Ireland entered eight boxers to compete in the following weight classes into the Olympic boxing tournament. 2012 Olympic bronze medalist
Paddy Barnes and
Michael Conlan were the only Irishmen finishing among the top two of their respective division in the World Series of Boxing, and qualified from that method. Conlan and
Joe Ward earned spots at the
2015 World Championships. Conlan's results in the World Championships took preference, allowing others to qualify through the WSB. Steven Donnelly had initially finished outside the qualifying places in the WSB, but eventually received the unused spot, following a box-off between both Russian qualifiers (through WSB and World Championships).
Brendan Irvine and
David Joyce booked Olympic spots with box-off victories at the
2016 European Qualification Tournament in
Samsun,
Turkey. Meanwhile, London 2012 lightweight champion
Katie Taylor had her sights set to her Olympic title defense in Rio with a quarterfinal victory at the
World Championships in
Astana, Kazakhstan. Michael O'Reilly secured an additional Olympic place on the Irish roster at the
2016 AIBA World Qualifying Tournament in
Baku, Azerbaijan. Longtime head coach Billy Walsh left the
Irish Amateur Boxing Association for
USA Boxing in October 2015 after a contract dispute; this was mooted as a factor in the team's disappointing results. ;Men ;Women ==Cycling==