Tipperary athletes heading for the Special Olympics
Scoil Aonghusa pupils to fly the flag for Tipperary at Special Olympics
A team from Scoil Aonghusa in Cashel is heading to the national Special Olympic Games in Dublin this weekend.
September 2025 started out the same as any school year for the 150 pupils of Scoil Aonghusa. Little did many of these pupils realise that 2025/2026 was going to be a year with a difference!
Fast forward to Munster Special Olympics selections night in Cork in early October. Coaches from schools and clubs all over Munster waited with bated breath for each name to be called out in the selection process.
All in all, when selections were completed, Scoil Aonghusa had 28 athletes in 6 different sports selected. What an achievement for athletes, families and schools. Our athletes had been selected to represent Munster at the Ireland Games in June!
Like all athletes in major sporting events, training had to start in earnest as soon as possible to have everyone ready for competition.
Four table tennis players; Oliver, Thiago, Ben and Noah under their coaches, Ciarán and Eamon, trained regularly and improved hugely over a very short period of time. Being quite a technical sport with such a variety of shots, there was quite a bit of learning involved and no small amount of practice. Along with training in school, they have had numerous sessions in Cork with the rest of the Munster table tennis squad. These boys will play both singles and doubles at Clontarf over the weekend. They are mighty competitors and can’t wait to compete on the National Stage.
The swimming team of Seán, Adam, Billy, Jesse, Shane, Sebastian and Michael have trained twice weekly since being selected. One session in the pool in Tipperary Town and one session in Thurles pool. Four of the boys qualified at 15 metre distances but with dedicated coaching from our four swim coaches, Abbie, Sophie, Anita and Ger, all of the swimmers are now swimming 25 metre freestyle and 25 metre backstroke with Sebastian doing 50 metre freestyle. This alone is a major achievement for our boys and is indicative of the hard work they put into training throughout the year.
The athletics team, consisting of Simon, Angelo, Makenzie, Kate, Mya and Seán had to battle the wet weather we’ve had all year to get some outdoor training in. Athletics coaches, Miriam, John and Katie eventually got their team to the TÚS Track in Clonmel for some training in a first-class facility. Along with in-school training, these athletes have made huge progress week by week. To cope with the adverse weather conditions, these athletes have been following gym programmes in our improved gym facility which includes a new treadmill, rower and exercise bike. The athletics team also had a visit to Morton Stadium in Santry to test out the competition venue which was very exciting for them all.
The school has one past pupil participating in the Equestrian event. Declan qualified for the games while still a pupil at Scoil Aonghusa but had graduated and moved to a new placement when he was selected for the Munster Squad. Stephanie, one of the Equestrian coaches, trains Declan weekly in Tipperary Equestrian Centre, Thurles. Declan gets quality individual training weekly with Stephanie and will be competing at Level A. This is the highest level he can compete in and he will be doing trail ride, dressage and equitation.
For the first time ever at Ireland Games the school has a kayaking team participating. Clodagh, Armandas, Rory, Danas, Danny and Patrick will take up the mantle and hit water to compete in the Munster colours. Training on the river was hampered by the extremely wet spring and high water levels but kayaking coaches, Joyce and Ciara, guided by Munster Head Coach, Declan (from Mallow) have put in serious work since February training almost weekly since then. Our kayakers have been to Mallow, Fermoy, Carlow and Clonmel, practising in all kinds of water. They have kayaked over easy weirs and moved onto more difficult weirs and fast, turbulent water. In a short number of months, they have gone from average kayakers to skilled and competent ones. They have had lots of tumbles along the way but they have enjoyed every minute of it. They will compete in singles and doubles in distances of 200 metres and 500 metres.
The final sport of the games that the school has athletes competing in is the Motor Activities Event. This event is for athletes who are not quite ready for other events in the programme yet. It consists of adaptive activities that cater for each athlete’s individual ability. With the focus firmly on individual progress and personal achievement, Motor Activities allows athletes to be involved in, and succeed, in sport at their own level. Mason, Henry, Justin and Anna will do a number of activities in their 2 events. These will involve throwing, kicking, skittles and balance beam. Mary, Stella and Julia, their coaches, will be with them, encouraging them on in their National Games journey.
Last week the school had a really uplifting launch of the team. Over one hundred family members and friends came to the school where the athletes were introduced to all. Videos, food and demonstrations were all part of the night, culminating in the lighting of the Olympic Flame. The athletes formed a torch relay, passing the flame from one athlete to another finishing with our oldest athlete, Oliver, lighting the very same flame that was lit in Dublin by Nelson Mandela at the 2003 World Special Olympics Games. What an end to a great night!
Heading to Special Olympics National Games is a huge achievement. It requires a great amount of dedication and hard work along with commitment to a consistent training programme. Like everything that happens at Scoil Aonghusa, the journey to National Games for all athletes has been a real team effort. Huge credit must go to families, coaches, school staff and volunteers. While each individual athlete will be competing at the games, there is an extensive team behind each and every one of them. Many thanks to all involved in the National Games journey for each of these amazing athletes. We wish each athlete the very best of luck at the games and hope they enjoy every minute!