Special Olympics Ireland
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2022) |
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| Sport | Special Olympics |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Ireland |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Headquarters | Dublin |
| CEO | Matt English |
| Official website | |
| www | |
Special Olympics Ireland is a sporting organisation for children and adults with intellectual disabilities that operates in the Island of Ireland. It is part of the global Special Olympics movement.
History
[edit]The organization was founded in 1978 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver to provide children and adults with a year-round sports programme .[1] The organisation was made up of 27,000 athletes.[2] At the time, it was one of the first European programmes of the international Special Olympics movement.
Purpose
[edit]Special Olympics Ireland creates opportunities for children and adults with learning (intellectual) disabilities to take part in various sports training and competition year-round. To be eligible to take part in the Special Olympics programmes, participants have to have an intellectual/learning disability.
Organisation
[edit]In 2021, there were more than 8,000 Special Olympics athletes, aged 4 with no upper age limit, participating in 15 sports in 290 clubs throughout the island of Ireland.[3] These athletes benefit from taking regular sport training and competition programmes. It is broken up into five regions: Special Olympics Connaught, Special Olympics Leinster, Special Olympics Munster, Special Olympics Ulster and Special Olympics Eastern Region, which is for the Dublin Clubs.
Special Olympics Ireland Games
[edit]The Special Olympics Ireland Games are held every four years.
Editions
[edit]| Edition | Year | Host City |
|---|---|---|
| I | 2006 | Belfast |
| II | 2010 | Limerick |
| III | 2014 | Limerick |
| IV | 2018 | Dublin |
| V | 2022 | TBD |
References
[edit]- ^ "A Very Special Olympics". Irish America. 2003-08-01. Retrieved 2021-11-05.
- ^ Watterson, Johnny. "Games expected to attract 30,000". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
- ^ Hutton, Brian. "Special Olympics funding 'severely hampered' by pandemic". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
External links
[edit]| International | |
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| National | |
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