30-03-2000 - Announcement of the Council of Patrons for the Special Olympics World Games 2003

I am delighted to be here today to announce the establishment of a Council of Patrons. This Council will meet regularly under my chairmanship, to support one of the largest and most important events likely to take place in Ireland for many years. Before I introduce the Council to you, let me sketch the background.

The Special Olympics

The Special Olympics World Games is the largest sporting event and in 2003 it will take place in Ireland. 7,000 athletes, and 30,000 people accompanying them, will visit Ireland for two unforgettable weeks in that summer. Their activities and achievements will be broadcast and reported around the world, in the 150 countries from which they come.

No Barriers to Success

And they will leave a lasting impression behind them when they return home. An impression of achievement and ability, of courage and grace. They will teach us a lesson that we ought never to forget. There are no barriers that cannot be overcome, no limits that can be set to the march of the human spirit. The athletes who will visit here, to compete against each other and to transcend the artificial wall that disability can build, will demonstrate to us what a joy pure competition can be. In a phrase, that I think is going to become very well-known over the next couple of years, they will enable us to "share the feeling" of how magical it can be to do the very best you can.

The Games - A great honour for Ireland

I am delighted that The Special Olympics World Summer Games will come of age in Ireland. For the first time in the illustrious history of this event, it will be held outside the United States, and it is an honour for Ireland that we have been chosen for that breakthrough, after a tough competitive bid process.

For this country, it's more than an honour it is an extraordinary opportunity. For a week prior to the Games themselves, the athletes will be hosted in towns, villages and communities all over the island of Ireland. They will share their culture and traditions with us, and have a chance to enjoy the friendship and hospitality of the Irish people as a whole. The Games will be held in a variety of venues centred in Dublin, and will be a chance for us to showcase the organisational ability that always enables Ireland to put its best foot forward. The first official event of the games will be an opening ceremony in Croke Park that will be seen around the world, and will be truly memorable. The experience of these Games in the past is that above all, they bring people together.

Contributing to Peace

In Ireland, I hope the Games will contribute in a truly singular way. We all know that the process of making and developing peace on this island has been difficult and painstaking. We all know that obstacles lie ahead and even as we seek to remove them, one by one, we know that we must really persevere to uproot the seeds of distrust and division that still have hold in many communities.

But those divisions will not stop communities from coming together to welcome special athletes into their homes and into their hearts. The host town programme that we intend to run in the week before the Games will bring athletes to homes in Craigavon and in Castletownbere, in Enniskillen as well as in Enniskerry. The International Torch Run the event that is so associated with the Olympic Games will again be co-ordinated by the two police forces on this island. They will run side by side, carrying the Olympic Torch from Athens until it comes ashore in Belfast, and bringing it through the island until it lights up the opening ceremony in Dublin.

For that reason, these Games - in their preparation and development as well as in the events themselves - will also provide us with a unique opportunity for reconciliation. For that reason, I am delighted in particular that leaders of civic, business and religious opinion in Northern Ireland as well as in the Republic have come together in the announcement I am making today.

The Impact of a Learning Disability on the Population

  • Learning disability, or mental handicap, has an impact on one in every six families around the world;

  • More than 600 million family members, all over the world, have a child, sibling, parent or spouse with a learning disability;

  • More than a million athletes, in 150 countries, train every week with Special Olympics;

  • More than 5 million people contribute financially to the organisation at local level each year; and

  • Here in Ireland, one in every three people with a learning disability throughout our island take part in Special Olympics programmes in more than 250 schools, centres, workshops and clubs.

It is a huge movement, with the capacity to reach into millions of homes. In turn, that means it commands a huge inclusive audience.

A Positive Approach to Disability

Successive Irish Governments, as you know, have taken a lead in securing the Games for Ireland. We want to raise awareness and consciousness to replace the concept of disability with the perception of ability. We are seeking the support of the European Union and of the authorities in Northern Ireland for the massive logistical and organisational effort involved. But we want and need the support of the business and enterprise sector. We want them to make the investment and also to reap the reward.

The Council of Patrons

Against that background, I have asked a number of people to come together to provide moral, political, and community support for the Games, by agreeing to serve on a Council of Patrons. I am delighted and honoured that so many people, in leadership positions across many walks of life on this island, have agreed to do so without question.

The diversity of talent and experience from the world of politics, business, entertainment, sport and religion gives me great confidence that I, with your help, can succeed in my role as Chairman. I would like to wholeheartedly thank you all and I look forward to working with you to ensure that this island is the envy of the world in 2003.

Games Organising Committee

As you know, a Games Organising Committee has been in place for some months now, and has been working hard, under the committed leadership of Denis O'Brien, to put the planning in place. We want to support that effort in every way we can, and to offer the reassurance to everyone in our community that these will be Games organised by the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland for special athletes throughout the world. The Council of Patrons is a sign that across all our communities, and in every sphere of activity, the people are ready to get behind this project, and make it Games that will forever be remembered as the happiest of them all.

Thank you.

ENDS.