Treacy is now among the country's most senior administrators and is the chief executive of the Irish Sports Council, which distributes funding to the country's Olympic sports.

 

Ireland won three medals in Beijing - one silver and two bronze - their best performance for 12 years, but all of them were claimed by boxers.

 

Ireland has targeted London since the British capital was awarded the Olympics three years ago, acknowledging that it is the closest they will ever get to a home Games.

 

Treacy said: “The bar has been raised and we will have to set ambitious targets.

 

“We have already started to talk to the governing bodies of each sport about their plans.”

Like most other countries, Treacy was impressed by the performance of Britain's team, who won a record 19 gold medals and finished fourth in the overall medals table, just 12 years after they had finished behind Ireland in the Atlanta Games.

 

He said: “We are playing catch-up.

 

"But compared to four years ago the running of sport here has become more professional.

“We are a small country and investing in sports where we have a chance of getting returns is the best way to go.

“Track and field sports are central to the Olympics and we will always support those but there are others like cycling, rowing, boxing and swimming that we have done well in and we will look to continue this."

 

Treacy also wants to adopt the new UK Sport model of trying to spot potential female athletes, checking if failed footballers can be diverted into other sports, trying to encourage tall people to try out rowing and volleyball and moving people from one sport to another if tests show they could do better.

 

He said: “Many of our best athletes play field games.

 

"We need to do more to promote others and find people who are suited to them.

 

“We need to be able to invest in both our top-level programmes and those aimed at increasing participation in sport.”

 

Treacy said he believed that Ireland had done well in Beijing, despite criticism among the media.

 

He said: “Sometimes the expectations Irish people have of what can be achieved are just not realistic.

“We set a target of six finalists or six top-eight finishes in Beijing and we more than achieved that.

“Where we had talented athletes we ensured they have enough support to make the grade.” 
 
But the Games were also overshadowed for Ireland as for the third time in four Games they found itself embroiled in a major doping row.

 

In 1996 swimmer Michelle De Bruin was widely accused of using performance-enhancing drugs after winning four medals, including three gold,

 

She never tested positive but was banned two years later.

 

In 2004 Cian O'Connorr was stripped of the gold he won in the show jumping after his horse Waterford Crystal tested positive.

 

At this year's Games in Beijing, another rider, Denis Lynch, who was one of the favourites for a medal, was prevented from taking part after his mount Lantinus failed a pre-event doping test.