Paralympic athletes have returned home to a hero's welcome at Dublin Airport.
Team Ireland walked away with a total of six medals having 35 athletes competing in nine sports in Paris.
Taoiseach Simon Harris has congratulated all the participants.
"Our team’s energy, enthusiasm, and level of support from their army of travelling fans has been infectious to watch and be around," he said.
"I said in Paris at the opening of the games that the time I had spent with Team Ireland was among the most inspiring in my time as Taoiseach.
"That was before a single event was contested. What the team went on to do in the games will not only inspire this generation of Paralympic athletes, but those looking towards the next games as well as all of us watching on.
"Ireland is incredibly proud of you," he added.
Team Ireland get a hero’s welcome at Dublin Airport. Join us next on @TheHardShoulder @NewstalkFM @kierancuddihy with the @ParalympicsIRE athletes. @DublinAirport #Homecoming @Paralympics pic.twitter.com/r6ZBrhOXru
— Henry McKean (@HenryMcKean) September 9, 2024
Reporter Henry McKean was at Dublin Airport to soak up the atmosphere for The Hard Shoulder.
Limerick swimmer Róisín Ní Riain, who won silver and bronze, said the supporters made all the difference.
"After Tokyo it was so much different, I suppose," she said.
"Coming out this time and hearing the crowds out there was such a nice feeling and to have all that support from the fans definitely made it all the nicer."
Asked about her plans for the evening, Ms Ní Riain said she's looking forward to some relaxation.
"I'm just [going to] go home, see my family, see some of my friends and just chill out and go to bed - I'm very tired," she said.
"It definitely has been a busy few weeks.
"We were away on camp and then into competition so it'll be nice just to have a bit of downtime now".
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'We're just over the Moon'
Linda Kelly from Wexford, who picked up silver and gold in cycling alongside Katie George Dunlevy, said she'll be back in the saddle soon.
"We were just looking forward to this because the Irish supporters are always so good, they always put on such a good show," she said.
"We're just over the Moon, it's so nice to have these medals around the neck and everyone is just wanting to hold them.
"I've a couple of plans with the family and friends at home but we won't go too wild yet because we have World Championships in less than two weeks in Switzerland.
"[There are] definitely a lot of plans, though, once that's over".
Katie George Dunlevy said the medals are really special to her.
"They're really tactile, the medals, they're really weighty as well," she said.
"When you're on the podium you're on top of the world so you don't mind the weight.
"They're really tactile and they're absolutely beautiful and there's a piece of the Eiffel Tower in there as well so that's really special.
Supporters at Dublin Airport. Image: X/@ParalympicsIREMs Dunlevy said it all still has to sink in.
"Three medals is unbelievable, I can't quite believe it [but] I think it will sink in," she said.
"It was like Tokyo - I found that it took a while to sink in what I achieved - so I think it will be the same again.
"Sport does so much and it just uplifts people - the nation - and I think that's what we've done in the Paralympics".
She added that she's glad she can bring the medals back for her parents "with all the hard work that they've given to me".
Orla Comerford with her bronze medal. Image: X/@ParalympicsIREOrla Comerford, who won bronze in the 100 metre sprint, said she was "lost for words" at the homecoming.
"It's so lovely to see so many people come out and support us and it's so lovely to see such a strong response from everybody," she said.
"The support has been so touching and I'm just feeling very lucky."
Ms Comerford, who is a member of the Raheny Shamrock Athletic Club, said that is where it all begins.
"I'm so lucky to have joined a club when I was young and to still be there," she said.
"When I think about all the incredible people in that club... those grassroots spaces and those community-based spaces are really what matters when it comes to getting to this stage.
"Nobody gets here without starting somewhere".
She added that such clubs "exist everywhere" and encouraged people to get involved.
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