It hardly feels like 10 years since the Special Olympics were held in Ireland. Those nine days in June 2003 were memorable for the whole country, beginning with an opening ceremony in Croke Park which featured Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, U2 and Roy Keane among a host of others.
It was a national effort and by common consent a triumph for the country. It was a time of great optimism in Ireland in contrast with the situation today.
Some 177 towns, cities and villages and the Aran Islands hosted national delegations, bringing the profile of the Special Olympics to a new high.
The 2003 World Games were the first to be held outside the United States, as a result of the links with the Kennedy family who were instrumental in organising them in the first place.
Some 7,000 athletes from 150 countries participated. It was a mammoth achievement and remains to this day the biggest sporting event ever held in this island.
It could not have been achieved without the 30,000 volunteers from Ireland who gave of their time and energy to make it a success.
As the then taoiseach Bertie Ahern said: “It kindled a spirit of acceptance and togetherness. It was a summer that will never be forgotten. The people of Ireland were asked to partake and they did. It was one of our country’s greatest achievements.”
President Mary McAleese put it succinctly: “We have the wrung the word proud dry.”
The Special Olympics left an enduring legacy which will be celebrated next month on June 21st on the tenth anniversary of the opening of the games.
Special Olympics Ireland chief executive Matt English said the number of participants in Special Olympics sports has risen from 5,000 to more than 11,000 registered athletes in the last decade and there has been a proportionate rise in the number of clubs from 200 to 400.
In addition, a number of new sports have been added to the roster including Boccia, a form of bowls for disabled people which now has 1,000 participants, kayaking, golf, and pitch and putt.
“More importantly is that families with intellectual disabilities benefited and were able to get rid of so many inhibitions. They were proud to see the achievements of their athletes. It did a huge amount of awareness for people with an intellectual disability.”
That extends not only to the sporting arena but also to work. Another positive legacy has been the number of people with an intellectual disability who are currently in work.
“It was a great event in the history of Ireland, but we want to acknowledge that so many volunteers who gave of their time back then are still involved. They gave of their time then and they are still running clubs.”
Mr English said there was still work to be done in ensuring that more of the 42,000 people on the island of Ireland with an intellectual disability participated in sport.
Peter O’Brien’s daughter Aisling (27) has an intellectual disability. He and his wife volunteered for the games.
His daughter was too young to participate in the Dublin games, but did represent Ireland at basketball at the games in Shanghai in 2007.
Mr O’Brien has lots of fond memories of the Special Olympics. For many of the towns and villages participating, the effort engendered a pride in their community that has never dissipated.
His fondest memory is of walking up the North Circular Road to Croke Park and “seeing banners from nearly every corner of the island. When the games were over, the towns wanted to keep that feeling.”
His involvement in the Special Olympics in 2003 stretched back to 1999 when he went to North Carolina to see how they were organised.
“You get a sense of the scale and you knew Ireland had never done anything as big as that before,” he said.
Special Olympics Ireland is still finalising the programme of events but both Dublin and Belfast are expected to host mayoral receptions for those who were involved in 2003 and have kept up their involvement. Other major towns will be hosting their own events as will the host towns. A commemorative pin will also be issued.
“We’re living in a different economic era. We’re conscious of organising things that are not going to cost a lot of money, but so many people mention the Special Olympics and want to be reminded of that,” O’Brien said.
He said the legacy of Special Olympics was not complete as many of the 42,000 people on the island of Ireland with intellectual disabilities who could compete in sport do not and more needs to be done to reach out to them.
“We’d like to see a Special Olympics community-based club in every town and city across the island of Ireland,” he said.
“We’re totally dependent on volunteers. At the end of the commemorations, we hope people will understand a little bit more about the challenges that we continue to face.”
