Cian O'Connor crowned a superb Olympics debut tonight by clinching Ireland's first gold medal in Athens with victory in the individual show jumping final at the Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian Centre.
The 25-year-old from Dublin, who only carried over four penalty points from his first round, produced a flawless final round on Waterford Crystal to claim the top honour.
O'Connor's triumph came after Nick Skelton's hopes of Athens glory were ended by a disastrous final round.
Skelton's bid to win Great Britain's first Olympic individual show jumping medal since 1972 foundered despite the fact the 46-year-old went into the final round with no penalties after a faultless first round.
A jump-off was needed to decide the silver and bronze medal winners after Brazilian Rodrigo Pessoa and American Chris Kappler were tied on eight penalties.
Unfortunately for Jessica Kuerten she had a disappointing final round and dropped out of medal contention to eventually finish tied 19th.
The third Irish rider in the final, Kevin Babington, tied for fifth.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, led the tributes to O'Connor, describing his performance as one of "enormous courage and determination."
The grandparents of O'Connor, Mr Karl and Mrs Doreen Mullen watched the winning round from their home in Kilcullen, Co Kildare. Speaking in the moments after the winning round said they were "thrilled and delighted" with the result.
Mr Karl Mullen said: "It is the most wonderful prize in the world and it has been won by a young Cian O'Connor. It is a stunning achievement, just fantastic."
Cian's grandmother Doreen said: "I'm almost speechless, I can hardly speak. It's simply a feeling of utter joy, I'm so, so proud. I had no idea he would win gold. Before hand if he had won the bronze, I would have been delighted."