Michael Conlan insists he has no regrets on his return to Ireland after a disappointing boxing campaign at Rio 2016.
The world champion bantamweight was controversially beaten in the round of 16 by Russia's Vladimir Nikitin.
The Belfast man was among the 45 members of the team that landed in Dublin Airport this afternoon.
Conlan told RTÉ Sport that he had no regrets about his outburst in the aftermath of the fight when he called amatuer boxing's world governing body AIBA cheaters.
Those infamous gestures to the judges and that post-fight tirade have made him a worldwide sensation.
"It's been crazy, all around the world I've getting people writing to me. Everywhere, Puerto Rico, Mongolia, they are all saying they are behind me," Conlan told RTÉ's Drivetime.
"I'm a folk hero in Canada and stuff, it's fantastic the support I've had. It's made it a lot easier."
With Conlan set to turn professional, reports of disciplinary action from world amateur boxing body the AIBA are hold no fear for the Belfast man.
"I'm not too sure what they are going to do. It doesn't bother me at all. They can try and do what they want but I spoke the truth. How can they discipline me after more or less admitting what they did was wrong.
"They sacked judges and changed people in roles, so it's a bit cheap what they are saying."
Wow, overwhelmed with the support that turned out at Dublin Airport to welcome us home! Thank you to everyone who turned out today! #Legends
— Michael Conlan (@mickconlan11) August 24, 2016
Meanwhile, Thomas Barr was one of the star attractions among the track and field team.
Barr shattered his own national record in the 400m hurdles twice at Rio 2016, lowering his previous best of 48.65 seconds to 48.39 when winning his semi-final before clocking 47.97 as he flashed home in fourth in the final.
Ferrybank’s finest was left ruing what might have been after just missing out on a bronze medal, describing the performance of a lifetime as “bittersweet”.
He said: "I don't think it's has even sunk in exactly what I achieved. I was trying to put it in perspective for myself but it really hasn't sunk in.
"I've been told of the response back home [in Ireland] but I haven't really seen it other than Twitter."
Indeed, the last man to record a sub 48-second run in an Olympic 400m final and not to win a medal was Sweden's Sven Nylander way back in 1996.
Until the final, only one athlete since 2013 had run under 48 seconds and the last time four athletes went under 48 seconds was 15 years ago.
"I'm definitely going to go for the gold next time, like I was this time," Barr told RTÉ's Drivetime. "Maybe it'll be achievable next time.
"I'm still in a bubble. I'm tired but I'm still kind of running on adrenalin. It's the biggest sporting stage in the world, and even though it was fourth place and not a medal I don't care. Considering where I've come from this year, it's astounding to have gotten that far."
Robert Heffernan, who finished sixth in the 50km walk, was also among the party to arrive in the capital.
After coming home without a medal for the first time since 2004, the IABA also confirmed it would be conducting a full review of the High Performance Boxing Programme as part of Sport Ireland's overall analysis of the the Rio Games.
Ireland's Olympians are back on home soil https://t.co/6Cp9q7SY4D
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 24, 2016
A statement read: "The on-going welfare of our Olympic boxers is a key priority for IABA. We hope to retain as many of them as possible within the High Performance Programme and will look to meet with each of the boxers in the coming weeks to discuss their future plans as well as any support we can provide.
"The Rio Olympic Games were challenging for the Irish Athletic Boxing Association.
"As previously announced IABA are committed to conducting a full review of our High Performance Programme which will cover every detail of the programme from London 2012 up to and including all the preparations for Rio 2016.
"We can confirm that all of the boxers, coaches and management who have been involved with the Programme over the last four years will be asked to input into the review process."
