Ireland competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States.
Ireland won three gold and one bronze medal at the 1996 Olympics, the highest number ever, and was placed 28th in the medals table. Sonia O'Sullivan, who was seen as the best medal chance prior to the competition, did not win a medal.
Michelle Smith was accused of doping, though the accusations were not substantiated at the time. Two years after the Atlanta Games, FINA banned Smith for four years for tampering with her urine sample using alcohol; the testers also found traces of a metabolic precursor of testosterone, Androstenedione. Smith was not stripped of her medals, as the test upon which the ban was based was conducted well after the Games. Her achievements at the Games remain controversial.
Ireland again sent only one archer to the Olympics. Keith Hanlon won his first match, but was defeated in the second round.
Men's Double Sculls
Men's Lightweight Fours