the kilcullen experience

I

2003 Special Olympics, World Summer Games

>'

0'

The Kilcullen Experience

Published by:The Bridge, Kilcullen Community Magazine andKilcullen Host Town CommitteeSeptember 2003

THREE TREES

Kilcullen Pitch and Putt club

entertained the Kenyans on MondayJune 16th. Liam Sherry helps Malikplant a tree on the -club grounds.

70 commemorale fiie visI! 10Xlculfen of

I£e Xnyan c'5pecialOlympic leam I£ree

Irees were planled around/he lown.

7£ey wIllserve as a reminder of I£al

special ftw days I£allouc£ed allour hves

and £opefully as I£ey grow and malure so

100 wIll our relalions£ip WI!£ our ftiends

in Xnya.

On Sunday 15th June the Kenyanteam attended a field day in ScoilBhride. Malik and Milcah plant atree in the school grounds.

Following the ecumenical service by thebanks of the Liffey on Tuesday June17th a tree was planted .at the back of thetown hall. Kieran Forde is assisted byJenipher, Mica and Malik.

Sharingthe FeeLing

I accompanied Bernard and MaryBerney and Siodhna Kavanagh upto Bewley's Hotel in Ballsbridgeto say goodbye to the Kenyanathletes. This was the third time I

had said goodbye to them. Perhapsit was a case of parting beingsweet sorrow. I had taken part inthe farewell party at DannyO'Sullivans, I had gone to Naasfor the Torch Run and I had met

several of them in Santry. I hadgrown weary of the speech-mak-ing and I felt that enough had beensaid at that stage. I spoke toMilcah, Head of Delegation. Sheseemed to be overcome by theemotional intensity of the evening.She told me that words could notexpress what she was feeling."Then there is no need to sayanything," I advised her.

This publication is attempting justthat and I am afraid that we will

most likely fail in our efforts.There is no way that words oreven pictures can convey what thepeople of Kilcullen and theirKenyan visitors felt during thosefew days. Words fail. People enterthe world of the hyperbole and thesuperlative. The whole experiencebecomes almost surreal. Neverthe-

less, this supplement is meant as asouvenir of those important fewdays in the history of Kilcullen. Itis a tribute to the Host Town

Committee and the various peoplewho gave so generously of theirtime. It is also a tribute to the

Kenyan delegation. The Host

Sean Landers

family programme was one ofthe great successes of the gamesand for this reason it occupies aspecial place in this supplement.The programme of events alsomerits some attention especiallythe parade from the Market Squareto the Community Centre.

Several Kilcullen people wereinvolved in Special Olympicsactivities elsewhere. Des Traversand Tony O'Sullivan were in-volved at national level. A newresident to Kilcullen, NicholaKennedy, was heavily involved inthe Healthy Athlete programme.The Scouts helped out during theequestrian events in Kill andFrank Mitchell was involved inthe kayaking events in Leixlip.

Of equal importance was the roleplayed by our own Olympicrepresentatives from Kilcullen:Dermot and Frankie Shortt and

Patrick McMahon. The wonderful

reception they got on their returnto the town was a clear indicationof how we all felt about theirachievements.

Many thanks to all the people whoprovided material for this supple-ment. Noel Clare came up withthe idea. I volunteered to contact

potential contributors. There wasalways an enthusiastic response tomy request for material.

Above: Sean Landers with Malikand Milcah, leaders of the

Kenyan delegation

Below: The Kenyans enjoying thefarewell party in O'Sullivans

2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games 1 The Kilcullen Experience

'--'

SharingThe Feeling- Kilcullen Style

The Kilcullen Host Town programmewas a once-off project which at firstseemed a daunting task, but after 2 yearsdedication and hard work by a gallantgroup of people it was an unforgettableoccasion.

For me personally, taking the role ofchairperson was to be a commitment Ihoped I could fulfil with the expertise itrequired. As time passed by I attendedmonthly regional meetings and sharedideas with other chairpersons. Everymonth a guest speaker educated us indifferent aspects of the Special Olympicsprogramme. The excitement grew andtook over from the nervousness that hadonce been a regular feeling. No doubtJune 2003 was to be an unforgettableexperience.

At local level monthly meetings wereheld initially - gradually increasing toweekly. The Kilcullen team had about 20sub committees made up of representa-tives from different clubs and organiza-tions. We were especially privileged tohave had Siodhna and Shane from thelocal Camphill Community. These sub-committees worked on organizingentertainment, catering, accommodation,transport, and of course finance. Thelatter proved to bring out the wonderfulcommunity spirit that Kilcullen is soproud of and donations came from allsections of the community. It was indeedvery reassuring to see the young peopleso supportive.

At the official launch of the host townprogramme was a priest who had workedin Kenya for many years and he put ourminds at ease when he told us that theKenyan people in spirit were similar tothe Irish. At this stage I attended an inter-cultural awareness programme which wast9 assist the planning even more.

Slowly information began to filterthrough from the expected Kenyandelegation. Fortunately a native Kenyan

girl from Concern became involved withKilcullen and helped relay information tothe host families re diet and the varyinglife conditions in Kenya. The momentumwas gathering. Kilcullen had never beenso colourful, the whole town becameinvolved in decorating, planting flowers,and erecting "welcome banners".

June 2003 was here and countdown wason. Along with everyone else involved, Iwaited in anticipation. We had done ourplanning and were ready to "face thechallenge" .

On 14th June I headed for Dublin Airportwith Fiona and Joan to meet with theKenyan team. There were 32 in allcomprising 22 athletes and 10 coaches,and what a joyful group they appeared tobe. If first impressions are lastingimpressions then this is an occasion thatwill last with me forever.

The following days up to the 20th Juneproved for me to be one of the mostcolourful, joyful and greatest learningexperiences of my life to date. It was awell planned week that went off withoutany sleepless nights and hassle free days.This is due to a Host Town Committeewho were dedicated to their work andproud to be part of an International eventthat superceded all expectations.

2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games 2

The Kenyans left Kilcullen on 20th June2003 leaving behind memories that willlast for many a long day, and friendshipsthat are sure to blossom. On a personalnote I am so pleased to have had thechance to "share the feeling" with somany near and far.

To you all I say "thank you" and to mynew found Kenyan friends "asante".

Philomena Griffin,

Chairperson,Kilcullen Host Town Committee.

Above:

Pointing the finger!Philomena picturedwith head coachPatrick


A Project Management Challenge

Introduction.I first heard in September 2001 thatIreland would be hosting the 2003Special Olympics World Summer Gamesin June 2003, when the company I wasworking for provided some projectmanagement training and advice to MaryDavis and her management team. Backthen the Games Organising Committee(the GOC) consisted of a small team ofapproximately a dozen people led by theCEO, Mary Davis. At that stage, it wastwo years and nine months out from theGames and it seemed there was lots oftime to prepare, however this seemed toevaporate quickly when one consideredthe challenge they were facing. The factsspeak for themselves:

The largest international sporting event tobe held in the world in 2003.. 160 participating countries with

7,000 athletes and 3,000 coachestaking part in over twentydifferent sports.30,000 volunteers.170 Host Towns.First time for the event to bestaged outside of the USAA budget in excess of €50m.

