Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

competed at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

( equestrian events). Until 2012, it was the nation's most successful Olympic performance, with five medals, three bronze, a silver and a gold.

Medalists

Ireland finished in 21st position in the final medal rankings, with one gold medal and five medals overall. It was the first time Ireland would win medals at two different sports, and the five was a record total for an Irish team at the Olympic Games. This record stood until the 2012 London Olympics, where Ireland won six medals.

Gold

Ronnie Delaney Ronald Michael Delany (born 6 March 1935) is an Irish former athlete who specialised in middle-distance running. He won a gold medal in the 1500 metres event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. He later earned a bronze medal in the 1500 m ...

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Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

, Men's 1500 m

Silver

Fred Tiedt Frederick Tiedt (16 October 1935 – 15 June 1999, born in Dublin, Ireland) was an amateur and professional boxer. Amateur career Tiedt won a silver medal for Ireland at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia in the welterweight d ...

—

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

, Men's Welterweight

Bronze

* John Caldwell —

, Men's Flyweight * Fred Gilroy —

, Men's Bantamweight * Anthony Byrne —

, Men's Lightweight

Results by event

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

Men's 110m Hurdles *

Eamonn Kinsella Eamonn Edward Francis Kinsella (8 October 1932 – 8 August 1991), was an Irish track and field athlete who specialized in the hurdles. He competed in the 110 metres hurdles event in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, failing to progress beyond the he ...

:* Heat — 14.6s (→ did not advance)

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

Men's Light-Heavyweight, Freestyle * Gerry Martina 4th

References

Nations at the 1956 Summer Olympics

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

1956 in Irish sport {{1956-Olympic-stub