Brian Clifford competed in the men’s 1,500 metres freestyle at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games as the youngest male Irish Olympic competitor in history at 16 years and 12 days, finishing with a time of 18:09.28.

His qualification for Munich had followed a month living in London from a bed and breakfast base, training four hours daily with the St James Swimming Club at Crystal Palace – a remarkable commitment for a 16-year-old – which paid off when he swam 17:34.2 at the ASA championships, almost fourteen seconds inside the qualifying time for Munich.

The experience at Crystal Palace and Munich effectively concluded his competitive swimming. He subsequently became a rugby player of considerable distinction: a student of Presentation Brothers College, Cork, he played prop forward in Ireland’s first schools international in 1975 alongside future internationals Moss Finn and Jimmy Bowen, later played for Cork Constitution, Lansdowne RFC and Munster, and was a final Irish rugby triallist in 1980.