TEARS AND CHEERS FOR KELLIE:
Plenty of tears and cheers as Olympic star arrives back to her home
KELLIE Harrington wiped away tears as she waved from an open-top bus to thousands of Dubliners outside her family home on Portland Row yesterday.
The north inner city brimmed with emotion, pride and anticipation as the crowds grew larger hour after hour.
Golden balloons swirled above a buzzing throng of jubilant family, fans, friends and neighbours of the Olympic lightweight boxing champion.
TV crews wandered up and down the street as a helicopter filmed the triumphant scenes of the inner city’s golden girl from the sky.
Families sang and danced to a mixture of trad and pop music as the homecoming of Ireland’s latest gold medal winner caused jubilation.
The 31-year-old’s success at the Olympics reinvigorated people in the area, especially the young.
Ally Collins, 19, who lives in the area, told the Irish Daily Mail that Harrington was ‘an inspiration and a role model’ for her and so many other young locals. Meanwhile, her neighbour, Anthony Fox, 38, said: ‘The whole street is buzzing.
‘I’ve lived here for 28 years and I have never seen anything like this.
‘Everybody is on a high. It’s nice for the area. Kellie ran a fitness camp for people during the lockdown. Stuff like that makes her well-liked in the area.
‘She does more than her fair share for the community so this is how they are paying her back.
‘As people can see, she’s just a lovely girl.’
He added the atmosphere was ‘mental’ and since Harrington won ‘nobody wanted to go to work’. ‘She wanted to give the area a lift and she certainly has,’ he added.
Mr Fox said neighbours organised everything from a big screen to watch her historic final win in Tokyo to a fun day for families complete with bouncy castles, popcorn and soft drinks.
They banded together yesterday to hoist a giant Tricolour balloon banner set with a golden ring for the medallist’s open-top bus to pass beneath.
‘Everyone has chipped in to make it a special week,’ he said. Marie Harding, who hails from Portland Row, said: ‘I have never seen so much excitement in my life. This is better than anything.’
She said to see Harrington celebrating with her gold medal around her neck was incredible.
She told the Mail: ‘It was absolutely fantastic. She got emotional when she turned the corner. It’s amazing for the inner city and Portland Row.’
Harrington became just the third Irish boxer to win gold at the Olympics on Sunday morning.
Another Portland Row resident, Francis Walsh, 49, told the Mail: ‘It’s a phenomenal achievement.
‘Her name is going into the history books and will be there long after we’re gone. There will be streets named after her.’
There were calls earlier in the week for the sports star to receive the keys to the city but Mr Walsh said for Harrington it would only be ‘a formality’ because she already has the freedom of the city in the hearts and minds of Dubliners.
Terry Donegan, 60, who lives near Portland Row and helped as one of the stewards on the day, to ensure nothing got out of hand during the celebrations, told the Mail: ‘This is what we needed, a bit of happiness in our lives. Hopefully this will put us on the map.
‘It’s up to the Government to invest in the young.
‘Areas like this need to be built up from the foundations.
He said Harrington’s success painted the area in the right light and made people dream of a better future, adding: ‘The young girls and boys look up to Kellie, especially in a community traumatised by the gangs.’
Maureen Kinsella, 62, who leaned on the rails at the front of her house as she watched all the celebrations, said the last few weeks were ‘absolutely brilliant’ and described Harrington as a ‘great, really hard-working girl’.
‘The whole area is proud of her,’ she told the Mail. ‘She’s done it for
‘She got emotional when she saw us’ ‘She’s a really hard-working girl’
herself, her family and the community. We all know how hard she’s worked. ‘I have small grandchildren and they say, “maybe I can do this”. It’s great to see all these little kids.’ Eric O’Keefe, 37, has known Kellie since they were children. He told the Mail: ‘She is a good kid. When it’s someone in the community, that’s good to see.’ Ollie Ryan, 77, agreed with him. ‘She’s a lovely girl,’ he said. ‘Just one of the people. ‘We all know her. We’re all friends.’ Jordan Brady, 29, said Harrington’s triumph win made him ‘proud to be from this area’. ‘She’s lifted the whole nation,’ he told the Mail. ‘It’s a big deal. We are out here to enjoy it. It doesn’t happen often.’ Lily Fagan, 84, said of the cacophony of cheers for the hero: ‘The kids show her strength in their voices.’