Irish president Michael D Higgins has led tributes to Team Ireland’s Paralympic team and their outstanding performance at the London Games.
The team arrived home to Dublin airport on Monday night to a hero’s welcome, with their impressive haul of eight gold, three silver, and five bronze medals.
President Higgins described the Paralympic athletes as an inspiration for their fellow Irish citizens.
"Their courage, commitment and sporting prowess will live long in the hearts and minds of the Irish people," he said. "I look forward to meeting them in Aras an Uachtarain in the near future and to congratulating them in person."
Irish runner Michael McKillop was awarded the Whang Youn Dai Achievement Award during the spectacular closing ceremony at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday night. The accolade, which was first established in 1988, is given to two athletes who best exemplified the spirit of the Games.
The Irish President said the gold winning performance of McKillop, Jason Smyth, Mark Rohan, Darragh McDonald, and Bethany Firth were "brave and heart-warming."
"We also remember the wonderful medal-winning endeavours of Catherine O Neill, Fran Meehan, Catherine Walsh, Helen Kearney, Orla Barry, James Brown, Damien Shaw, James Dwyer, as well as some great performances which did not achieve medal success," he said.
"I am delighted that the Paralympic team has exceeded its medal targets by a considerable margin, sixteen medals is an astonishing achievement. The combined efforts and success of our Olympic and Paralympic athletes makes all of us feel so proud and we are indebted to them."
In other news, on Saturday the President launched the first in a series of nationwide 'Being Young and Irish' workshops in Dublin City.
Read More: Being Young and Irish - President Higgins wants to know your vision for Ireland's future - VIDEO
As part of the new initiative, the president has called on young people aged 17 to 26 to submit ideas on their vision of Ireland's future. The submissions can be in text, audio or video format.
Three more workshops are due to take place in Monaghan, Cork and Galway over the next three weekends.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.test1 | Sep 25, 2012, 01:36 AM EDT
improve training for sports persons in Ireland
test1 | Sep 25, 2012, 01:09 AM EDT
Good comments
maheshvn15 | Sep 25, 2012, 12:51 AM EDT
Good one
angrypaddy | Sep 12, 2012, 09:00 PM EDT
there is nothing left for the young irish from M.D. and his corrupt friends for years all they did was feather their own nests Its a great country if you are from Africa or eastern europe
IrelandNorth | Sep 12, 2012, 07:49 AM EDT
Michael D Higgins isn't just an "Irish president..." He also happens to be President of Ireland. After all, an "Irish president" (sic) could be the president of an entirely different country althogther. Apropos the Chinese award the northern Irish-Irish Olympian won. Anyone know how the Tibetan team fared? And regarding His Excellency's 'Being Young and Irish', where does that leave those of us who are no longer young but no less Irish. How did this ageism slip past the politically correct grand viziers.
shuvonn | Sep 11, 2012, 02:54 PM EDT
You mean competitors born on the island of Ireland who can CHOOSE whom they want to compete for ( Ireland OR GB)....You fully support nothing but your own bigotry..... IF you really wanna talk exploitation, take a look at GB which has done nothing but EXPLOIT every country they EVER invaded and took ALL they could from, ain't hypocrisy grand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
shuvonn | Sep 11, 2012, 10:01 AM EDT
It could only happen in Ireland:-Competitors born in U.K. decide to compete for team ireland and gain 5 out of 8 gold medals after the majority training has been in U.K., paid for by U.K. U.K. bailing out the bankrupt banana republic. I fully support sports of whatever kind but find it despicable that athletes born and bred in one country can opt out to compete for another country which has not paid for any of their training. Again another prime example of the scheming irish exploiting the generosity of the British people.