Olympic heroes donate legacy grants to their schools in classy gesture
Three of Ireland's Olympic heroes have donated their legacy grants to the schools and clubs that set them on the path to sporting glory.
Sport Northern Ireland has given £100,000 (€119,000) to be shared between six athletes from the north, three of whom, Daniel Wiffen, Rhys McClenaghan and Phillip Doyle, represented Ireland at last summer's Paris Olympics.
Wiffen donated his legacy grant of £25,000 (€29,700) for winning gold in the 800m freestyle and bronze in the 1500m freestyle to his former school, St Patrick's Grammar School in Armagh, and the building of a new gym.
The swimmer said: 'Proud to donate my full £25,000 Olympic Legacy fund to @stpatsarmagh – the school that believed in me from the start,' Wiffen wrote on social media.
'The new gym will support the next generation of Armagh athletes. Legacy isn't just about medals – it's about giving back.'
McClenaghan, who won gold on the pommel horse in Paris, donated his full cheque, worth £20,000 (€23,744) to Origin Gymnastics club in his hometown of Newtownards, Co. Down.
'I feel like this grant gave me the responsibility to leave a legacy after my Olympic win,' McClenaghan said. 'I couldn't think of a better way to leave a legacy than to donate the money to the fastest-growing gymnastics club in the country, Origin Gymnastics.
'This will hopefully allow young gymnasts to follow in my foot steps and give them opportunities and equipment that I didn't have growing up in this sport. Origin offers a sense of community in my hometown of Newtownards and gives everybody in the local area a true love for the sport of gymnastics.'
Philip Doyle, who won a bronze for Ireland in the double sculls alongside Clonmel's Daire Lynch, donated his £5,000 to Belfast Boat Club.
Speaking to RTE, the principal of St Patrick's Grammar School in Armagh, where Wiffen to school, told that the swimming hero was "very, very supportive of the school"
Dominic Clarke said: "Daniel came in with his Commonwealth silver medal when he won it, his first probably major international medal," he said.
"And then with his Olympic medals, he came into the school and spent hours and hours with the school community so everybody knows them."
Clarke added that the school has a particularly rich history of sporting talent, which was on full show in the space of a few days last summer.
"That was a glorious weekend that during which Armagh won the All Ireland and we had seven past pupils on that squad, so that was a big high and that was the Sunday and then on the Monday, Daniel went out and won the 800 metres gold medal.
"Then another past pupil, Connor McKenna, who had already won an All Ireland with Tyrone a number of years ago, won the Australian AFL Championship with Brisbane.
"It was a very, very, very good couple of months for the school".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
27 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Irish Olympian reveals ‘I nearly lost my life' after horrifying crash near miss that left her ‘crying' for rest of race
LARA GILLESPIE revealed she "nearly lost my life" after a horrifying accident during a recent race. The Enniskerry cyclist was competing on the last day of La Vuelta Femenina when the incident took place. Advertisement She ultimately helped the UAE Team ADQ finish 15th overall but that was not before a harrowing near miss on the rain-soaked Spanish mountain road . Speaking to nice , to be honest. "It did kind of put racing into perspective a little bit or just like these descents into perspective of how quickly things can go wrong. "In the end, nothing did happen and I'm very lucky and I didn't even get badly injured. Advertisement Read More on Olympics "I got a big fright and a big scare. !I was just going over the top of a climb and it had been lashing rain so the surface in Spain is like ice after the rain. "I think I took the turn too tightly. "My back wheel skidded and somehow went in the air and I was going head first over the crash mat barrier thing. Advertisement Most read in Other Sports "I hit the end of the crash mat but was then on this metal barrier." In an ironic twist of fate, the cyclist behind the 24-year-old also went down and inadvertently saved Gillespie's life. Daniel Wiffen reveals 'crazy' interaction with fans after Olympic gold medal She continued: "I was really lucky that the girl behind me also crashed and landed on my bike and her body weight kept me down. "I was looking down over a cliff and I thought, 'yeah, if i went, I was going.' Advertisement While she 'only' sustained bruised ribs and a bruised hip, the knowledge that it could have gone so much worse took an instant toll. "I got pulled back by the motorbikes - the safety people - back onto the road and I was immediately crying which would be very unusual for me. "I quickly got back on my bike and kept going but then I was dangerous going down because I was just crying and couldn't see. "There is still 60km of the race left but I had done my job already because I was helping the climber that day. Advertisement "I just thought I would get to the end but it took a bit of a psychological blow but luckily I have people to talk to about that. She added: "I definitely was going from crying panic, thinking, 'oh, my God, I nearly lost my life' and then thinking I am fine. "When I got back to the bus, I was bawling my eyes out and everyone was like you don't even look like you crashed because I just bruised my ribs and my hip from the barrier." 1 Lara Gillespie had a terrifying near miss Credit: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile Advertisement
