Ireland at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Ireland competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's eighteenth appearance at the Summer Olympics.
| Ireland at the 2004 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
| IOC code | IRL |
| NOC | Olympic Federation of Ireland |
| Website | olympics |
| in Athens | |
| Competitors | 46 in 9 sports |
| Flag bearer | Niall Griffin |
| Medals |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
| Other related appearances | |
| Great Britain (1896–1920) | |
The Olympic Council of Ireland sent a total of 46 athletes to the Games, 32 men and 14 women, to compete in nine sports. The International Olympic Committee allowed athletes from Northern Ireland the option to compete at the Olympic games for either Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or for Ireland. Ireland's Olympic campaign for the Games started with a controversy, as middle-distance runner Cathal Lombard failed a drug test for EPO, and was not allowed to compete.
Originally, Ireland left Athens with only a gold medal from show jumper Cian O'Connor. On 8 October 2004, International Federation for Equestrian Sports announced that Waterford Crystal, owned by O'Connor, failed a horse doping test for fluphenazine and zuclopenthixol that formally stripped off O'Connor's Olympic title in early 2005. Because O'Connor decided not to appeal, he was formally stripped of his Olympic title, which was awarded to silver medalist Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil.