Triumphant olympians return

Meath’s Special Olympians returned home last night to a hero’s welcome in Navan, where they were paraded around the streets of the town and greeted by cheering supporters.
All three local athletes secured medals at the Special Olympics World Summer Games held in Los Angeles, with Navan’s Francis Power winning a gold medal in the table tennis competition.
The parade marked the remarkable achievements of Liam Foley, Francis Power and Rosemary O’Reilly and afterwards they were honoured with a civic reception at Navan Town Hall.
The Mayor of Navan, Cllr Joe Reilly, welcomed them at the Town Hall and paid tribute to all three athletes for their remarkable achievements.
He also paid tribute to their parents, coaches and supporters.
Navan’s Francis Power (34) was the first local participant to secure a medal, winning gold in the table tennis. A special presentation of a mug, detailing his success, was made by Navan Travellers Workshop last night.
Francis, a member of Navan Arch Club, put in a very strong performance to take the gold in the singles competition when he beat his Swiss opponent Julien Arcoria. He also secured a fourth place ribbon in the mixed doubles table tennis with Carol Catling from Newtownabbey.
Seventeen-year-old Liam Foley from Hill of Down won two medals in badminton. His first medal was a bronze in the singles competition and he brought his tally to two when he claimed a silver medal with Kelly Delaney in the mixed doubles competition on the final day of the games.
Liam, of Shoot ‘n’ Stars Special Olympics Club, is a son of former Meath GAA star, Kevin Foley.
Meath’s fourth medallist was Rosemary O’Reilly from Collierstown, Tara, who won a silver medal in the golf competition.  A member of Midway at Beechmount, Navan, Rosemary (28) won her silver medal in golf individual skills on day six of the games. She has a long association with Special Olympics Ireland and has been playing golf for many years.