Kate O’Connor, Jon McConnell, Ellie McCartney and Gary Kelly were among the Northern Ireland athletes who returned from the slimmed down Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with 16 medals. It was the second-biggest haul in Northern Ireland’s history, behind only the 18 won in Birmingham four years ago, despite the Games featuring fewer sports.
The build-up to the 2026 Games had been dominated by a change of host, a scaled down schedule and a number of big-name withdrawals. Yet, after 10 days of competition in Scotland, the sport left the lasting impression and once again underlined why the Commonwealth Games matter so much to athletes from Northern Ireland, especially in the wider sporting picture.
The Commonwealth Games fall at the halfway point of the Olympic cycle and, in the case of Glasgow, only months before qualification in many sports gets under way for Los Angeles 2028. For some athletes, it is a chance to take stock of where they are and where they are going; for younger athletes, it is a first opportunity to experience a multi-sport event at senior level.
The Games have long been a bridge to greater things. Lady Mary Peters won Commonwealth medals before the Olympic pentathlon title in 1972, while boxers Wayne McCullough and Aidan Walsh also became Commonwealth medallists before they stood on an Olympic podium. More recently, Rhys McClenaghan’s first major title on the pommel horse was a Commonwealth gold in 2018, while swimmer Daniel Wiffen won a silver medal at the Commonwealths four years ago. Both men are now Olympic and world champions.
How did Kate O’Connor use the Games to build her career?
Kate O’Connor, Northern Ireland’s golden girl in Glasgow, was a silver medallist from four years ago and went on to finish second at the World Championships in between Games. This was her third Commonwealths, having competed as a 17-year-old in Gold Coast in 2018, and she says the competition “has been so good to me”.
“Having that opportunity whenever I was a 17-year-old to travel across the world and compete against senior athletes on an international stage, and compete against that many people, not many 17-year-olds get that experience,” O’Connor told NI.
“Then in 2022 and I was in with a chance of a medal, I’d had that experience from the previous Games.”
O’Connor said that winning gold in Glasgow was part of her journey, and charted her progress from a junior athlete into regular medal contention on the world stage.
“This year I was in a really privileged position where I’d come in and I was the favourite, but that obviously comes with its own pressures and I think I navigated it very well.
“I’m really proud of how I managed to deal with the last three Games and how I’ve grown as an athlete.
“The Games have definitely stood to me. I’m so thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to compete in them.”
How are young athletes benefiting from their first Games?
The Commonwealth Games also has its own progression pathway. The boxing team produced six medals, another impressive haul from a much less experienced team than in recent editions of the Games.
Jon McConnell, 23, is now Commonwealth champion, defending the title won last time by Aidan Walsh. Can he now go on to win an Olympic medal like Walsh did? He might, if he stays off Love Island….
Kaci Rock is also 23 and a silver medallist and is already looking ahead to Olympic qualification.
“I’ve such a hunger now to move forward and the next big thing is the Olympics in Los Angeles and I’m going to do everything I can to get there. I’ve stood on the podium at the Commonwealth Games and now I want to stand out he podium at the Olympics,” she said.
Swimmer Ellie McCartney won a magnificent bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke. Three years ago, the Enniskillen swimmer’s potential was noticed after winning two golds at the Youth Commonwealth Games. Since then, the 21-year-old has reached a first senior world final and taken a medal in Glasgow.
There were other notable achievements from some of the youngest members of Team NI and, like O’Connor, this experience will hopefully help them in the future. Athlete Nick Griggs was sixth in the final of the men’s 5000m while in the pool, 16-year-old Emily Hughes, the youngest member of Team NI, was a member of the 4x100m freestyle relay squad that set a new Irish Senior record.
A pair of 18-year-olds, Matthew Hamilton and Adam Bradley, also set Irish Junior records. Another athlete waiting on A-Level results, weightlifter Harrison McGrogan was fifth.
Why did the bowls medals mean so much?
Then there was the emotion. The scream that judoka Rachael Hawkes let out on winning bronze after losing the same fight four years ago was almost primal, and it meant so much to her.
There were the tears of bowler Chloe Wilson after winning bronze with Shauna O’Neill in the women’s pairs. Wilson, 23, and O’Neill, 26, have put to bed forever the myth that bowls is only played by pensioners.
Winning a medal is one thing but doing it with your best friend is something special.
“Words can’t even describe how much it means. Just to be standing up there with Shauna, it’s something really special,”
O’Neill said the moment “is going to live with me for the rest of my life.”
Gary Kelly had won bronze in the men’s singles bowls in Delhi in 2010 and a silver four years ago. In Glasgow it was another bronze in the singles, but that elusive gold would finally come in the men’s pairs with Adam McKeown, himself now a two-time Commonwealth Games champion.
Bowls is not an Olympic sport, so the Commonwealth Games is the pinnacle for competitors in the discipline.
“The Commonwealth Games is the biggest opportunity for us, for media exposure, and for people that maybe wouldn’t normally view our game and our sport,”
“It’s incredibly important, and it’s been fantastic for it to be part of this and for it to be respected as one of the six core sports of the Commonwealth Games. I think it deserves that.”
What does the future of the Games look like?
The Chef de Mission of Northern Ireland, Conal Heatley, believes strongly that the Commonwealth Games have prepared athletes for future successes.
“It was a very important part of their program,”
Heatley said on the 65 NI athletes in Glasgow.
“Whether it’s Commonwealth Games, that’s their pinnacle, or whether they will look to go on to Olympics, but each and every one of them strove to do their best here for Team NI.”
The Indian city of Ahmedabad has already been announced as hosts for 2030. Two years ago the future of the Commonwealth Games was uncertain when Victoria in Australia pulled out of hosting.
Glasgow stepped in, and while smaller and cheaper, the Games provided competitive sport and enjoyment for spectators and athletes alike. History shows how important the Commonwealth Games have been for athletes from Northern Ireland in building for the future while still winning medals at this level.
“Many, many of our athletes who have gone on to win Olympic medals have come through Commonwealth Games,”
“It gives them an incredible opportunity to gain experience and prepare for the future.”
