Seven Meath athletes on Team Ireland for Athens Special Olympics
Seven athletes from Meath have been named on Team Ireland to compete in the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games which will take place in Athens, Greece, from 25th June to 4th July. Some 126 athletes and 49 coaches will represent Ireland at the games, which are the highest level of sporting competition for Special Olympics athletes in the world. Members of Navan Arch Club - Liam Brady, Stephen Brown, Robert McDonald and John Blake - will compete in the basketball competition, while Edward Kennedy, representing Malta Services, will participate in athletics and Laura Kelly, representing Midway Services, Beechmount, will compete in the golf competition. Aidan McNamany from Ashbourne Special Olympics is to take part in the football competition. Team Ireland will join 7,500 Special Olympics athletes from 185 nations for the Games which promise to be one of the sporting highlights of this year. Team Ireland will compete in 12 sports: aquatics, athletics, badminton, basketball, bocce, bowling, equestrian, football, golf, gymnastics, kayaking and table tennis. Team Ireland will also be supported by 220 volunteers from Ireland who will volunteer at the games as well as hundreds of family members and supporters who will cheer them on as they compete in the historical home of the first modern-day Olympic Games. The launch, which was hosted by RTÉ's Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh and Panos Zambetakis of TV3's 'The Apprentice', was attended by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar, members of Special Olympics Ireland's Council of Patrons, including Denis O'Brien and Mary Davis; Matt English, CEO, Special Olympics Ireland, as well as the Greek Ambassador to Ireland, Constantina Zagorianou-Prifti. Speaking at the launch, Minister Varadkar said: "Today marks my first official engagement as Minister for Sport and I am very pleased and proud that it is to attend a Special Olympics Ireland event. The Special Olympics movement occupies a very special place in the hearts and minds of everyone in Ireland and on my first engagement, I note that we are marking some other special 'firsts' today. "The first time Ireland will compete in the kayaking competition at the World Games and the first time an open sea swim will be offered as part of the Games and our first athlete will take part. Congratulations to you all for being members of Team Ireland and I wish all of our athletes, volunteers, coaches and supporters a wonderful Games in Athens and to thoroughly enjoy what I hope will be a wonderful experience." Mary Davis, chairperson of Special Olympics Ireland, and regional president of Special Olympics Europe-Eurasia, said: "I am so proud of every one of our athletes who will be representing their country and communities at the 2011 World Summer Games in Athens. "Each of them have shown great motivation, discipline and tremendous skill in getting this far and it is worthy of real celebration."