Olympic hero Daire Lynch thanks the people of Clonmel for 'crazy' support

Olympic hero Daire Lynch was given the spectacular homecoming he so richly deserved in Clonmel last Wednesday evening.
Proudly wearing the bronze medal he won in Paris, Daire and his double sculls partner Philip Doyle, were given a rapturous welcome by thousands of people who packed the Kickham Plaza to pay a fitting tribute to Daire Lynch.

It was an evening of great pride, a hugely emotional night for the Lynch family, neighbours and friends, members of Clonmel Rowing Club and the people of Clonmel and Tipperary as they participated in a historic occasion for the town.
The thousands of people who came to witness history, who came to show their support and admiration for the Clonmel man gave a thunderous roar of welcome to the sporting superstar as he arrived on the platform at the Kickham Plaza.

Tumultuous cheers filled the Kickham Plaza as young and old proudly waved and wore their Irish colours to greet their hero.
The quiet and unassuming global star appeared overawed by the scale of the welcome and with great humility he listened to the glowing tributes paid to him and his rowing partner Philip Doyle.

The Olympic hero told the audience what their support meant to him.
He said there was a lot of hype about the homecoming in Dublin.
“I think there are more people here tonight to be honest. The support from Clonmel has been just crazy. I did not realise how much support was going on,” said Daire as his proud parents Niall and Joanna and his brother Brian looked on.

ANOTHER BIG DAY
Another brother Conor and sister Aoife were unable to attend. The family have another big day to look forward to later this year as Aoife is getting married.
Daire told the crowd that once he had finished the final he was shown a video that was taken of the support for him at the Kickham Plaza by people who had gathered to watch his final on the big screen.
“I was going around Paris for the week after showing people that video. I showed half of Paris that video. Thank you so much for that support, it was really appreciated,” said Daire.
It was a night full of tributes but none more meaningful than the words of his rowing partner and fellow bronze medallist Philip Doyle.

Philip told the crowd about the dedication and leadership qualities of his rowing teammate.
“You can always rely on Daire to give you 100%,” said Philip.
Philip was greatly impressed by the turnout in Clonmel.
“You are phenomenal. It is one of the most surreal experiences of my life,” he told the huge crowd that had packed into the Kickham Plaza.

CLONMEL CONNECTION
His mother Una watched on as Philip was given such a warm welcome by the people of Clonmel.
The crowd was told of the strong link the county Down man has with Clonmel. It was explained that Philip’s great grandfather was a man called Bill Hyland, who was an athlete of some renown himself, was from Clonmel.
MC for the evening was Tom Fennessy of Clonmel Rowing Club and the Chairman of Tipperary County Council Cllr Declan Burgess, Dermot Dougan, President of Clonmel Rowing Club, Pat Kinsella Vice Captain addressed the crowd and the Mayor of Clonmel Cllr Michael Murphy introduced Daire and Philip to the people who came out for the homecoming.
NEW BOAT

To finish off the proceedings a new boat for Clonmel Rowing Club, a double sculls the same as the one used in the Olympic final, with the name of Daire Lynch on it, was unveiled.
Once the formalities were over Daire immediately went to the group of young oarsmen and women from Clonmel Rowing Club who had graciously given him a guard of honour as he entered the Kickham Plaza.
He took his time talking to them before going to talk to the people who had come out to welcome him home.
Daire signed autographs for young and old and allowed one young girl to wear his medal for a while.
Daire modestly met every request for an autograph and spoke to every well wisher who wanted to congratulate him.
He was one of the last to leave the Plaza after spending over an hour meeting his supporters.
Just like in the Olympic final, he gave everything on the night and his supporters went home happy to have met a homegrown Olympic hero.