1992 was the first time Ireland competed at the Winter Olympic Games – with a team competing in Bobsleigh at the Games in Chamonix.

The first Irish woman to compete at the Winter Olympic Games was Tamsen McGarry, an alpine skier, who competed at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002.

Team Ireland’s first luge athlete was Elsa Desmond who competed in the Winter Olympics in Beijing 2022, in order to compete for Ireland, she needed a national federation, and as she was the first Irish athlete to ever compete for Ireland in her sport, she set up the Irish Luge Federation herself! Lily Cooke, a young athlete from Dublin, saw Luge on television, emailed the Luge Federation and from there qualified for the Youth Olympic Games with Elsa as her coach.

Claire Dunne (née Bergin) was the first Irish female athlete to compete in both the Winter Olympics as part of the Bobsleigh team and in Athletics at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. Claire is now with Deloitte, where she leads People and Purpose Strategic Projects. Terry McHugh was the first Irish male athlete to compete in Bobsleigh in two Winter Olympics and in the Javelin at four Summer Olympic Games. Terry is Ireland’s only athlete who has competed in six Olympic Games – he competed in Bobsleigh in two Winter Olympics and in the Javelin at four Summer Olympic Games.

The highest finisher ever for Team Ireland was in the Skeleton when Clifton Wrottesley finished fourth. His full name is Clifton Hugh Lancelot de Verdon Wrottesley, 6th Baron Wrottesley.