Fifty years after his Olympic gold medal win, hammer thrower Doctor Pat O'Callaghan is honoured.
Dr Pat O’Callaghan a native of the Kanturk area in County Cork, but a resident of Clonmel in County Tipperary, won his first Olympic gold medal for hammer throwing in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. He won his second gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932.
On the 50th anniversary of Dr O’Callaghan's first Olympic gold medal victory, the first Aer Lingus Sports Gallery Luncheon is held in his honour.
A special guest at the event is event is the Dutch track and field athlete, Fanny Blankers-Koen, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.
Dr O'Callaghan received a special portrait of himself from Martin Dully, General Regional Manager of Aer Lingus.
Among those paying tribute to Dr O'Callaghan are the Minister of State at the Department of Education Jim Tunney, President of the International Olympic Committee Lord Killanin and Chairman of the Council of Sport and 1956 Olympic champion, Ronnie Delany.
Ireland has not won an Olympic gold medal since Ronnie Delany won the 1,500 metres in Melbourne in 1956. Dr O'Callaghan does not believe this is down to a lack of talent or interest in athletes.
There should be an incentive to a man that spends five of six years, when we’d say he’d be financially or gainfully doing something else, he should be compensated in some way to my mind.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 18 December 1978. The reporter is Roberta Wallace.