...

.Ireland had never hosted an internationalevent of this size before. The risks wereobvious and some of the questions theGOC faced then were:

. How could the budget be raised?What resources would be requiredand where would they come from?How would one recruit, train andintegrate 30,000 volunteers to giveup their time and work for free inrunning the Games?How would the infrastructure ofDublin cope, at that stage we didnot have a 50m swimming pool?How would those numbers betransported around Dublin to the20 plus competition venues onschedule?Would towns respond positively tothe challenge of undertaking theHost Town Programme?

.

.

.

.

.

Programme ManagementThe sheer scale and complexity of thetask in hand was initially daunting.However it was recognised at an earlystage that this was indeed a unique eventand in order for it to be successful itdemanded a particular management styleand approach. Adopting project manage-

Tony O'Sullivan

ment techniques was part of thatapproach.

My involvement for the first year wason a part time basis, until September2001 when I joined the GOC on a fulltime basis as Programme Manager. Myrole was to advise and assist in applyingbest practice project management in theplanning and organisation of the Games.Reporting to the CEO and workingmainly with the team of nine Directors(see attached Organisation Structure), thisgave me a view across the entire Gamesas I was responsible for maintaining theGames High Level Plan and trackingprogress against that Plan.

Our approach from a project managementpoint of view was to place a majoremphasis on planning. The Games as anevent broke down into approximately 70major projects spread across nine differ-ent Departments. The Host TownProgramme covering 170 towns was onesuch project. All projects had to beplanned and these plans had to bedocumented and made available to all therelevant players.

Milestones were agreed and set againstthe timeframe to ensure that we wouldget the work completed on time in orderto be ready for June 2003. Everybodywas conscious that we would only getone opportunity to get it right and the onecertainty about the overall project wasthat the dates of the Games were fixed inJune 2003. Regardless of what happenedwe did not have the option of pushingthose dates out and this focused us tomeet those milestones on time.

As we got closer to the Games, planswere constantly reviewed, adjusted,changed and more detail added asnecessary with the final plans signed offsome weeks before the Games.

The GOCIn September 2001 there were approxi-mately 30 people working fulltime on theGames. This number grew throughout2002 until at the end of that year to afigure of 130 approximately. The GOCcontinued to expand and grow as needsrequired from January to May when thefinal size of the organisation was 250fulltime staff.

This staff was a very diverse group withwide ranging skills and experience. Allbackgrounds were represented, public


sector, private sector, and voluntarysector. Some had previous SpecialOlympics experience, most did not.Some had worked on other major Gamessuch as the Atlanta Olympics, the SydneyOlympics, the Commonwealth Gamesand the Winter Olympics in Salt LakeCity and they brought that experience andexpertise with them. While most of thestaff were Irish, there was an interna-tional dimension to it as well with somestaff members from as far a field asAustralia, the United States and the UK.

The one common denominator among thestaff was their energy, enthusiasm,'commitment, determination and focus onthe goal set down at the very start toorganise, prepare and deliver" the bestGames ever."

It was not a hierarchical organisation, ithad a flat structure with a strong empha-sis on teamwork and for close collabora-tion and co-operation among all Depart-ments.

Unexpected ChallengesWe also had a number of unforeseenchallenges in the months and weeks priorto the Games. First of these was the Iraqiwar, the concern at the time was that aprotracted war would create a climate ofuncertainty and insecurity causing somecountries to review their plans to travel tothe Games. We had to reassure thosecountries and fortunately the war wasshort lived with no impact on the Games.Even the Iraqi Delegation made it to theGames (that episode is another story).

Another major risk to the Games emergedat a late stage as we were putting the finalpreparations in place in the weeksrunning up to the Games. This of coursewas the SARS outbreak. This was aserious crisis for us at a critical time inour preparations. At one stage it lookedas if five countries that had incidents ofSARS would not be permitted to travel toIreland to attend the Games. One ofthose prohibited countries was China whois scheduled to host the next SummerGames in 2007. There was major

Continued on Page 26

Photo: Ray Kelly & Tony O'Sullivan

. The Kilcullen Experience

.I

TwentyThousandVolunteers

Des Travers

Des Travers was manager of the Volun-

teer Depot which was set up to issue thevarious items of uniform, includingaccreditation, to the twenty thousandvolunteers throughout the country. Inthis article Des reflects on his involve-ment.

A Volunteer Depot was set up prior to thegames in order to issue unifonns andaccreditation to the Special Olympicsvolunteers. This Depot would be requiredto issue some five items of unifonn, tofive different categories of volunteer, apocket book and accreditation (orconduct an accreditation process) forthem. All this entailed prior planning andpreparation. This part of the processcould be described as the beginning ofthe beginning, as it would be the first testand coming together of the Irish volun-teers.

The Depot was fortunate in having as itshost site the DATAPAC company ware-house facility and importantly theenthusiastic inputs of its management andstaff prior to and throughout the process.This entailed the in processing of sometwo hundred pallets of produce, fromunifonns, printed pamphlets, bottledwater, assorted corporate items and such

like. These had to be unpacked, stacked,often restacked and prepared for thevolunteer counter staff with a delivery toshelves planned to be two hours ahead ofdemand. This delivery requirement wasmet at all times.

The DATAPAC backup enabled thevolunteer counter staff to concentrate on

attending to their volunteer customerswithout involvement in warehousingmatters. This was to have significanthealth and safety benefits. It also allowedthem to attend to the optimum of custom-ers. This meant that all stations or deskswere trained for and staffed to deal with

an estimated one hundred customers perhour. This figure became the nonn afterinitial set up experiences and an optimumfigure of almost one thousand fivehundred customers came through thesystem in one ten-hour period.


To achieve the foregoing, it was neces-sary to recruit some seventy-five volun-teers from one hundred and twentypersons on the VMS database. Thisprocess continued with induction trainingfor those selected throughout the monthsof April and May. In addition a depotmanager was assigned who set up aVolunteer Office in the DATAPACwarehouse one month prior to thescheduled opening of the Depot. Adapta-tions to the facility were carried out also:the opening of partitioned areas forcounter staff to access warehouse pro-duce off the racks, the erection of amarquee at the entrance point for meetand greet staffs and the installation of aportaloo, facility in the car-park area, andthe placement of health and safety-relateditems

The Depot opened on Monday 26 Mayand remained in place until 26 June. Toenable it carry outits functions efficientlysome five stations, or desks had to bemanned at all times. These were carparking, meet and greet, help, accredita-tion and unifonn issue desks. The depotmanager was also the safety officer and aduty officer was appointed on a dailybasis.

During that period some twenty thousandvolunteers were processed with unifonnsand accreditation. The satisfactoryachievement of the Volunteer Depot'sgoal occurred without accident ormishap. It remains to be a credit to allinvolved.

