Passion and energy at Special Olympics soccer event at MTU Complex

THERE was a great and superb atmosphere at the Special Olympics football Event held at the the MTU Sports Complex recently.

There were three Men’s Divisions and one Ladies and over 130 athletes participating on the day. 

The Men’s teams consisted of Division One, Cope-Leeds, Mallow, Ballincollig and Waterford, Divisions Two, Ballincollig, Tipperary, Waterford and Kerry, Division Three, Ballincollig, Cope-Leeds, Waterford and Kerry Stars, while the Ladies consisted of Tipperary, Kerry and Waterford.

The event was run again by the Munster Special Olympics with Eoin O’Beara, Mary Picco, Marie Murane and Sandra O’Donoghue making sure things ran smoothly along with the volunteers for sponsors Janssen and Johnson and Johnson. 

They were four referees, Denis Morley, Pat and Owen Kelly and Albert Vlastimir who all gave up their time to officiate all the games.

Special praise was given to Denis Morley as this was his 12th event in a row.

Eoin O’Beara, who is the Regional Director was full of praise for all the athlete, coaches, referees and the volunteers, who helped out and made the day very special for everyone involved.

“It was a great day of Football for all the athletes,” Eoin said.

“A huge thank you to the volunteers from Janssen for their support of this Football Competition here in MTU. 

"Some fantastic skills were on display from some very talented athletes. We are seeing a lot of progression from all 15 teams year on year, and this is testament to the quality coaching each club is putting in place.

“Special Olympics is a very important part of the lives of Special Olympics Athletes, and we have to thank our affiliated Clubs, Schools and Services so much for this. 

"They are out every week training and preparing for competitions such as today. I know a number of clubs in Cork are currently looking for volunteers to help and would ask anyone who may be interested in getting involved to contact us in our Munster office on 021-4977192 or so.munster@specialolympics.ie.

“Special Olympics transforms lives through sport. We are a sports organisation for people with an intellectual disability from the age of four years old with no upper age limit. 

"Currently, almost 8,000 athletes from across the island of Ireland participate in 15 different sports through Special Olympics. 

"Through our sports, health and leadership programmes our athletes learn to be physically, mentally and emotionally fit. 

"They get to learn new skills, increase confidence and most importantly they get to experience the joy of sport and make life-long friendships! 

"None of this would be possible without the great passion, energy and support of our volunteers, clubs and partners,” Eoin added.

They will be three Cork athletes who attend Cope Foundation will represent Ireland Special Olympics Football Team in the World Games in Berlin next month. 

Stephen O’Leary, Thomas Hurley and Sean Murphy will don the green jersey which is a great achievement for these three young men. This is a reward for all the hard work and dedication, which I’m sure will be a very special and proud time for their families, friends and supporters.