The 42
4 hours ago
- The 42
Three of Ireland's Paris medallists donate €60k in Olympic grants to clubs and former school
THREE OF IRELAND'S medallists from Paris 2024 have donated their Olympic legacy grants from Sport Northern Ireland to the institutions with whom they started their respective Olympic journeys. Funded by Stormont's Department for Communities, the Olympic Medallist Fund of £100,000 (€119,000) was shared between six athletes from the north, three of whom represented Ireland at last summer's Paris Olympics while the other three competed for Team GB. Double Olympic medallist Daniel Wiffen was granted £25,000 (€29,700) in legacy funding, with his 800m freestyle gold medal earning him £20,000 and his 1500m freestyle bronze worth an additional £5,000. Advertisement Wiffen donated his entire cheque to his former school, St Patrick's Grammar School in Armagh, to offset the cost of a recent gym expansion on the school's Cathedral Road premises. 'Proud to donate my full £25,000 Olympic Legacy fund to @stpatsarmagh – the school that believed in me from the start,' Wiffen wrote on social media. 'The new gym will support the next generation of Armagh athletes. Legacy isn't just about medals – it's about giving back.' Proud to donate my full £25,000 Olympic Legacy fund to @stpatsarmagh – the school that believed in me from the start. The new gym will support the next generation of Armagh athletes. Legacy isn't just about medals – it's about giving back. 🏫💪 #LegacyOfParis #Armagh #Paris2024 — Daniel Wiffen (@WiffenDaniel) June 9, 2025 Gold medal-winning gymnast Rhys McClenaghan also donated his full cheque, worth £20,000, to the aptly named Origin Gymnastics club in his hometown of Newtownards, Co. Down. 'I feel like this grant gave me the responsibility to leave a legacy after my Olympic win,' McClenaghan said. 'I couldn't think of a better way to leave a legacy than to donate the money to the fastest-growing gymnastics club in the country, Origin Gymnastics. 'This will hopefully allow young gymnasts to follow in my foot steps and give them opportunities and equipment that I didn't have growing up in this sport. Origin offers a sense of community in my hometown of Newtownards and gives everybody in the local area a true love for the sport of gymnastics.' Philip Doyle, meanwhile, who took rowing bronze for Ireland in the double sculls alongside Clonmel man Daire Lynch, donated his £5,000 to Belfast Boat Club. Of the Team GB athletes from Northern Ireland, rowers Hannah Scott (gold) and Rebecca Shorten (silver) donated to Bann Rowing Club and Methodist College Belfast Rowing Club respectively, while swimmer Jack McMillan (gold) chose Bangor Swimming Club.
Irish Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Olympic heroes donate legacy grants to their schools in classy gesture
Three of Ireland's Olympic heroes have donated their legacy grants to the schools and clubs that set them on the path to sporting glory. Sport Northern Ireland has given £100,000 (€119,000) to be shared between six athletes from the north, three of whom, Daniel Wiffen, Rhys McClenaghan and Phillip Doyle, represented Ireland at last summer's Paris Olympics. Wiffen donated his legacy grant of £25,000 (€29,700) for winning gold in the 800m freestyle and bronze in the 1500m freestyle to his former school, St Patrick's Grammar School in Armagh, and the building of a new gym. The swimmer said: 'Proud to donate my full £25,000 Olympic Legacy fund to @stpatsarmagh – the school that believed in me from the start,' Wiffen wrote on social media. 'The new gym will support the next generation of Armagh athletes. Legacy isn't just about medals – it's about giving back.' McClenaghan, who won gold on the pommel horse in Paris, donated his full cheque, worth £20,000 (€23,744) to Origin Gymnastics club in his hometown of Newtownards, Co. Down. 'I feel like this grant gave me the responsibility to leave a legacy after my Olympic win,' McClenaghan said. 'I couldn't think of a better way to leave a legacy than to donate the money to the fastest-growing gymnastics club in the country, Origin Gymnastics. 'This will hopefully allow young gymnasts to follow in my foot steps and give them opportunities and equipment that I didn't have growing up in this sport. Origin offers a sense of community in my hometown of Newtownards and gives everybody in the local area a true love for the sport of gymnastics.' Philip Doyle, who won a bronze for Ireland in the double sculls alongside Clonmel's Daire Lynch, donated his £5,000 to Belfast Boat Club. Speaking to RTE, the principal of St Patrick's Grammar School in Armagh, where Wiffen to school, told that the swimming hero was "very, very supportive of the school" Dominic Clarke said: "Daniel came in with his Commonwealth silver medal when he won it, his first probably major international medal," he said. "And then with his Olympic medals, he came into the school and spent hours and hours with the school community so everybody knows them." Clarke added that the school has a particularly rich history of sporting talent, which was on full show in the space of a few days last summer. "That was a glorious weekend that during which Armagh won the All Ireland and we had seven past pupils on that squad, so that was a big high and that was the Sunday and then on the Monday, Daniel went out and won the 800 metres gold medal. "Then another past pupil, Connor McKenna, who had already won an All Ireland with Tyrone a number of years ago, won the Australian AFL Championship with Brisbane. "It was a very, very, very good couple of months for the school".
