Five Irish athletes to watch at the Paralympics, from Ellen Keane to Orla Comerford

The Olympics may be over but the Paralympics are only just beginning!

There are still plenty of Irish athletes to cheer on and we have big medal hopes for Paris once again after securing seven medals at the Tokyo Paralympics - four golds, two silvers, and one bronze.

The Paralympics opening ceremony took place on Wednesday night, with Orla Comerford and Colin Judge doing the honours as flag-bearers, and the events have already kicked off.

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Here are some Irish athletes you don't want to miss at the Paris 2024 Paralympics and when to turn on your TV:

Orla Comerford

Orla Comerford is a 26-year-old 100-metre sprinter and is Ireland's standout medal hope on the track. This is her third Paralympic games, having already competed in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

The Dubliner, who has Stargardt's disease, a degenerative condition that affects her central vision, is having a great 2024 season so far running a 100m personal best of of 11.90 in the Irish Nationals in June - making her the fastest in a field of 13 athletes.

Orla will race in the women's T13 100m race on Tuesday, September 3, with the first heat taking place at 10am and the final at 7.12pm later that day.

ORLA COMERFORD

This will be Orla’s third Paralympic Games. She made her debut at Rio 2016.

Club: Raheny Shamrocks
Age: 26
Classification: T13
Event: 100m#TheNextLevel | #Paris2024   | #TeamIreland pic.twitter.com/PmFxMAqBBU

— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) July 23, 2024

Ellen Keane

Ireland's golden girl Ellen Keane won a gold medal in the 100-metre breaststroke at the Tokyo Paralympics.

This will be her fifth Paralympic Games and she's in with another medal chance with her entry time of 1:21.43, which won her a silver medal in the World's last year, placing her fourth of field of 15 swimmers.

The 29-year-old swimmer will compete on Friday, August 30, in the SB8 100m breaststroke with the heat taking place at 10.18am and the final later the same day at 7.21pm.

Ellen will compete in a second event, the 100m S9 backstroke, on Tuesday, September 3, with the first heat at 8.46am and the final later in the afternoon at 4.44pm.

ELLEN KEANE

This will be Ellen's 5th Paralympic Games having made her debut in Beijing in 2008.

She has 2 Paralympic medals. The Dublin swimmer won bronze in Rio 2016 and gold in Tokyo 2021.

Club: NAC Swim Club
Age: 29
Classification: S9, SB8, SM9#TheNextLevel | #TeamIreland pic.twitter.com/6oJOUPcodC

— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) June 6, 2024

Róisín Ní Ríain

Róisín Ní Ríain is one to watch in the 100m backstroke final taking place on Friday, August 30, as she is currently the world champion - and is still only 19 years old!

The swimmer from Limerick will be on our screens in the S13 100m backstroke final on Friday at 6.51pm - it's not going to be one to miss.

Róisín, who has visual impairment, is competing in four other Paralympic events in the pool including the S13 100m butterfly final at 7.15pm on Thursday, August 29, as well as the SB13 100m breaststroke and SM13 200m IM on Tuesday, September 3.

RÓISÍN NÍ RIAIN

Paris will be Róisín's second Paralympic Games. The Limerick swimmer has won multiple World and European Championship medals since her debut in 2021.

Club: Limerick Swim Club
Age: 19
Classification: S13, SB13, SM13#TheNextLevel | #TeamIreland pic.twitter.com/vqVc9mQRGH

— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) June 6, 2024

Nicole Turner

Nicole Turner is already a Paralympic silver medalist from Tokyo and has qualified for the S6 50m freestyle final on Thursday, August 29.

The 21-year-old swimmer from Portarlington in Laois will be on our screens at 6.19pm tonight and is in with a real medal chance!

She'll be back in the pool on Tuesday, September 3, competing in the S6 50m fly​ event. The heat will take place at 9:12am with the final at 17.07pm later that day.

NICOLE TURNER

This will be Turner's 3rd Paralympic Games. She made her debut in Rio 2016, won silver in Tokyo her 1st Paralympic medal & won multiple European Championship medals in Madeira.

Club: NAC Swim Club
Age: 21
Classification: S6, SB6, SM6#TheNextLevel | #TeamIreland pic.twitter.com/xj6qJfbQta

— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) June 7, 2024

Katie-George Dunlevy 

Katie-George Dunlevy is one of Ireland's most successful para-cyclists and is a five-time Paralympic medalist with a gold and silver medal from Rio and a double gold and a silver from Tokyo.

The 42-year-old had an unlucky start to her Paralympics preparation, after shattering her collarbone in a cycling crash in May, but she's still competing in Paris.

Her first event on the track will be on Friday, August 30, in the Women's B 1000m time trial at 12.58pm with Eve McCrystal as her sighted pilot.

She will also be competing in the Women's B 3000m Individual Pursuit on Sunday, September 1, with the heat at 10.26am with the final later that day at 13.41pm. Katie-George will take to the road with Linda Kelly as her pilot on Wednesday, September 4, in the Women's B individual time trial and on Friday, September 6, in the Women's B Road Race.

KATIE-GEORGE DUNLEVY

Paris will be Katie-George’s FOURTH Paralympic Games. She made her debut at the London Games in 2012.

Age: 42
Hometown: Crawley, West Sussex, United Kingdom
Club: Donegal Bay Cycling
Classification: B2#TheNextLevel | #TeamIreland | #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/hK4lAhn5g9

— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) August 7, 2024

RTÉ will be providing full coverage of the Paralympics with events airing until Sunday, September 8.

*This article was originally published on Evoke.ie.