ALMOST 2,000 athletes will travel to Limerick for the 2010 Special Olympics Ireland Games, it was announced yesterday.
Some 650 coaches and official delegates, as well as a contingent of over 4,000 family members, will accompany the athletes during the games which will take place from June 9th to June 13th.
A team of 3,500 volunteers will support the event. Speaking at the launch held at the University of Limerick, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Mary Hanafin remembered the recently deceased Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics movement.
“Mrs Eunice Kennedy Shriver showed energy, drive and dedication in improving the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. Her legacy is that the power of Special Olympics today is such that the positive impact of the games is felt not just by the athletes involved, but by society as a whole,” she said.
Denis O’Brien, chairman of Special Olympics Ireland’s council of patrons, said next year’s games would leave a lasting legacy on Limerick.