Special Olympians honoured

Special Olympians honoured in Castlebar

Áine Ryan

PRIDE, joy and broad smiles beamed along the procession of Special Olympians as they followed the symbolic torch of hope to the podium at last week’s Castlebar Town Council civic reception, held in the Welcome Inn hotel. St Angela’s Primary School pupil, Aoife Quinn’s rendition of ‘She Moves Through the Fair’, added to the simple poignancy and universal symbolism of the reception.
Addressing the large gathering, Mayor Eugene McCormack said it was ‘an honour to be here on the 30th anniversary of Special Olympics, Ireland’. He observed that the group of athletes were ‘outstanding sporting ambassadors for both the county and the country’.
“Our special young Mayo athletes can hold their own with the best. They are surely genuine heroes one and all,” he said, reading from the dedicated citation. He also welcomed the Acting CEO of Special Olympics Ireland, Frances Kavanagh, special guest, John Maughan and Kitty Tierney of Connacht Special Olympics.
Special Olympian, Ms Brid Walsh, of Tourmakeady told the crowd that she had been involved in Special Olympics Ireland for 15 years.
“I went to St Anthony’s Special School where I did swimming and athletics. Now I am a member of Castlebar Table Tennis Club and Castlebar Strikers Bowling Club. Last year I even travelled to Luxembourg to represent Ireland at a table tennis tournament,” said Brid.
She had earlier observed that, at the outset, 30 years ago, there had only been 200 athletes and 100 volunteers but now there are 11,000 athletes and 18,000 volunteers involved in the country.
“But we all know Special Olympics is not just about travelling the world and winning medals. I love to improve my table tennis and bowling skills and enjoy meeting up with all my friends every week,” she said.
Commending St Angela’s Primary School pupils on ‘the haunting sounds of their music’, Ms Frances Kavanagh highlighted the pivotal role of volunteers and said that more were always needed.
Referring to his many journeys to Croke Park, John Maughan noted that ‘arguably the two greatest moments’ in the national stadium for him were the opening and closing ceremonies of the World Games in 2003.
“You are all uniquely talented. I have marvelled at your courage, your infectious laughter, your great generosity, smiles,” said John Maughan. “I’m delighted to see that new resources, both financial and otherwise, have been allocated to the group, particularly since 2003.”
He concluded by quoting President Mary Aleese who – at the closing ceremony in 2003 –  while acknowledging the ‘amazing army’ of organisers said: “Whether you won a medal or not, you did your historic best and you brought out the very best in us. The words ‘no you can’t’ have been drowned out by a resounding ‘yes, we can’.”