TV: Nationwide meets Special Olympics athletes ahead of summer games 

One of the largest sporting events in the country this year gets underway next week - the 2026 Special Olympics Ireland Summer Games.

The event runs from June 18-21 at the Tallaght Stadium in Dublin, and will feature more than 1,200 athletes competing across 12 sports with 2,500 volunteers on hand.

Of those, Munster is bringing the largest delegation of 500 people, including athletes, coaches, and management. 

Among them is Cork gymnast Michael Barry.

Participants take part in athletics, aquatics at the National Aquatic Centre, basketball, bocce, bowling, equestrian, football, golf, gymnastics, kayaking, pitch and putt, and table tennis.

On the eve of the event, Nationwide on RTÉ1 on Wednesday at 7pm meets some of the people who will participate and who hope to win medals.

Plus, in County Wicklow, Nationwide meets members of the Lakers Club, a valued service for young people that has been operating in Bray for more than 35 years.

Lakers Sports & Social Club is a facility for children and adults with intellectual difficulties, and Nationwide meets members to learn more about their activities and meet those preparing for the Special Olympics.

Also, reporter Tommy Stenson has been in Limerick meeting some of the athletes who are hoping for success on the national stage.

Meanwhile, Monday’s episode of Nationwide looks back 50 years to the Brendan Voyage, which demonstrated that Ireland’s St Brendan could have made the journey to the Americas as early as the 6th century. Plus, a Church of Ireland community marks its 200th anniversary with the unveiling of a stained-glass window depicting Saint Brigid.

Once considered a dying craft, stained glass is enjoying something of a revival. Kilternan Church of Ireland parish in South County Dublin has commissioned a new stained glass window to honour St Brigid, representing both the Parish’s 200-year history and its hopes for the future. John Kilraine has been meeting parishioners to hear their story.

In Friday’s Nationwide, reporter Colm Flynn brings viewers on a tour of the places associated with the Irish who spent part of their lives working in and around Vatican City in Rome and who made their mark there.