Above: Staff at the Depot.Left: Des, pictured with wife Celia and

Eoin Jennings


I.

Painting andSharingEsther Reddy and Brenda Scullion

Special Olympics World Summer Games2003 will never be forgotten in the heartsand minds of everyone, touched by somany events. This year the Gamesheralded new beginnings - the Games hadnever previously been held outside theUSA and Ireland was privileged to winthe bid as host country!

To facilitate inclusion by more than theathletes, Art was included on the bill. Itwas proposed that Host Towns hold anArt Exhibition during the games. It'samazing how one can acquire a job whilstnot even being present when the jobs arebeing given out!! But that's exactly whathappened at the first meeting to markKilcullen's campaign for the SpecialOlympics. Brenda's name was putforward to take charge of the Art Exhibi-tion and Esther said she would be thesubcommittee!

Further meetings with Fiona O'Loughlinand Michele Hughes from GOC made itclear that that the exhibition would bethe grand opening to the excitement andfun of "Sharing the Feeling". It washoped that as many people as possiblewould participate and "Paint the Feel-ing". Armed with relevant flyers, postersand much enthusiasm we set out to thepeople of Kilcullen and its surroundingsto gather together Kilcullen's exhibitionof welcome. We made our hopes knownto our local schools and spent some timetalking to schoolchildren about thebackground to the exhibition and Games.

The enthusiasm was obvious and amember of the Kilcullen Town HallCommittee was approached to ask for theuse of this wonderful building. It was

the wish of the GOCthat all exhibitionscountrywide wouldopen during the firstweek of June.

It became obvious

that even with the amount of spaceavailable to us in the hall we would not

have enough to cater for the amount ofartworks we anticipated, so we ap-proached businesses in the town to help.

an extra pair of hands and another headcame to help in the form of Mary Murphyfrom Gilltown and we tried to figure outhow we would manage to display all theexpected work. Mary was able to acquiresome display stands from her workplacewhilst Brenda got in contact with BrendaBrady from the Riverbank Arts Centre inNewbridge who kindly said we couldborrow some stands but advised that wehad better have a look at them beforecommitting ourselves to their use. Oninspection of these really HEAVYboards,panic set in however this was quicklydissipated by Joe O'Connor and JohnKelly's "its not a problem" and so theconstruction team of John, John Talbotand Joe Dooley came about and steppedin.

These stands were primed and preenedone very hot May Saturday morning inthe farmyard of Matthew Doyle of IvyWall by many large and even hands. Ournext task then was to arrange the standsin the Town Hall and display the exhibits.The works of children from Kilcullen,Brannoxtown, Halverstown,Ballyshannon and Ballysax NationalSchools were displayed in the shops and

business fronts of thetown, along with thelocal Library, CreditUnion and Bank. Thistask was ably under-taken by Sinead,Jessica, Lorraine, Amy,Clare, Zoe and Leoniefrom Cross and Pas-sion. Work wasdisplayed from TheBridge Community,The Steiner School,students from ScoilBhride, work from localart groups and a variety


of artwork from some of the Cross andPassion past pupils who had pursuedcareers in the world of creativity. Thisgrouping was joined by Noel Scullion,ANCAD, art teacher at CPC.

There was a lovely variety of workpresented and displayed in the Town Hallon the days preceding the exhibition.Brenda Scullion set about this task withthe willing help of Mary Charlton, ItaMcCarthy and Anne Stewart - all dabhands with hammer and nails.

The opening of the exhibition wasplanned for Saturday 7th June. BrendaDonohue kindly agreed to perform theofficial opening duties. A wonderfullytalented group of willing, young, musi-cians provided us with music. Thegenerosity of people towards SpecialOlympics became quickly apparent.Refreshments were donated, Leslie L

McCarthy sponsored wine, James Nolansponsored the cheese, Maura Dowlingand Elaine Coleman put the cheesereception together and 11Mahon andSons sponsored soft drinks.

All that we needed then was a crowd toenjoy the opening. We were not letdown! A tremendous crowd arrived andwe were even lucky enough to have inattendance our town's two SpecialOlympians Dermot Shortt and PatrickMcMahon.

The exhibition continued, thanks to thehelp of willing volunteers. until ourKenyan Athletes left for Dublin. On 21stJune the exhibition closed quietly.

Kilcullen "Painted and Shared theFeeling" and now as we sit and reflect onall that happened we have to agree that itwas hard work, but definitely worth it all.

Above: Brenda Scullion, Joe and EstherDooley.

Left: Noel Scullion, Kevin Prendergast,Brenda Scullion and Brenda Donohue.


.

VoLunteerCoordination

On 12th November 2001 I was asked bythe Scouts to attend a meeting in theTown Hall regarding the Special Olym-pics. My reply was "the what?". I hadmixed feelings about going to thismeeting and getting involved. Mainlybecause I knew absolutely nothing aboutpeople with a learning disability.

I decided to get involved and I agreed tobe "Host Town VolunteerCo-ordinator"thinking it would be an easy task. Theweeks went by and I was packed off toDublin to do a course for Volunteer Co-ordinators; wow did the job suddenlygrow. The main thing I learned was, thatSpecial Olympics was about ordinaryathletes, with a learning disability, nomore or no less than that. The learningcurve began.

People that were involved got themselvesregistered and I had good fun with SabinaReddy and Roisin Mc Bride organisingaccreditation for each of them. The dutyroster was set up. Monday morningarrived and the volunteers reported in forduty in their new Special Olympic HostTown polo shirts. We were to have 16volunteers on duty each day, however, Iwas delighted to see that about 30 signedin each morning and wanted to stay allday because they were enjoying their

Joe Robinson

job.

I took great pride in watching the youthand Scouts getting involved, they had funbeing with the Kenyans and showed thisby helping with them all week.

The Host Town Programme would nothave been such an outstanding successwithout the effort each and every Volun-teer made. I can say with confidence thatevery volunteer had a wonderful weekand now know what it is like to "Sharethe Feeling"

Well, the Kenyans came, they saw andthey defiantly conquered our hearts. Theirhappiness and friendliness was seriouslyinfectious and without exception every-one involved developed a smile.

Our job is not finished yet. We are nowat the end of the beginning. The aware-ness of people with a learning disabilitywill always be with us and we have a lotto learn from them. We should continueto be involved in their world. Our world.

The people of Kilcullen have a lot to beproud of. Anyone involved in SpecialOlympics showed that Kilcullen andsurrounding areas can achieve a lot, when

they work together. The spirit of commu-nity well-being, is alive and strong and isan excellent inheritance for our youth.We have a very special gift to hand downto future generations. The only thing itcan do is flourish.

They volunteered and gave their best.THANK YOU

Far Left: Committee MembersAnne Wheeler

and Frances Maher.

Left: Jennifer Landers and CommitteeMember John Kelly


I.

