In an era where we're regularly reminded of Declan Rice or Jack Grealish's decision to eventually declare international allegience to the English soccer team having previously worn the green jersey, Irish sports fan can be understandably be weary of athletes born outside the island declaring for this country.
Colchester-native Gymnast Adam Steele's case is a bit different.
"When I was born my real dad didn't want anything to do with me," he explains.
"My actual dad stepped in and has looked after me since I was three years old, since I was walking and talking.
"I can't remember a time before him. Before I turned 18 I asked if he wanted to adopt me. He said yes and now look where we are.
"It was always a dream of mine to compete for my dad's home country because he was my biggest fan when it came to gymnastics. We made that dream a reality by him adopting me and me getting an Irish passport and managing to compete for Ireland.
"I wouldn't turn it back in a heartbeat. I made the right decision."
Steele will head to Antwerp next month for the World Championships, representing Ireland in the all-around and trying to qualify himself for the Olympic Games.
The build up hasn't been ideal with separate shoulder injuries hampering his ability to train properly.
The initial injury happened on the rings, a discipline which Steele admits he's not a big fan of, as he prepared for the European Championships two years ago. The recovery took longer than he had hoped.
"We're still managing this shoulder injury," he admits before adding - "it turns out I've a tear in the other shoulder as well.
"It's nothing we can't overcome [but] it's been a tough couple of weeks, especially preparing for what is the biggest competition of my life.
"I've a great team around me - physios and coaches - and we're managing it quite well.
"Coming out of lockdown and pushing for the Europeans in 2021 was brilliant. I was fit, I was healthy.
"It got to a point that I was pushing myself so far that the shoulder just gave up on me. We managed it for a year before having to go to surgery.
"We were doing steroid injections, a lot of physio on it - MRI's, everything like that - and then it go to the point where we were going to need to have surgery if it was going to progress.
"All my life I've been all about the idea that injuries happen and I'll get through them, no matter what. It's [not] until you have an injury yourself where you realise how much of an impact it takes on your mentality towards the sport.
"For a lot of us it's very hard to sit still so if we're doing gymnastics it's very easy. I went from doing sport constantly, all day, every day, to nothing for about four or five weeks.
"That took a really big toll on where I was at mentally and what I wanted to do with my life."
Before the injury Steele was coming to Ireland once a month to meet up with and train with his teammates, but this year he moved to Dublin for six months to become more immersed in the Irish programme.
"It was wicked, I learned so much," he says of his time here.
"I was training with Rhys [McClenaghan] and Eamon [Montgomery] under Luke Carson's [Irish national coach] supervision.
"It really opened my eyes as to how lazy I was as a gymnast. I'm training alongside two guys who do one piece each and I do six.
"I saw how much stronger they were, how superhuman they are compared to what I was doing. I was doing probably five times as much training as them, but their fitness, mentality, and everything was just so much better than mine.
"Now I'm here making World Cup finals and really hoping to qualify for the Olympics and I've got them to thank for that as well."
The length of the injury and the impact that it has had on Steele's life has meant that he's trying hard to enjoy the build up to a potentially career-defining moment in Belgium.
After making the final of the pommel horse at a recent World Cup event in Paris, though, his goal is very clear.
"I didn't see myself sitting here, getting this far, but dreams have now become reality. I'm not sitting here thinking that I could potentially qualify of the Olympics; I think I've a good shot.
"None of this would have been possible if I hadn't kept this focus when I was injured.
"If I aim for a top 60 position in the all-around then I'll be in a good position to qualify [for Paris]."
