Katie Taylor was one of Ireland’s greatest sporting role models before she won Gold at London 2012.  Now she will be remembered for as long as sport is spoken of.
I had the privilege to be at the Excel Arena yesterday.  There was a physical atmosphere the likes of which I have rarely felt even at some of the world’s greatest events.  In years to come perhaps 100,000 will say they were among the 10,000 crowd drawn by a humble woman from Bray to an otherwise nondescript exhibition hall in London’s Docklands.  It felt as though there were that many there, and then some.
The logistics of moving a record seven million people to have attended the Olympics has moved like clockwork.  From open gates at transport hubs, to volunteers pointing in the right direction and laughing with the crowds, efficient security and ticket checks that were painless, this has been an event that was enjoyable and without hassle to attend.
Yesterday it almost came unstuck as the green army sang, swayed and sashayed through the walkways of the Excel.
The roar of the Katie Taylor crowd at her three bouts has been the noisiest throughout the games.  Yesterday’s exceeded that of a jet engine at 140 decibels.  At the mention of her name, the introduction of Barry McGuigan, or her entrance to the ring, your ears throbbed and your senses were overwhelmed by the outpouring of affection for this one Olympian and everything that surrounded her on the day.
The arena was thronged with grown men in tears; with young women whose sporting ambitions can never be checked after what Taylor and those who have gone before have achieved; with actual royalty in the shape of Princess Anne and Kate Middleton; with sporting royalty in Sir Steve Redgrave; and everyone rose to honour the achievement of women’s boxing’s first Gold medals.
All three fights passed in a blur.  The roar that greeted Team GB’s Nicola Adams was indicative of the enthusiasm with which Irish fans have embraced the wonderful efforts of British medallists at these Games.  Her fists of fury approach barely tallied with the angelic smile and joy of competing she displays before and after her fights.
Claressa Shields of the USA is a mere 17 years old and looked it as she danced, shimmied and laughed after her Middleweight Gold.
But the star of this day, of this sport and in many ways of this Olympics was our Katie Taylor.  No less an authority than Sports Illustrated hailed her as the most popular athlete of the Games.  While others have raised performance levels, she has raised a sport.  Much credit is due to those who had the courage to push for it to be included on the programme.  Dr Ching Kao Wu, President of the IABU, said before the bouts that Rio 2016 would hold six weight categories for women.  The medallists there and at subsequent games will look back on Katie Taylor for their inspiration.
I went yesterday as a long time fan of amateur boxing.  From nights in the National Stadium to Stable Lads Boxing evenings in the Park Lane Hilton, it is a sport which has enthralled and engaged me.
I also went and watched through the eyes of a coach.  Pete Taylor was perhaps the calmest man in the arena yesterday.  He spoke afterwards of destiny but this was destiny that he has crafted, and with his own daughter in a sport that drags your emotions all over the ring and far beyond it.
Finally I watched as a father of daughters.  Ahead of the Sport for Business Round Table on Women and Sport I asked my 11 year old daughter if she thought sport was for boys or girls.  This echoed a question asked in a British survey which found that teenage girls answered generally that is was for boys.  The role models of soccer, rugby and Gaelic games who we accord the highest status are men, so this is a fault of all of ours.  My daughter shrugged her shoulders and said sport was neither for boys or girls, it was for her.
Athletes like Katie Taylor have made that possible.  Less than 100 years ago women did not compete in track and field because it was considered too much for their delicate constitutions.
What would those who made that call have felt about yesterday?
In all honesty, if they had watched through open eyes, they would have marvelled at the skill, the speed, the guile and the grace that all six boxers displayed.
They would have nodded at the respect shown, as it is through all ‘fighting’ sports and throughout the Olympics, between the competitors.
It was sport at its very finest.  It was also Ireland at its finest, respectful and supportive of all, raucous and unrestrained in support of our own.  Most of all it was a young woman from Bray at her very finest.  A woman who had a dream as a young girl, worked hard and got her reward.
Much has been said of what she will do now.  A four-time world Champion, an Olympic Hero, an inspiration to a nation, her family and her faith will help her choose the right path, whatever that may be.
Now we, not as a nation, but as individuals, must look to see how we can create these moments for our children and future generations.  We see so often how sport transcends the sometime harsh reality of modern life.  This was one gold medal for one individual but we all stand a little taller this morning as a result.
I am fortunate to have been there.  I am fortunate to work in a role which helps to forge connections between business and individuals in the crowd with those in the ring or on the pitch.  Government, on our behalf, plays its part.  Business through partnership with sporting bodies, teams and individuals has a vital role to play.  But mostly it is about what we as individuals are willing to commit to ensure more moments like yesterday.
It could be that one extra journey a week to bring our sons and daughters to train in the cold and the dark.  It may be to step forward to help with coaching fundraising or cakes at the local club.  It has to be more than cheering loud and walking away because while Katie Taylor worked the hardest, it was the effort of all those around that made it possible.
What can you do today, next week and from September to play your part in our next Champion?
Rob Hartnett