Thursday 11 December 2014 13:06, UK
Victorious Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley will be in charge of Ireland's inaugural Olympic golf team in Rio in 2016.
McGinley captained Europe to victory over the United States at Gleneagles in September when he earned widespread praise, most notably from world No 1 Rory McIlroy.
Earlier this year McIlroy, who was born in Northern Ireland, confirmed he would represent Ireland in Rio over Great Britain.
Speaking of McGinley's qualities after Europe's triumph, McIlroy said: "He has just been the most wonderful captain. I think I speak on behalf of all the 12 players and say he couldn't have done anything else. He was fantastic.
"From the first day we got there, the speeches that he gave, the videos he showed us, the people that he got in to talk to us, the imagery in the team room, it all tied in together.
"It was all part of the plan, all for the cause of trying to win this Ryder Cup, and he was meticulous in his planning. He left no stone unturned."
The field for the Games will be decided by world ranking, with the top 15 on the list as of July 11, 2016 guaranteed a place, although no country can have more than four qualifiers.
A total of 60 players will compete for the medals with the rest of the field filled out by the highest-ranked players from countries that do not have two players qualified.
The Olympic Council of Ireland has named a total of 17 leaders, who will be the "person having the overall responsibility for that sport."
"They will also be accountable for their athletes' performance at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, under the overall leadership of the Team Ireland chef de Mission, Kevin Kilty."
Kevin Ankrom will be in charge of Ireland's athletics team with Joseph Hennigan taking responsibility for what is likely to be a strong boxing squad.
Ireland team leaders: Paul McGinley (golf), Kevin Ankrom (athletics), Joseph Hennigan (boxing), Brian Nugent (cycling), Sally Filmer (gymnastics), Mike Heskin (hockey), Peter Banks (swimming), Tom Reidy (badminton), Ike Jacob (canoeing), Jeffrey C McCready (clay pigeon shooting), Triona Connors (horse sport), Ciaran Ward (judo), Lindsey Weedon (modern pentathlon), Morten Espersen (rowing), Gillian McDarby (rugby sevens), James O'Callaghan (sailing), Chris Kitchen (triathlon).