Prayerand Praisedownby the riverside

Like all the outdoor events of the weekthe Wednesday evening ecumenicalservice was held in ideal weatherconditions. The Liffey Bridge and therippling water formed a pleasingbackdrop for a short, joyful celebration.Father Andrew, Pastor Robert and DoctorJohn, representing the three Kilcullenarea Churches, led the worship time madeup of reading, singing, reflection andprayer. Among the highlights - thespirited singing by the Family MassGroup. When they burst into "I've got thejoy, joy, down in my heart" no oneneeded to be convinced that they hadwhat they were singing!

When Rev. John Marsden had finished

reading what St Paul wrote to the earlyChristians - there was spontaneousapplause. This time out the Word of Godwas registering - no wonder - the versionused was right on: HIdon't know aboutyou, but I'm running hardfor the finishline. I'm giving it everything I've got. Nosloppy living for me! I'm staying alert

and in top condition. I'm not going to getcaught napping, telling everyone else allabout it and then missing out myself...

Robert Dunlop

Strip down, start running - and neverquit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasiticsins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who bothbegan and finished the race we're in.Study how he did it. Because He neverlost sight of where He was headed - that

exhilarating finish in and with God.So don't sit around on your hands! Nomore dragging your feet!Clear the path for long distance runnersso no one will trip and fall, so no one will

step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Helpeach other out. And run for it!"

There was prayer for the athletes, theirleaders, their country, their families, theirhosts in Kilcullen and their companionsat the Special Olympics. A movingprayerful piece was read by DermotMitchell.


The whole evening was relaxed andfriendly with abundant refreshments atthe end which facilitated mingling andfriendship-building.It has emerged that interdenominationalservices were held in very few centreswhere Special Olympics teams weredomiciled. Kilcullen got this one rightwith sensitivity and simplicity.Two things would have made the eveningeven more lively and enjoyable - if theattendance had not been restricted toinvitees and opened up to the widercommunity and if the Kenyans had been"drawn out" with their distinctive Africanstyle of hymn singing. Apart from theseabsences it would have been difficult toimprove on a meaningful spiritualinterlude in a hectic and demandingweek.

Above: Megan O'Toole,Aisling Dooley and

Cliodhna Tutty Bardon withFr. Andrew O'Sullivan,Rev. John Marsden andPastor Robert Dunlop.

Left: Kenyan visitors samplewaterfrom St. Brigid's Well.


Ii

Healthy Athletes Programme

The Helathy Athletes Programme was yetanother important and hugely successful

part of the Special Olympics. It tookplace in the RDS and through the pro-gramme athletes availed of a range ofhealth checks including dental, fitness

and eye care. Nichola Kennedy was jointclinical director of the Special OlympicsLions Club International Opening EyesProgramme (SOLCIOE), Ireland.Nichola is one of Kilcullen s new resi-

dents, having moved into CastlemartinLodge 12 months ago. She is a 29 yearold locum optometrist and qualified in

1996 from Kevin St DIT, Dublin. Nicholahails originally from Mullacash.

The aimfor the SOLCIOEprogramme isto provide good quality eyecare and tostress the importance of eyecare to theathletes, coaches andfamilies in a funand friendly environment

Lack of good quality eyecare can meanan athlete may be underpeiforming.Unfortunately, many athletes have somany other aspects of their disability toattend to that their vision tends not to be

a priority and as a result sometimes getsoverlooked

My involvement in Special Olympics

Nichola Kennedy

began as a volunteer for the OpeningEyes programme, at the Special Olym-pics European games in Groningen,Netherlands.

Following this experience, I became amember of the Opening Eyes committeehere in Ireland.

In February 2001, along with fellowoptometrist Lynda McGivney Nolan, Itravelled toAlaska to the World WinterGames, where we both trained as theIrish Clinical Directors for the OpeningEyes programme.

In June 2001, we ran a very basic visionscreening at the Leinster Games, inSantry stadium. The aim of the eventwas to let Special Olympics Ireland seewhat the vision programme was all about.Athletes were advised about their visualstatus at this event The programme wasvery well received by athletes, coachesand staff at SO, Ireland.

In July 2001, I travelled to Cardiff, forthe UK National Games, again to partici-pate as a volunteer and to gain experienceas a clinical director.

In June 2002, the Irish National SpecialOlympics took place in Dublin, and we


ran our 1st complete vision screeningevent ever. It was a huge success. Theathletes were able to come along, havetheir vision screened, and if necessarythey could choose new spectacles and/orprotective eyewear. These were thenglazed on site for the athletes to takehome with them. The service andspectacles are all provided to the athletecompletely free of charge and is avail-able strictly to the athletes only.

June 2003 World Summer Games,Dublin! !This was a massive success for Lyndaand myself and also for the Opening EyesProgramme.. We arranged for over €ISO, 000 ofequipment to be installed at the venuefree of charge, in order to perform thescreening.. Werecruitedandtrained320volunteers from Ireland and abroad to

perform the screening. Our screeningevent was used as a training centre foroptometrists from other countries tobecome clinical directors, like we did inAlaska.. We screened 2400+ athletes in the

9 days of the Games.. We dispensed over 900 pairs ofspectacles and sports goggles. (Theprevious records for the programme inrelation to the number of athletesscreened was 1700 at the WSG in NorthCarolina 4 years ago.)

Above:

Lynda McGivney Nolan,Tim Schriver

and Nichola Kennedy

Left: A scene at the RDS«*


j

Some highlights of the 9 days:We were visited by many VIPs includingMohammed Ali, President McAleese,Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Tim Shriverand the Princess of Japan.

It was the most enjoyable experience ofmy life, and one that I will treasure forthe rest of my life, because we will neverget to experience a World Games in ourhome country ever again. There will beother World Games, but they won't be thesame!!

Now: The aim now of the SOLCIOE

programme here in Ireland is to establisha national and regional programme/legacy for the Games here in Ireland. Wewere fortunate/unfortunate in the sensethat every other country has had theexperience of running regional & nationalprogrammes with the hope that they maysome day have a World Games. We havehad to do the reverse.. The success of the

Games this year will make our jobimmensely easier because everyone in thecountry will know what Special Olym-pics is all aboutThe future: World Winter Games,Japan 2005, here I come!!!!

Thank you:To our major sponsor Lions ClubInternational, who sponsor our visionprogramme world wide. They have given3.3 million dollars per year for the last 3years and at the Games this year theymade further donations for the next 2years. To Essilor, who have signed a 3year global agreement with SOLCIOE asa result of our National games in Dublin

last year. This company has donatedspectacle lenses to the programme.To Safilo, again who have signed a 3 yearglobal agreement which again originatedat our Games last year. This companydonated designer spectacle frames to theprogramme worldwide. To Topcon fordonating all of the equipment to theevent. We are hoping that Topcon willbe in a position to support the Games inthe future, both in Ireland and worldwide.

