Madness, joy, delight, tears of happiness and at times overwhelming emotion were the order of the day at Dublin Airport this morning as the Special Olympics Team Ireland returned home from their adventures in Berlin and the 2023 World Games.
With 29 Gold, 22 Silver and 24 Bronze medals there was plenty of precious metal to flash around before the smartphones and the cameras on hand to record the scenes.
Aer Lingus has long been a partner of Special olympics and the flight back was only the start of the party with ground staff joining in the celebrations in Terminal 2.
“It is truly inspiring to see a team filled with an abundance of talent return with such success,” said Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin.
“I’d like to offer my thanks to the town and people of Bielefeld in Germany for hosting our team in the run up to the games. I would also like to thank the coaches, background teams and families who have supported our athletes in their preparations for these Games.”
“Our 73 athletes have competed at the highest levels of their sports. To come back from Berlin with 24 gold, 22 silver and 29 bronze medals across a diverse range of sports is a fantastic achievement, even above and beyond what reaching this international level represents. Of course, it’s not all about winning medals. Far from it. The number of our athletes who achieved personal bests is equally noteworthy and deserving of special acknowledgement. Their record performances and their success will certainly inspire future generations of athletes to qualify and compete at world level.”
“Just over a week ago, I had the privilege of being with the Irish Team at the opening ceremony,” added Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education, Thomas Byrne.
“It was a fantastic experience and it was wonderful to see the joy and exuberance of the team as they joined the thousands of other athletes from all over the world.”
“It’s great to see the return today of the more than 100 people who went over as part of Team Ireland, whether as athletes, coaches or other support personnel. They have done Ireland proud in Berlin.”
“This year marks the 20th Anniversary of Ireland hosting the Games and since that time the Special Olympics movement has gone from strength to strength. I’d like to thank the athletes and the teams of people behind the athletes for the effort and dedication they have shown to their sports. They are outstanding representatives of the system of sport we want to achieve in this country, a system where Sport is truly for all.”
