When Kate O'Conner crossed the finish line in Tokyo, she had just set a new Irish record in the heptathlon — 6,714 points — and she couldn't quite believe it. The 25-year-old from Newry had achieved something no Irish woman had ever done before, earning silver at the World Championships and cementing her status as one of the most exciting athletes in Northern Ireland right now. This summer, she'll carry that momentum to Glasgow for her third Commonwealth Games, where she'll be aiming to upgrade the silver medal she won in Birmingham four years ago to gold.
"She set a new Irish record of 6714 points and five personal bests," the article notes of her Tokyo performance. It was a remarkable showing from someone who also made the 2024 Olympics in Paris. But O'Conner won't be alone — she'll be joined in the heptathlon by Anna McCauley, who finished sixth in 2022 and recently placed second in the UK Athletics Championship.
Northern Ireland is sending 65 athletes total to the Games, and the team is packed with athletes chasing history. In gymnastics, Rhys McClenaghan — the 26-year-old who won Olympic gold on the pommel horse in Paris — headlines a four-member artistic gymnastics squad. He's the only gymnast ever to become Olympic, World, European, and Commonwealth champion on a single apparatus. After missing all of 2025 due to shoulder surgery, he returned to win gold at a World Cup event in Antalya in March, proving he's far from finished.
In boxing, the team features 12 athletes across multiple weight divisions. Michaela Walsh, 33, is the most experienced — this will be her fourth Commonwealth Games, and she's trying to defend the featherweight title she won in Birmingham. Jude Gallagher, a 24-year-old from Tyrone, is also chasing back-to-back gold, moving up to lightweight after winning at featherweight in 2022. And young Louis Rooney, just 20 years old, will make his debut at 55kg after earning bronze at the European U-23 Championships.
Five cyclists will also make their Commonwealth Games debuts, including Erin Creighton, who was a reserve at the 2024 Olympics after helping Team Ireland's women qualify for the team pursuit event for the first time. Para-athlete Chris Burns, a C2 para-cyclist, has earned recent success including a triple podium finish at the German Open Paracycling Track Championships.
With athletes like O'Conner and McClenaghan leading the way, Northern Ireland's team is small but mighty — and come August, the world will see what these 65 athletes can do.