Some personal thank yous: to Lynda (andJohn) who are friends for life,. to myhusband Rob who has the patience of asaint; to my parents Anne & MichaelKennedy who encouraged me to getinvolved as a volunteer 3 years ago, tothe rest of our family and friends whosupported me and understood why Idisappeared off the face of the earth forthe last 6 months!!

KiLcuLLenLionsLend a HandLions Club International are the majorsponsor of the Opening Eyes Programme.Kilcullen Lions Club actively supportedthe SOLCIOE programme. Four mem-bers helped throughout the week in theRDS -Angela Murray Hayden, EileenDoyle, Siobhan TuttYJBardonandFrances Clare. Jobs varied, but basicallyinvolved assisting the optometrists andhelping with the registration desk. Priorto the Games there were two days oftraining - one in the RDS and the other inthe Green Isle Hotel.

Most countries participated in theprogramme and it was a tremendouslearning experience for those involved,dealing with so many nationalities andcultures.

Kilcullen Lions Club also presented TShirts to each of the Kenyan visitors.The presentation was made at the ScoilBhride Field Day

Above: Kilcullen Lions Club Members

Eileen Doyle and Frances Clare at the OpeningEyes Programme with Eliud as he proudly shows

off the first gold medal won by the Kenyan Team inthe Games

Left: Frances Clare presents T-Shirts to theKenyan visitors on behalf of Kilcullen Lions Club


.

The BannerMen

It started out with a flyer sent through theCPC around January. It said they werelooking for volunteers for the upcoming

Special Olympics and I said why not. Ithought it would be a good experienceand full of memories. So I filled in the

form and sent it away.Around 2 weekslater I got a letter saying I was avolunteer and that I was being placed inthe Host Town Programme. At first Ithought it was a lesser job but I soonfound out it would be the most excitingand more enjoyable area ofTearn2003.

I started going to the meetings where Iwas introduced to the rest of the

committee. It was made up of 30 or sovolunteers who were all very hardworking. Over the coming months wewould assemble a timetable of events that

would keep the Kenyans happy. Most ofthe committee had been working on thisfor 2 years and there was a few like mewho joined in half way through. We hadeverything in place and we just had towait until the Kenyans carne.

The day the came I was coming homefrom Croker(Comeon theLilies),Ithought it would be a good idea if Istopped by and see had they arrived. Thiswas around half past ten and I wasn'texpecting them to have arrived. But theyhad. Most of them were sitting down andrelaxing after a long day travelling and Iwas surprised how friendly they were.They would come to you and shake yourhand. Luckily they spoke a bit of English(I'm bad enough at French never mindSwahili) and it was easy to communicate.I went home knowing this would be thebusiest week of the summer.

In March Shane Nolan and I were asked

to perform in the opening ceremony inCroke Park. Representatives from all thehost towns would be taking part in "ADash Of Colour" and I jumped at thechance. It was only until I got thetimetablethatI realizedhowmuchworkwould go into it. On Thursday morning Iwoke up at 5(am not pm) and, with thehelp of my dad, Shane and I were broughtto the collection point. 5 double decker

Niall Kennedy

buses took us to our

first destination,Parnell Park. We

went throughregistration beforegetting anintroduction to the piece by thechoreographer, David Bolger. At 1pm wehad a packed lunch and then our groupwas called down and split up into groups.I would be in the comer of the Canal End

while Shane was going to be in theHogan end. We went through what wehad to do and then we went off to Crokerfor a rehearsal.

As part of group C we had the job ofwalking with the flags through the seatslaid down for the athletes. It was easyenough but we had to get the timing rightotherwise the effect wouldn't work. Itwas a long day and we got home atmidnight. Friday was the same routine,longday-hardwork,witha dressrehearsal in Croker in the evening. Wegot dressed in the nearby school behindthe Canal End. When we went inside,Bono was giving a sound check that weall enjoyed but when he finished it wasback to business. They rehearsed the startwith Patrick Kielty and our rehearsalwent well.

Saturday came and we were a bit morerelaxed. We knew what we were doingand we had practised it also. The problemwas there wasn't enough flags. Becausethe flags were made of expensive silkthey only made enough for the show,there were no spares. Everything got a bithectic as everyone thought they wouldn'tget a flag, but we soon sorted that out. At4pm we started getting ready. We put onthe t -shirt and trousers donated to us.

There was nothing to do, as there was alockdown of the school, you couldn't getout. But 6:30 came around quickly andwe walked outside. We lined up at theschool and we could hear the roar. We

even had a competition against them. Thetime had come and we walked towards

Croker, meeting Dylan McDermott fromThe Practice (on Network 2, it's good)along the way.

2003 Special OlympicsWorldSummer Games 10

We were waiting inside for to get the call.We were all anxious but excited as well.We were called down and we all shookhands wishing good luck to each other. Itook my position and looked around. Itwas amazing. There was a lot of colourbut the crowd was quiet for now. We hadthe countdown and the crowd wasdeafening. I didn't feel nervous becausethis wasn't a time for it. We did the

performance to the cheer of the crowdand it really got them in the mood. Nextup was the host town flag. We rushed tothe Hogan and took the flag which hadbeen designed by Brenda Scullion andmade by Mary Phelan. We waited forKenya and walked out behind them.There was a real carnival atmospherenow and we made a guard of honour withour flags. Then we left to enjoy the rest ofthe magnificent show, climaxed with thelighting of the flame. Plus I was on the~TV as well (look again if you missedme). It was a wonderful experience andone I'll never forget.

Before I go I'd like to thank the rest ofthe committee for their brilliant workbehind the scenes. I was the youngest ofthe group (sorry if it makes you feel old)and I enjoyed every bit of it. I would alsolike to thank my Dad for driving up anddown to Dublin. Finally I would like tocongratulate Dermott and Francis ShorttandPatrickMcMahonfor doingremarkably well in the games. I wasreally glad to "Share The Feeling" andeveryone should remember "think abilitynot disability".

Above:Shane Nolan and Niall

Kennedy carry thebanner in Naas

The Kilcullen ExperienceII,.

Hat TrickforLandersSchool

The Jennifer LandersSchool of Dancing scored ahat trick during the SpecialOlympics. Dancersparticipated in the Grand Parade towelcome the Kenyan delegation toKilcullen. They also entertained theKenyans at the farewell party in0' Sullivans to mark their departure to thegames themselves.

A group of dancers were invited over toLumville House to entertain the Japanesedelegation who were being hosted byNewbridge. Dancers also took part in theTorch Run through Monasterevan and

entertained the Bulgarian athletes there.Another local dance-teacher, TraceyO'Dwyer, provided dancers for a concertin Donard for the delegates from NorthDakota who were staying in Dunlavin.

MovingAroundMichael Doran and Gese Mucke

Our role was to transport the Kenyanteam throughout the few days they wouldspend in Kilcullen. We used two mini-buses. Each morning we assembled in theTown Hall at 9.30a.m. and then atapproximately 10.00 a.m we brought theKenyan team and their coaches to theNewbridge Athletic Club for theirtraining. There we watched them trainand brought them back for lunch toKilcullen returning them to their hostfamilies for a well-deserved rest.

