‘An entire generation of children will look up to Kellie’

radio and she just spoke so eloquently. She’s one of those people that an entire generation of children will just look up to.

‘She is giving Ireland such a lift after the past year with Covid and it’s just amazing for the whole community. I’m just so proud of her and proud of her dedication and success, and I was blown away by how confident she was.’

‘I think money spent on sport is money well spent,’ Ms Costello said. ‘To encourage our youth to be part of any sport is money well spent. I think funding into sport is so very important, and it feeds into wider aspects of life. You’re not only funding sports, you’re funding kids’ futures here, giving them respect and discipline. I would be in favour of increased funding in sport.

‘We’re so proud... she will be an amazing role model, I was blown away listening to her speak. I felt uplifted. She spoke about it’s never too late to go after your dreams and chase what you want, and I think she’s giving a really strong message to our nation as a whole that people should chase their dreams. And if you don’t achieve what you’re chasing then at least you tried, and had a good journey.’

On RTÉ’s This Week programme, Junior Sports Minister Jack Chambers described the final as ‘absolute brilliance’ in the ring.

‘The commitment, dedication, sacrifice and resilience that she and her fellow athletes have shown in their path to Tokyo... I think her sense of community, her sense of place, her family, her friends and the broader community and the lift she has given the country is so positive as well as all the other athletes.

‘The raw emotion and the honesty the athletes have brought in their interviewing and engagement has really inspired the generation of young people who want to be like Kellie and Katie Taylor.’

He said: ‘We have young people who can dream big and follow in their footsteps. But also for participation, more generally, as the role models and our athletes for Team Ireland have shown themselves in their interaction with the public, has inspired many young people to get involved in sport.’

Mr Chambers said he believes the four-medal return is not the only measurable success, as we finished the games with 18 top-ten finishes – experience to put towards Paris in three years’ time.

There were a number of firstever successes like an Irish finalist in gymnastics, qualification for the rugby sevens and first-ever swimming relay team, to name but a few.

‘The lift she has given the country’