The Irish Special Olympics team returned home yesterday from their most successful games. The European Special Olympics took place in Antwerp in Belgium and returned with 12 Gold, 21 Silver and 24 Bronze medals.
Among the highlights was the Men’s 7-a-side soccer team who landed gold as well as the fair play trophy.
“The theme of the Games was ‘A Great Performance Deserves a Great Audience’, and we called on Ireland, and indeed Europe, to get behind these extraordinary athletes who overcome so many hurdles to be able to compete at this level,” said Special Olympics Ireland CEO Matt English.
With this in mind credit is due to RTE who carried the report below on its main news bulletins on a day that was hardly a quiet one for sport.
“Special thanks must also go to Aer Lingus, which played a vital role in getting our athletes to Belgium where each athlete will represent this country to the best of their abilities.”
The role of partnerships between commercial and sporting organisations is a critical one and never more so than in the relationship between Aer Lingus and Special Olympics.
The team of 46 athletes who flew to the European Special Olympics Championships in Antwerp might well not have been possible without the airline’s support.
The relationship goes back a long way with Aer Lingus first on board as partners as far back as 1999.
The hosting of the Special Olympic Ireland Games in Limerick this year was a huge focus for the organisation and the main beneficiary of fundraising campaigns through other partners including Eircom.
The strong bond that Special Olympics has been able to maintain with its partners was again in evidence at the weekend as Eircom landed the Chambers Ireland CSR Award for Community involvement celebrating 30 years of work with the organisation.