In the afternoons we collected them againand brought them to CrookstownAthethlic Club where they continuedtheir training. After that it was back againto their host families.

During the evening several functions werelaid on for the team. These included a

visit to Gilltown Stud, an evening out atNaas races which included a meal andsome lively gambling. On their finalevening we had a social night in DannyO'Sullivan's guesthouse, where we hadanother lovely meal. There we got our

chance to say a very fond farewell to thegroup we had become very close to.

The last journey with the Kenyan teamwas bringing them up to Bewleys Hotelin Ballsbridge, which left us with awondertul feeling of being involved withthis ever so special group of specialOlympic athletics.


Left: Committeemembers

Fergal Sloan,Margaret Sammonand Sue Goulding


J

Our Visitors Arrived

Our friends DepartedSiodhna Kavanagh

I loved the whole experience of the visitof the Kenyan delegation to Kilcullen. Itwas a tremendous positive influence inmy life. It gives me joy now, to relivethat lovely week, as I recall certain eventsfor this article.

I was a member of the Host TownCommittee. For us, preparations for theThe Special Olympic World Gamesbegan almost two years ago. For theinitial IS months we attended monthlyplanning meetings and then for the finaltwo months, as D-Day approached, themeetings became a weekly occurrence.

We had prepared well. So, on Saturday14th June, at Wpm, as we awaited thearrival of the Kenyan delegation, at theKilcullen Community Centre, there was astrange mixture of joy, anxiety, fear,anticipation and hope in all our heartsoverlain with a powerful communitygood-will, which generated a quiteelectrifying atmosphere. As the visitors'bus arrived there was a spontaneousoutburst of applause, cheering andwhistling which powerfully exemplifiedthe feeling of welcome that was inKilcullen for our Kenyans. The thirty-two visitors cascaded from the bus in astream of colour, smiles and clapping thatwas heart-warming to see. We all wentinto the Community Centre where initialintroductions were made. We had beenbriefed by a Kenyan woman calledNancy, who lives in Prosperous with herIrish husband, on the culture of her nativecountry and on how we should greet ourKenyan guests. "Don't get too friendly,"we were advised, "and no hugging, justhadndshakes." So, the initial meetingwith members of the delegation was quiteformal. I was glad to have Kieran Fordewith me to break the ice. How dramati-

cally things were to change during thefollowing week.

On the first Sunday, we all attended thePrimary School Field Day. In brilliantsunshine the people from Kilcullen met

the visitors

from Kenya in amost relaxed,friendly atmos-phere. It was aperfect occasionfor breakingdown thebarriers ofshyness andnatural reserve.We participatedtogether in sillygames, putting, wheel-of-fortune, horseriding, racing, we enjoyed the barbecue,we were together in a fun atmosphere.Afterwards, I visited the Berney house-hold to meet Salim, Dan, Joshua andFrancis. I asked hundreds of questionsabout Kenya and about their own lives.Boy, did I get to know them! It was sointeresting for me, to get such first-handinformation about a culture and a peoplewho were so foreign to me. They in turnasked me many questions about Irelandand about Siodhna Kavanagh. At WpmFrancis, their coach, told the lads it wastime for bed. They were having a"party". They didn't want to leave, andbesides, it was still bright outside. InKenya they never go to bed while there isstill daylight. Eventually they werepersuaded that they must get some sleepin preparation for their hectic training andentertainment schedule for the comingweek. That Sunday was a great begin-ning to what was to be an extraordinaryweek.

At 9am each morning I was at the TownHall to greet the Kenyan athletes andcoaches, to accompany them on theirtrips and to make sure everyone wascatered for. The days were long andtiring, but I enjoyed every moment. Somany highlights, the parade on Monday, amiraculous event made possible by thewonderful support of the people ofKilcullen. The visit to Gilltown Stud,

during which the athletes joyfully tooktums at pushing my wheelchair around,


transporting me from place to place,encouraged to do so by their coaches.The night in 0' Sullivans was very specialfor me. We had a meal and then therewas dancing and singing. It was clearhow much relationships had developed.The love and regard heaped on me, by theKenyans, was powerfully affirming forme. And so to our first farewell to ourbeloved friends. On Friday we headedoff from the Community Centre to Naas,to with our Kenyan friends to see thetorch run which was passing through thatday. A little treat for me on this occasion.I was placed, in my wheelchair, in thefront rank of those awaiting the arrival ofthe torch, flanked on each side by a lawenforcement officer, one from Canadaand the other from the Czech Republic.Would you wonder that sometimes duringthat glorious week, I felt a little bitspecial. I know that this feeling wasexperienced by many of the people whotook part, in whatever capacity, in thisgreat event.

Finally, there was the week of the SpecialOlympic World Games. During thisweek I made four visits to Dublin,1) The Opening Ceremony2) A day at Morton Stadium3) The Closing Ceremony Cont'd

onnext

page

...


.

TheTorchRunLisa-Marie Dooley

The lighting of the Olympic Torch andthe Olympic Flame is always the mostspectacular event of any Olympic Games,and this year was no exception. This yearthe Special Olympic Torch was to makeits most memorable journey. It was thefirst time the Special Olympic torch wasto be lit outside the United States.

The torch was made in Newbridge Co.Kildare. It was lit in Athens in the

beginning of June and travelled aroundEurope and Ireland, and finally on Friday20th June made its journey to Naas. Theatmosphere in the town was electric.Children from the local schools had comeinto the town with their own hand made

versions of the Special Olympic Torch.The town was lined with colourfulbanners and flags as the children andpublic waited anxiously for the athletesfrom New Zealand & Kenya.

The parade began, led by the Scouts fromNaas, and the Kilcullen Scout Unit wasproudly represented by Emlyn Hegarty-

Kelly. The Scouts were followed by teamNew Zealand in vintage cars, waving tothe crowd and clearly enjoying beingchauffeured through the town. Closelybehind was the all colourful, all singingand all dancing Team Kenya waving theirflag with pride. As everyone waited forthe Flame of Hope to arrive music wasplayed into the streets giving the KenyanTeam time to show off their dancing.

At noon the Torch carried by the PoliceService arrived into the town. It was

carried through Naas on an open toppedbus. The sight of the torch brought a tearto many peoples eyes. As people began tomake speeches the reality of this hugeevent began to sink in. We listened to the

moving words of the Special OlympicAnthem then the Flame of Hope startedits final run to Dublin and Croke Park.

Later our Kenyan team, Scouts, HostFamilies and friends made our waythrough town singing & dancing to theFairgreen where we had a picnic. Therewas a sense of sadness that the HostTown Programme was finished, butexcitement and anticipation about whatwas to happen in the week ahead.

The Torch Run was truly a memorableexperience and I think nobody in Naasthat sunny day will ever forget it.

