wreckage + a rough idea of what had happened, yet four years on people still waiting for the official accident report.

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    Mute Gavin Tobin
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    Mar 30th 2021, 10:17 AM

    Ask the right question, get the right answer?

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