Garda escorts marked the arrivals of two important convoys to the Tallaght Stadium in Co Dublin, that of President Catherine Connolly and, more importantly, more than 1,200 Special Olympics athletes and their coaches.
As families and supporters packed into stands on either sides, the long parade of waving athletes made their way out on to the pitch to take the seats.
“Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt,” the athletes said, making the Special Olympics athlete’s oath.
The largest inclusive sporting event in Ireland this year, the Special Olympics Ireland Summer Games will see 1,277 athletes with intellectual disabilities competing, with some aged as young as seven years old, and some in their 70s.
The athletes will compete over three days across 12 sports, including bowling, equestrian, golf, swimming and table tennis.
For the athletes, the games are usually the result of four years of preparation. However, this event is especially important as the 2022 Summer Games were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Team Connaught arrive for the opening of the 2026 Special Olympics Ireland Summer Games in Tallaght Stadium on Thursday. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho
Dara Kiernan (26) will compete in badminton. Representing the Flying Trojans team and the eastern region, this is her second games.
“It is actually amazing to be here,” Kiernan said. “It is an amazing opportunity to see so many athletes from all over Ireland, and to compete with them as well.”
From Ballyfermot, Kiernan is gunning for a medal in badminton – one of 50 people competing in the sport – but in the excitement for the competition, there have been “a few sleepless nights”. That’s “good nervousness”, she said.
Thomas Heaney (23) from Co Armagh will be representing Ulster in golf and he told The Irish Times he was competing to win.
It is Heaney’s first Summer Games, and he said he was “very excited” to be taking part. He will be backed up by countless family members in the stands, who, he said, are “very proud” of him for competing.
“Sitting here, waiting for the athletes to come out, I am quite emotional,” said Mary Hughes, whose son David is one of the athletes competing over the next three days.
She said David was now far more outgoing as a result of competing in the games.
“It is hugely important for the athletes’ development, through socialising and mixing with people they become confident,” she said. “The best thing about the Special Olympics is that the athletes are so lovely and down-to-earth. They love to win, but they are not disappointed if they do not because they root for each other.”
Lilyrose Doran Walters of Team Ulster at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Special Olympics Ireland Summer Games. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho
David, from Co Carlow, will challenge for a medal in bowling at age 46. His mother said “age doesn’t matter” in the games, with everyone getting a chance to compete thanks to the “amazing volunteers”.
Karen Coventry, the “incredibly proud” chief executive of Special Olympics Ireland, said she had the “professional and personal privilege” of being involved in the games for 24 years.
Some “15,000 sandwiches and 45,000 bottles of water” will fuel the competition but, for the athletes, as well as their sport, the “big disco” on Saturday night will spark huge excitement, Coventry said.
The President said it was the 40th anniversary of the games in Ireland, with the first competition held in 1986. She said the athletes are in their third year of a four-year cycle, with the ultimate goal being to compete at the World Games next year in Santiago, Chile.
While the athletes are striving for success, Connolly said that was represented as much in the “joy in the face of the athlete” and the smiles seen in the competitions, as it is represented in the medals they may win.
President of Ireland Catherine Connolly speaks at the opening ceremony for the 2026 Special Olympics Ireland Summer Games. Photograph: Tom Maher
“Anyone involved with Special Olympics Ireland can attest to benefits and changes that go far beyond the court, the pitch, or the pool. It is, ultimately, the building of a community that shows what true inclusion looks like: where everyone has a place, and everyone is supported to develop in their own way.
“I congratulate all athletes on the hard work and commitment you put in to qualify to compete at the Ireland games,” the President said.
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