The town of Grange in County Sligo is ‘absolutely buzzing’ after 20-year-old Mona McSharry became the first Irish swimmer to make an Olympic final in 25 years.

On The Hard Shoulder this evening, Mona’s mother Viola McSharry said messages of support came pouring in as soon as she qualified last night.

The Irishwoman clocked in at 1:06.59 to finish in fourth place to qualify for the final which will take place overnight tonight.

“It is electric; we’re all buzzing,” Viola told Kieran Cuddihy today. “It’s such a great feeling that Mona made it to the final of the Olympics. It is really fantastic.”

She said the whole town is buzzing this morning.

“It’s absolutely fantastic,” she said. “We couldn’t believe all the messages that came in in the middle of the night last night.

“So obviously there were other people out and about watching it and that’s great just to get that feeling that there are other people out there supporting her, which is fantastic.”

"Super excited"

She said she stayed up all night last night watching the game, with the whole family “huddled around the TV.”

“We were super, super excited,” she said. “I’m always nervous to be honest. I’m fine until I sit down in front of the TV and watch them step out and get out of the blocks – then I get really nervous."

Ireland's Mona McSharry competing in the Women's 100m Breastroke at the European Short Course Swimming Championships in Glasgow, 06-12-2019. Image: Ian Rutherford/PA Archive/PA Images

She said qualifying for the semi-finals was a huge achievement in itself.

“I would worry that Mona would get the vibe that people are expecting too much of her,” she said. “The fact that she did qualify for the Olympics, I think was huge. I was so relieved that she did because it was on her agenda for a long time and then there was COVID and with the postponement and all that it kind of dragged.

“There is always that worry that people are watching and they don’t really understand the sport fully and then they are expecting her to come home with the gold medal – that is always there in the back of my mind.”

Support

She said the support of the Irish people throughout the experience has been “surreal and fantastic.”

“That’s the Irish way,” she said. “The Irish nation is fantastic in that way that they will get behind their athletes and they will cheer them on.

“They don’t even know her but they’re all fully behind and that is fantastic about Ireland I think.”

The final is due to get underway early tomorrow morning at 03:17am Irish time.

You can listen back to Viola’s interview with The Hard Shoulder here: