‘On cloud nine’ – Record ten boxers qualify for Olympics

Four Irish boxers have become the latest to qualify for the upcoming Olympic Games and returned home to hero’s welcome in Dublin Airport.

For Gráinne Walsh, Daina Moorehouse, Jennifer Lehane and Aidan Walsh it was their last chance to secure a place to compete in Paris next month.

The four boxers earned their places at the Olympics in the final qualification tournament in Thailand.

They will now join six other boxers to bring a record-breaking team of ten Irish boxers to the Olympic Games in Paris next month.

Cheers rang out in Dublin airport as friends, families and fellow athletes and coaches welcomed home Ireland’s newest Olympians.

“Just seeing the people here that are welcoming us home and everything is just unbelievable, to show what it means to the country as well – I’m so proud,” Gráinne Walsh said.

Daina Moorehouse said the accomplishment of becoming an Olympian has yet to sink in fully, while Jennifer Lehane said she has been “on cloud nine since that final bell went over in Bangkok”.

Aidan Walsh will be competing alongside his sister Michaela, who also qualified for the games in Paris next month.

“It’s incredible to be there and doing it again with my sister, who was a massive inspiration for me and helped me push on over the last week or two,” he said.