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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.
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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.
