Meath athletes at la special olympics opening ceremony
Meath athletes Rosemary O'Reilly from Tara, Liam Foley from Hill of Down and Francis Power from Navan were joined by actor Colin Farrell, Claudine Keane and Irish Sports Council CEO John Treacy at the parade of athletes for the opening ceremony of the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles (LA2015) last night.
Team Ireland is among 7,000 athletes competing at the World Summer Games in Los Angeles with that opening ceremony in the iconic Memorial Coliseum - the event will conclude on Sunday 2nd August.
The Irish Sports Council CEO won a historic silver medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles while Colin Farrell is a long-time supporter of the Special Olympics movement and Claudine Keane, wife of Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane is an ambassador for Team Ireland with her husband.
This is a massive year for Special Olympics Ireland and its 88 athletes who have travelled to Los Angeles to compete as part of Team Ireland at LA2015.
The opening ceremony featured performances by Stevie Wonder, Avril Lavigne and Nicole Scherzinger, Cody Simpson (featuring Special Olympics athlete Breanna Bogucki and YouTube sensation Madison Tevlin), J Balvin & Becky G, and Reach Up LA theme song creator Siedah Garrett.
There were also appearances by First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, Jimmy Kimmel, actress Eva Longoria and Olympic star Michael Phelps, among many others.
It was something of a walk down memory lane for Irish Olympic hero Treacy who represented the country at four Olympic Games between 1980 and 1992 and also won that historic silver medal in 1984.
Speaking ahead of the Opening Ceremony, Mr Treacy said:
“I would like to wish Team Ireland every success at the World Games. Being back in the LA Coliseum brings back so many incredible memories and emotions. To represent your country on the world stage is an incredible experience for all involved and I would like congratulate all the athletes and their families here today. I have no doubt that they will be wonderful ambassadors for our country and that will perform with distinction throughout the course of the Games,” commented John Treacy ahead of the opening ceremony.
The Opening Ceremony also featured the official raising of the Special Olympics flag and for Team Ireland athlete Oliver Doherty it was a momentous occasion as he accompanied the flag as part of the procession.
The Donegal golfer was chosen along with three others who all hold gold medals from previous World Games. Oliver won his gold medal in his sport golf at the 2003 World Games which were held in Dublin.
A 40-strong coaching and management team are supporting the athletes in Los Angeles, with 155 Team Ireland volunteers working at the Games, including Ashbourne resident Chris Mouat.
Follow Team Ireland at the World Games:
Twitter: @SOIreland use the hashtags, #TeamIreland #LA2015 & #SupportanAthlete
Facebook: Special Olympics Ireland
Website: specialolympics.ie