Our Visitors Arrived

Our friends Departed (cont'dfrompreviouspage)

4) A visit to Bewleys Hotel, Ballsbridge, to say goodbyeWhat did I learn from the whole experience? It doesn'tmatter whether they are black or white or blue or purple,people are just people. Being in a wheelchair doesn'tmatter either, friends are still friends and love is still all-powerful. The Kenyans were very open, friendly, lovingpeople and their presence in Kilcullen opened my eyes tothe fact that Kilcullen people also have the capability to befriendly, open and loving. During this time, I have made~omenew friends in our town. As I travel up to do myshopping in Supervalu, I receive many welcome greetings.I feel that the people have learned a better understanding ofspecial needs and are not so nervous or anxious whendealing with people like me.

What did our Kenyans learn, I wonder? Well one thing Iknow, from personal experience, they learned that, whilehandshakes are good, hugging is a thousand times better.On Saturday 14th June we greeted our Kenyan visitors.On Monday 23rd June we said goodbye to our lovelyKenyan friends.

2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games

.;:-

13

Our friends departed:Laura Cogan with Kenyan friends

January and Lorine at the farewellparty in O'Sullivans


J

Scouts Sharethe Feeling

And so dawned the 22nd of June and a

week of polishing shoes, fixing necko'sand tucking in shirts lay ahead. As all theScouts touched down in Kill on that

Tuesday morning, the excitement andanticipation was unlike anything the 9thKildare Unit had ever experienced.

As this intrepid band climbed the stairs tocheck in, we were greeted by an anxiouslooking Richard Reade trying not to showhis panic, while counting heads andshouting "If you're not at the main doorby 11o'clock YOU'RE DEAD!" (Niceway to be greeted on our first day!)

Noon that day saw the Scouts, Leadersand Venturers nervously gathering intheir appointed positions in the arena tobegin the first awards ceremony. Witheveryone in their positions the musicbegan and we were off. Nerves wereovertaken by concentration and thank-fully the first ceremony and all thatfollowed after ran smoothly. Who wouldhave thought that our Scouts couldbehave so professionally? (ObviouslyDick Reade marching us around the Denover and over paid off in spades)

But it wasn't all a week of nerves andconcentration. There were giggles and

Terri Finglas 9th Ki/dare P.R. 0

fun to be had as well. Some memorablemoments include phantom celebritiesbeing sought out high and low by scoutsand leaders alike - Colin Farrell, Bon Joviand Westlife's Nicky to name but a few.(Rumours stemming from the leadersunique sense of humour no doubt!)

But of course the most magical thingabout the whole experience was meetingthe most important people, the athletesthemselves. Boyfriends and girlfriendswere picked within the first hour but bythe end of the week they had become thefirst of many as the athletes painfullydecided which they would marry. Manywere the broken hearts.

Saturday came around all too quickly andscouts and leaders alike found it hard tocontain their tears as they polished theirshoes for the last time. And so it wasover. As we all gathered in the arena forthe final time the emotions of the lastweek set in and the tears flowed. All thatcould be heard echoing around Kill arenawas "what do I do now that its allover?".

As the closing ceremony finished theweek with a bang we all soldiered onsecure in the fact that the 9th KildareKilcullen Scouts definitley "Shared TheFeeling"

The Host Family Programme

What a great group of people to haveworked with over the year in preparationfor our Kenyan visitors. Our HostFamilies in Kilcullen surpassed allexpectations and truly opened their heartsand homes to our visitors and gave thema tremendous Cead Mile Failte. The Host

Family Programme was very much acentral part of Special Olympics.

Fiona Sloan and I visited the host fami-lies on the Saturday morning of ourvisitors arrival - we were greetedeverywhere with a 'huge welcome' and'sparkling homes'. While this was the

Joan Forde

beginning of the actual event, it was theculmination of numerous meetings, muchform filling and planning. We werevery happy that our visitors were in safehands. During the week nothing was toomuch to ask of our host families. Theywere there to help out in anyway possi-ble. Our visitors adapted into the Irishway of life and soon claimed familymembership.

Tears were shed when we said our final

goodbyes but the relationships and bondsstruck between our Kenyan visitors andthe Host Families will last forever.


Colin Lambe (above)attended the Host Town

events in Kilcullen and theresult is afour hour video

presentation

Thank you all.


J

Sharethe FeelingShare the Family

Mary & Bernard Berney

On Saturday 14th of June at Wpm I stoodoutside the Community Centre ,with agroup of Kilcullenites ,awaiting thearrival of the Kenyan Delegation whowere staying in Kilcullen prior to theirparticipation in the Special Olympics.Bernard and I had volunteered to hostfour of the visitors. I must admit I wasfeeling a little anxious at the thought ofhaving four absolute strangers from astrange country staying in our house for aweek. What would we talk about? Whatfood would they like? Would we getalong together? A million such questionsflooded my mind and heightened myanxiety. My worries were considerablyallayed as soon as the Kenyans alightedfrom the bus with a single song and athousand smiles. Such a powerful senseof peace and joy emanated from thegroup that you could almost touch it.Shortly afterwards in the CommunityCentre, we were introduced to our fourvisitors, Dan, Salim, Joshua and theircoach Francis. Any remaining anxiety,!may have had,disappeared immediately.These good people would be our friends.

We arrived home at"Kinloch Brae" at

11.30pm.I had"learned" at meetingsfor host families,that our visitorswould have more orless the same taste asourselves infood,with specialemphasis on salads,fruit and rice dishes,so for supper Isuggested saladsandwiches with tea.I was very politelyinformed that hot foodwas much the preferred choice in theircountry. Out came the pan and we allenjoyed a feast of fried eggs on toast.Sunday we had a lovely day together thehighlight of which was the PrimarySchool Field Day. How our friendsenjoyed, the Wheel Of Fortune, thePutting competition, the Running, theHorse Riding and all the various sideshows.Most of all, I think,we enjoyed thewonderful atmosphere of happiness andjoy that permeated that event.

Mary and Bernard Berney with Francis,Dan, Joshua and Ramadhan

On Monday our friends left the house at7pm to go for a run. They headed out theNaas road. Unseen by Francis andJoshua, Dan and Salim turned left atMellon Hill. The other pair thinking thatthey had continued on the main roadstepped up their pace to try and catch up.Dan and Salim soon got tired andretraced their steps arriving home at 8am.Francis and Joshua having been in-formed, by people working at Sillot HillLandfill site ,that no Africans had passedthat way anxiously turned for home. Howrelieved they were to discover Dan andSalim happily seated at the table enjoy-ing their breakfast. Subsequently all earlymorning training runs.were within theconfines of the "compound", in otherwords our garden.

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go


Our athletes were three quite differentpeople. Joshua and Salim were greatchatters. Dan hardly ever spoke but hehad the most beautiful smile which saidthings that, perhaps, words could notadequately express. Joshua was veryhappy with his life in Kenya.Salimwished to stay in Ireland, go to college C

and study to be a coach. Dan I think justwanted to be Dan. Three very differentpeople, yet very much the same in thewarmth, love regard and personal self -esteem that each one of them exuded.

