A crowd of around 1,000 family friends and supporters gathered at Dublin Airport on Monday night to welcome home the Irish Paralympic team.  16 medals, 49 heroes and enthusiasm in keeping with the great sporting achievement they had delivered.
There will be other celebrations, at Farmleigh and Aras an Uachtaráin but this was special with children reunited with parents, shool friends loudly chanting the name of their classmates, ordinary people that had undertaken extraordinary feats.
Sponsors were in evidence but joining in the festival mood as opposed to being merely an aside.  That is the mark of a good partnership.  The Cityjet plane that carried the team usurped bigger and louder rivals to whom that honour may previously have fallen by right.
Cadbury’s dancing and prancing purple clad jesters lifted the crowd as they waited and kept the kids well awake by distributing copious amounts of chocolate.  Renault had painted the welcome posters that bedecked the arrivals hall and OCS heralded the arrival by taking care of the baggage on large log clad trolleys ahead of the team. Topaz’ airport station was bedecked for the occasion.
There was a hint of regret mixed with the happiness as tired athletes bade each other farewell after the most intense of experiences.  As we left the airport we passed Orla Barry, her mother father and brother carrying her gear and heading for the car to drive back home to Cork.
Away from the spotlight, life goes on and the next four year cycle of preparation for Rio will begin soon enough.  The talent identification day scheduled for October will perhaps unearth stars that are as yet unaware of their abilities but have been inspired to give it a go.
This is a great example of what sport, well supported by business and commercial as well as government funding can deliver.  We now need to make sure it continues off the centre stage so that we can all enjoy more days like these.
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