MULTIPLE gold medallist Michelle Smith and the rest of Ireland's Olympians will fly into Dublin on Tuesday morning and proceed to a civic reception in O'Connell Street on six open top buses.
The President, Mrs Robinson, will be at the airport to meet the athletes, who are expected to arrive at 8.25 am. after an eight hour flight from Atlanta. The official reception will be at the GPO, where the entourage is due to arrive at 11 a.am.
RTE's Michael Lyster will interview team members on stage and the Lord Mayor, Mr Brendan Lynch, will be among those to greet them. The master of ceremonies will be journalist and sports commentator Liam Nolan, and live music will be provided from 9.30 a.m. by the Furey Brothers and the Dublin Fire Brigade Pipe Band, among others.
Michelle Smyth is to be presented with a specially designed Waterford crystal sculpture, depicting her in mid stroke. The piece, which took 10 days to complete, was commissioned by Dublin Corporation. Crystal medallions will be presented to all the other Olympians.
There will be live coverage of the homecoming on RTE 1 between 8 a.m. and 12.30 p.m., including helicopter footage of the team's journey from the airport to the city. Aer Rianta has warned passengers travelling from Dublin airport on Tuesday morning to allow time for traffic delays.
Later on Tuesday, an open top bus will carry Michelle Smith home to the village of Rathcoole, Co Dublin. The journey begins at Newlands Cross at 7 p.m. and travels to Rathcoole via the Naas dual carriageway.
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