IRISH OLYMPIAN RONNIE Delany has died at the age of 91.

Delany won a gold medal for the 1500m race in the Melbourne Summer Olympics in 1956 when he was 21.

The Irish athlete was also a 1500m finalist in the Rome Olympics four years later. He later earned a bronze medal in the 1500 metres event at the 1958 European Athletics Championships in Stockholm.

Delany was also an 800m gold medallist at the World University Games in Sofia in 1961.

Originally from Arklow, Co Wicklow, Delany and his family moved to the Dublin suburb of Sandymount when he was six. He attended secondary school in Dublin before studying commerce and finance at Villanova University in the US.

The Olympian retired from competitive athletics in 1962. He was conferred with the Dublin Freedom of the City award in 2006.

The Minister for Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD, this evening described the Irish Olympic champion as a “role model to athletes at home and abroad”.

Minister O’Donovan said: “I was saddened to hear of the death of Irish Olympic champion and running great Ronnie Delany today. Ronnie, who won gold for Ireland in the 1956 Melbourne games, was a role model to athletes at home and abroad.”

“Throughout his brief athletic career, Ronnie inspired young Irish runners to follow their dreams. His remarkable victory in Australia marked the first gold medal for Ireland in two decades, since Bob Tisdall and Pat O’Callaghan won gold in 1932 – and would mark a high point for Irish sport until 1992 in Barcelona.”

“Ronnie retired young, due to injuries, on the very same day he proposed to his beloved Joan. He went on to work for Aer Lingus and B&I Line, before setting up his own business in sports marketing and consultancy.

“His legacy lives on in Delany Park, in his native Arklow, named in his honour; and also in the thousands upon thousands of Irish milers, middle distance runners and other athletes following in his footsteps. My thoughts are with Joan and all Ronnie’s family and friends at this time.”

The Minister of State for Sport, Charlie McConalogue TD said the athlete’s 1956 gold medal win “inspired generations of Irish athletes to take up their spikes and get running”.

“Ronnie was a deeply committed family man, devoted to his wife Joan, his children, and his grandchildren, and I want to express my condolences to them at this time,” he added.

Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Ray McAdam, said :”I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Ronnie Delany, one of the greatest figures in the history of Irish sport and a cherished Freeman of the City of Dublin.”

“Ronnie Delany gave immense pride to Dublin, to Ireland, and to generations of people who saw in his achievements the very best of our sporting spirit. His gold medal at the 1956 Olympic Games remains one of the defining moments in Irish athletics, but his legacy reaches far beyond medals or records.”

“He carried himself with grace, humility and quiet dignity, and in doing so became a source of inspiration to countless people across our city and our country.”

The Olympic Federation of Ireland has expressed its deep sadness at the passing of the Olympic champion.

“At just 21 years of age, he delivered one of the greatest performances in Irish Olympic history, producing a dramatic late surge to win in an Olympic record time of 3:41.2 and claim Ireland’s first Olympic track and field gold medal,” the organisation said this evening.

“Beyond his achievements on the track, Delany remained deeply committed to Irish sport and the Olympic movement throughout his life. He served as President of the Irish Olympians Association until recent years, continuing to champion the role of Olympians in Irish society and supporting the next generation of athletes.”

Lochlann Walsh, President of the Olympic Federation of Ireland said: “Ronnie Delany was one of Ireland’s greatest Olympians and a defining figure in Irish sporting history. His extraordinary victory in Melbourne in 1956 remains one of the most iconic moments in Team Ireland’s history. At this time our thoughts and prayers are with Ronnie’s family.”

CEO of the Olympic Federation of Ireland, Peter Sherrard, said: “Ronnie made an immense contribution to Irish sport and to the Olympic movement over many decades.”

“Through his leadership of the Irish Olympians Association and his continued advocacy for athletes, he inspired generations and remained a proud ambassador for Team Ireland throughout his life. Ronnie famously said, ‘Once an Olympian, Always an Olympian,’ and truly represented the Best of Us. May he rest in peace.”