Some athletes born in what had become the Republic continued to compete for the British team . In 1952 , new IOC President Avery Brundage and new OCI delegate Lord Killanin agreed that people from Northern Ireland would in future be allowed to compete in any sport on the OCI team . In Irish nationality law , birth in Northern Ireland grants an entitlement similar to birth within the Republic itself . In 1956 , Killanin stated that both the OCI and the BOA " quite rightly " judged eligibility based on citizenship laws . UCI and IAAF affiliated bodies were subsequently affiliated to the OCI , thus regularising the position of Irish competitors in those sports at the Olympics . Members of the all-Ireland National Cycling Association ( NCA ) with Irish Republican sympathies twice interfered with the Olympic road race in protest against the UCI-affiliated Irish Cycling Federation ( ICF ) . In 1956 , three members caused a 13-minute delay at the start . Seven were arrested in 1972 ; three had delayed the start and the other four joined mid-race to ambush ICF competitor Noel Taggart , causing a minor pileup . This happened days after the murders of Israeli athletes and at the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland ; the negative publicity helped precipitate an end to the NCA – ICF feud
murders of Israeli athletes
Munich massacre
Ireland at the Olympics