Athlete Mark Pollock carrying the Olympic torch on Macken Street
Some of the Tower designers joined the crowds to cheer on blind athlete Mark Pollock as he passed by their studios on Macken Street. The torch was passed to Mark on Macken Street from footballer Paul McGrath. Dublin had forty torch bearers, including Jedward, Sonia O’Sullivan, Ronnie Delaney, Ruby Walsh, and Michael Carruth.
Bronze sculpture of Mark Pollock by Elizabeth O'Kane
"BLIND ADVENTURE athlete Mark Pollock said he was “overwhelmed” by the number of people who turned out on the streets of Dublin yesterday to see the Olympic torch relay.
Pollock, who lost his sight in his early 20s and was paralysed from the waist down after a fall more than a decade later, was one of 41 torchbearers who carried the torch through the capital.
“I was overwhelmed by the amount of people who were out on the streets. It was a much bigger event than I thought it was going to be,” he said.
“It was a huge privilege to be associated with the Olympics in any small way.”
The Trinity graduate was speaking at an event held in Trinity College Dublin last night to honour students that took part in the Olympic Games over the past 100 years.
A total of 45 Trinity graduates have taken part in the Olympic Games since 1908 and many of the Trinity Olympians collected an award for their achievements.
Maeve Kyle, who graduated in 1950, became Ireland’s first triple Olympian for athletics at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964.
Mark Kenneally, TCD’s first London 2012 Olympic qualifier, was also selected as a torchbearer in yesterday’s leg of the relay.
“It was incredible. I didn’t expect as many people to be out and for it to be as big as it was,” he said. “There was just so many people around, it was an unbelievable experience.”
