This Friday, an opening ceremony will herald the beginning of the Olympic Games in Paris, the third time the city has hosted the event after doing so in 1900 and 1924.

The 1924 games were arguably the most significant from an Irish point of view. They were the first Olympics that Ireland competed in as a separate nationality, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ruling that it was entitled to do so in 1922.

Irish people had competed in previous Olympic Games, primarily under the British umbrella, but also representing the United States, Canada and South Africa.

Between 1896 and 1920, a total of 36 gold, 31 silver and 13 bronze medals were won by Irish-born competitors. However, 1924 was the first occasion athletes could compete solely under the Irish banner, an important symbol of nationhood.

Orange Order plan to march along Garvaghy Road on All-Ireland final day is almost beyond comprehension - The Irish News view

Brian Feeney: Another milestone passed in preparation for border poll

Ireland’s presence at those Paris Olympics was largely due to the work of Limerick-born John James (JJ) Keane, who became the first Irish member of the IOC in 1922.

As chair of the Irish Olympic Council since its establishment in 1920, Keane spearheaded the campaign for Irish athletes to contest, as of right, for their own country of birth.

Crucially, Keane, an avid nationalist, insisted that Ireland rather than the Irish Free State should be the unit recognised – highly significant given that most Olympic sports have remained all-Ireland following the partition of the island.

Irish competitors did not distinguish themselves in the 1924 Olympics, with success only achieved in the art competitions where Jack B Yeats won a silver medal for his painting The Liffey Swim, and Oliver St John Gogarty won bronze for his poem Ode to the Tailteann Games

The IOC had refused........

© The Irish News