Inspiring a Nation Award for Mona McSharry as Team Ireland toast Olympic success

Mona McSharry was presented with a PTSB Inspiring a Nation Award on Saturday night.

Each of Team Ireland’s nine Olympic medallists from the Paris Games were honoured with the same award at the Team Ireland Centenary Olympic Ball, in the Clayton Hotel.

McSharry won bronze in the women’s 100m breaststroke final. The Grange native, a graduate of the Marlins Swimming Club in Ballyshannon, finishing in 1:05.59, beaten only by Tatjana Smith of South Africa and China’s Tang Qianting.

Athletic’s Ireland’s Operations Team Manager, Teresa McDaid from Letterkenny, was also in attendance on Saturday night.

There too was Letterkenny’s Danny McDaid, who ran the marathon at the 1972 Olympics in Munich and again in Montreal four years later.

They were joined by Milford native Paddy Marley. Having started his career with Cranford AC in the 1960s, he became a member of Clonliffe AC after moving to Dublin.

After his retirement, Marley was elected an official with Athletics Ireland and he was the Irish athletics team manager for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.

Olympians David Gillick and Greg O’Shea were MCs on the night, which included welcome speeches by Minister Thomas Byrne TD and Spyros Capralos, the European Olympic Committees President.