By Ian O'Riordan

In the run-up to the Paris Olympics, Irish Times sports journalists have looked back at the Irish Olympic stories you didn't know.&nbsp; They are stories of triumph and tragedy, and in some cases, notoriety.&nbsp; This podcast series brings you a selection of those pieces, as read by their authors.&nbsp; In episode five, Ian O'Riordan tells the story of Ireland's most unexpected medal. You can read all the&nbsp;stories <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/greatest-irish-olympic-stories-never-told/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.&nbsp;

Ireland's most unexpected Olympic medal

By Sean Moran

In the run-up to the Paris Olympics, Irish Times sports journalists have looked back at the Irish Olympic stories you didn't know.&nbsp; They are stories of triumph and tragedy, and in some cases, notoriety.&nbsp; This podcast series brings you a selection of those pieces, as read by their authors.&nbsp; In episode&nbsp;four, Sean Moran tells the story of Fanahan McSweeney, the amazing character whose potential went tragically unfulfilled.&nbsp; You can read all the&nbsp;stories <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/greatest-irish-olympic-stories-never-told/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.&nbsp;

The Irish legend whose potential went unfulfilled

By Malachy Clerkin

In the run-up to the Paris Olympics, Irish Times sports journalists have looked back at the Irish Olympic stories you didn't know.&nbsp; They are stories of triumph and tragedy, and in some cases, notoriety.&nbsp; This podcast series brings you a selection of those pieces, as read by their authors.&nbsp; In episode three, Malachy Clerkin tells the story of a race walker who overcame calamity to compete.&nbsp; You can read all the&nbsp;stories here.&nbsp;

The Irish race walker who overcame calamity to compete

By Paul Howard

In the run-up to the Paris Olympics, Irish Times sports journalists have looked back at the Irish Olympic stories you didn’t know. This podcast series brings you a selection of those pieces, as read by their authors. In episode two, Paul Howard tells the story of an Irish athlete who in a year went from being barely known outside his native Cork to preparing for the 2004 Athens Olympics as the fastest non-African in the world over 10,000m. It really was too good to be true. Listen to Episode 2 here or on your podcast app. You can read all the stories in the series&nbsp;<a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/greatest-irish-olympic-stories-never-told/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.

The meteoric rise and notorious fall of a long-distance runner

By Malachy Clerkin 

In the run-up to the Paris Olympics, Irish Times sports journalists have looked back at the Irish Olympic stories you didn't know.&nbsp; They are stories of triumph, tragedy and, in some cases, notoriety.&nbsp; This podcast series brings you a selection of those pieces, as read by their authors.&nbsp; In episode one, Malachy Clerkin tells the story of how Ireland won its first ever Olympic medal in an unusual category.&nbsp; You can read all the&nbsp;stories <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/tags/greatest-irish-olympic-stories-never-told/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.

Ireland's first Olympic medal 

From The Irish Times, this miniseries tells the extraordinary forgotten stories of Irish Olympians.

Greatest Irish Olympic Stories Never Told

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