The Olympic Council of Ireland has issued its final selection of athletes to compete in the inaugural European Games being held in Baku, Azerbaijan, next month.
Well known Olympians such as boxers Darren O'Neill and Adam Nolan along with gymanst Kieran Behan are in the latest squad announcement which covers men's boxing, canoeing, cycling, gymnastics and taekwondo.
The final team now covers 63 athletes from 14 sports and they join over 6,000 athletes from 50 European nations in the chase for medal success.
Chef de Mission Dermot Henihan is confident of a number of podium finishes for Team Ireland. "It's a pleasure to see so many athletes and sports qualifying for the Games.", he commented.
Pat Hickey, President of the OCI and the prime mover in the development of the European Games concept in his role as President of the European Olympic Committees, said:"With many of the sports offering Olympic qualification possibilities for Rio 2016, these inaugural Games have caught the sporting imagination and will be a superb event", he said.
TEAM IRELAND - BAKU 2015 (latest selection):
Men's Boxing: Brendan Irvine (light fly), Myles Casey (fly), Dean Gardiner (super heavy), Sean McComb (light), Adam Nolan (welter), Darren O'Neill (heavy), Michael O'Reilly (middle), Kurt Walker (bantam), Dean Walsh (light welter)
Canoeing: Tom Brennan, Simas Dobrovolskis, Jenny Egan, Peter Egan, Andrezj Jezierski
Cycling: Caroline Ryan, Ryan Mullen, Sean Downey, Eddie Dunbar, Jack Wilson, Connor Dunne
Gymnastics: Ellis O'Reilly, Tara Donnelly, Nicole Mawhinney, Kieran Behan, Rohan Sebastian, Daniel Fox
Taekwondo: Chloe Aboud
TEAM IRELAND - BAKU 2015 (previously selected):
Archery: Sinead Cuthbert Cunningham, Darren Wallace
Badminton: Chloe Magee, Josh Magee, Rachel Darragh, Sara Boyle, Scott Evans, Sam Magee
Basketball (3x3): Niamh Dwyer, Grainne Dwyer, Suzanne Maguire, Orla O'Reilly
Women's Boxing: Katie Taylor, Michaela Walsh, Ceire Smith; Wrestling: Alex Dolly, Soslan Tuaev.Judo: Eoin Fleming
Karate: Karen Dolphin
Shooting: Derek Burnett
Swimming: Rory McEvoy, Mona McSharry, Rachel Bethel, Danielle Hill, Emma Reid, Andrew Moore, James Brown, Benjamin Doyle, Alan Corby, Niamh Kilgallen, Kate Baguley, Iseult Hayes, Natasha MacManus (diving)
Triathlon: Aileen Reid, Russell White, Aaron O'Brien
