Sir, – The greatest Irish Olympian of all time surely has to be John Flanagan from Co Limerick, who won three gold medals in the hammer throw; in 1900 in Paris, 1904 in St Louis, and 1908 in London, on each occasion breaking the previous record.
Further, he won a silver medal in 1904 at the then equivalent of shot-putting. At that time, of course, “Ireland” as an independent Olympic entity did not exist, and Irish athletes entered as British or, as in John Flanagan’s case, as American (he had emigrated at the age of 23).
Surely the non-existence of the Irish State in the early part of the century should not prevent Irish athletes from that time receiving due recognition.
A fine monument to John Flanagan’s memory stands outside the Church in Martinstown, Co Limerick; he should be remembered more widely. – Yours, etc,