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One of the first acts of protest at the Olympics came from an Irish athlete. At the 1906 Games in Athens, Peter O'Connor won gold in the triple jump and silver in the long jump.
Because Ireland did not have its own Olympic Council, O'Connor and three other Irish athletes had to compete as part of the British team. They had been under the impression they would be competing for Ireland and were not informed of the change until they arrived at The Games.
O'Connor was not pleased with the idea of standing beneath a Union Jack to collect his silver medal. During the medal ceremony, he scaled a flagpole and hoisted the Irish flag. The bottom of the pole was guarded by his fellow Irish athletes.
Irish boxer Aidan Walsh has unfortunately lost a chance to fight for gold after hurting his ankle while jumping to celebrate a win. On a more positive note, Aidan will take a bronze medal home for making the semi-finals.
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