‘Honoured and privileged’: Statue of Olympic gold medallist Ronnie Delany unveiled

Olympic gold medallist Ronnie Delany said he was “honoured and privileged” to have a statue of him unveiled in his native Arklow, Co Wicklow.

The statue is the third honour the county has bestowed on Delany, who was given a civic reception in 2019 and also had a housing estate named after him – Delany Park, Arklow.

The statue depicts Delany in a running singlet bearing the Irish crest and the digits 102, the number he was assigned when he won gold in the 1,500m race at the 1956 Melbourne games. It was commissioned by Wicklow County Council from sculptor Paul Ferriter, who was tasked with bringing the event to life.

Delany (86) was granted the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 2006 and was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by University College Dublin. The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland awarded him an honorary fellowship in 2009 and in 2013 Villanova University appointed and proclaimed Ronald M Delany Doctor of Humane Letters.

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President Michael D Higgins sent a special message to mark the unveiling of the statue, describing Delany as a “true sporting legend who has been a wonderful ambassador for Ireland”.

Kieran Mulvey, chairman of Sport Ireland, said Delany was an iconic figure in Irish athletics whose achievements had served as an inspiration to athletes who had success at international level.

Council leas-cathaoirleach Tommy Annesley said the statue was “no more than Ronnie deserves” given his status as “one of Arklow’s finest”.

“Statues are very rare, and are reserved for special people who have achieved something out of the ordinary – and Ronnie did exactly that.”

Council chief executive Frank Curran said the decision taken in 2016 to commission the statue was one of the easiest ever made by the local authority.