The week flew by. It was a joy to haveour Kenyans as guests in our house. Itwas a wonderful experience to join in thevarious celebrations in Kilcullen with thewhole group.Their visit rekindled thecommunity spirit in our little town.! dofeel that by coming to Kilcullen theKenyan delegation contributed a lot moreto our village than we gave to them, byhosting their first week in Ireland.

Finally a lesson learned; it is not thecolour of the skin, nor the choice ofreligion, nor the country of origin thatmakes people what they are. It is thespirit within which, if properly nurtured,could make the human race as one.


-0/

A SpecialMomentin TimeAnn, John, Lisa and Gavin Dooley

The house was cleaned and polished towithin an inch of its life for the much

anticipated arrival of the Kenyan delega-tion. We had been looking forward to thisday for months and as it finally arrivedthe nerves set in. Would we be bigenough to deal with cultural differencesand the disability of our visitors? Wouldwe be able to make their stay enjoyable?Could seven people live in a threebedroomed house for a week? What

would they eat? Would they hate the dog?Would the dog hate them?

And then with flashing lights and hornbeeping the bus arrived in Kilcullen andwe set eyeson the singing, dancing,colourful Kenyans for the first time. Wehad the honour of being a host family totrainer Maureen and athletes Winnie andLorine and easier, more considerateguests were never invited into a home.They were absolutely part of our familyfor the best ever six days in Dunstown.During the week we learned a lot aboutlife in Kenya. Imagine life without awashing machine!! Warm milk in yourtea and oiling your hair rather thanwashing it. Our coach, Maureen wasfascinated by how much John and thechildren help in the house and when Johnsuggested that he might move to Kenyafor an easier life she was very quick toreply "No, No I will send my husbandhere." Mr. Alur may be in for a shockwhen his wife returns from the SpecialOlympics with some of "our ways."Lisa and Gavin are very interested inhorse riding and the two athletes weredetermined to get a photograph onhorseback to take home. We had someanxious moments and fun as with the

help ora step ladder very early one

morning we tried toachieve this. I can

only imagine whatpassers by must havethought at the sight ofthese beautiful girlstrying to mount hugerestless horses on our

driveway at 7.30a.m.As the week passedthe girls, who hadbeen very quiet andshy on arrival, totallychanged. Lorine smiled,helped in the house,fed the dog and showedoff her shot putt talentsas she beat Gavin at basketball. Winnie

had her moment of glory on the horse.She enjoyed John's antics very much andone look from him could elicit a smile

from a previously serious face. Shelaughed when we teased her aboutstinking with the Deep Heat, being usedon her swollen knee.

John, Anne, Lisa and Gavin Dooley withMaureen, Lorine and Winnie

Siobhan's cake and many a tear.Wethought this was a goodbye to ourextended family. However the nextWednesday in Santry was to see moretears and joy as the Kenyans continued tocollect medals and we had the chance towatch athletes from allover the world bebrave in the attempt. This is not tomention the incredible emotion andpleasure of attending both the openingand closing ceremonies in Croke Park.Some of the highlights of their week and

ours were the parade through Kilcullen.Congratulations John Brady - the vintage

cars ("chariots "according to our visitors)were a big hit. We enjoyed the spectacleof these beautiful athletes, dressed inorange T-shirts, training on a dull day inNewbridge. Kilcullen Town Hall was awonderful, sunny, warm, happy placeeach morning as athletes coaches andhost "Mamas" greeted each other andcompared notes. Words could not de-scribe the party in O'Sullivans, wonder-ful people, new friends - Irish andKenyan, lovely music, great dancing,kind words, thoughtful gifts, beautifulflowers, nice food, alcohol free,


On the last Monday night, more than twoweeks after their arrival, we said a finalfarewell to our special friends in BewleysHotel. We had another lovely evening aswe admired the medals, watched that nowfamiliar dance, heard their song for thelast time and most of all tried to be brave

about their leaving.

Thank you to the Kenyan delegation forSharing the Feeling with us and a specialthank you to Joan Forde and the KilcullenHost Town Committee for allowing us tobe part of this once in a lifetime event.Wehavelearneda lot andlife willneverbe quite the same.

Far Left: Volunteers Mary Phelanand Daniel Sweeney.

Left: Paddy Humphries had a warmwelcomefor Celestine in McTernans


Truly Privileg'ed

r

On June 14th, 2003, a bus carrying 33Keynan Visitors pulled into the Complexin Kilcullen and changed our family's lifeforever.

It was in October 2002 that I suggested toJoan Forde my willingness to help withthe Special Olympics. I filled out forms,went to meetings and said I wouldn'tmind what I would do, sure I could offeraccomodation if needed. All this stillseemed in the far distant future and whenI was asked to host 3 or possibly 4Keynan Athletes I thought no problem.However, as the time drew nearer, so didmy doubts. None of my family have everhad much contact with people withSpecial Needs so we wondered if wewould ever be able to cope for an entireweek. But when that bus drew intoKilcullen it was a little too late to changeour minds.

~

At lIpm on Saturday 14th June, 33Keynans alighted the bus and 10 hostfamilies waited -me with trepidation.We piled into The Complex and met ourcharges. The 3 athletes who were to staywith our family were Jenipher, Januaryand their coach Celestine.

They were tired and hungry after theirlong trip and it was late so that night wedidn't really get much time to interactwith them. My first impressions were thatit might not be too difficult.

Sunday dawned and their request was togo to church -Celestine and January wereCatholic and Jenipher belonged to adifferent church. They met our ParishPriest Fr. Lennon before Mass and hewelcomed them during the cermony.That evening we had a barbecue at our

Monica Sheehan

friends the O'Dwyershouse as they alsowere hosting 3athletes - male-Patrick, Josephatt andTenby.We invited Fr.Lennon to join us andwe truly had awonderful evening ofsong and dance andgot to know ourguests. Whateverdoubts wehad vanished and weknew that the rest of theweek held no worries for us. They ateeverything on offer and Celestinecharmed us all with her singing anddancing.

James, Colm, Mark and Monica Sheehanwith Celestine, Jenipher and January

Jenipher was 14 years old and as I have a13 and 15 year old daughter I couldrelate quite easily to her. Her Englishdidn't appear to be good, but as the weekprogressed I realised that she was shy andher English was in fact quite passable.She was from a family of five, and shealso had a brother with special needs.

January was born on January 1st 1975.She was pretty and outgoing. She helpedwith the younger children in St.Catherine's Special School and she hadthe great honour of being one of theOlympic Flag carriers at the OpeningCermony in Croke Park.

Celestine, was charming, a teacher ofspecial needs children and a woman ofhuge personality and ability to puteveryone in the mood for dancing andsinging. She obviously loved her job ascoach and was hugely popular with allthe athletes.

These were our guests and they weretruly a pleasure to have and we as afamily felt privileged to be part of thisvery special event. My 17 year old sonColm spent most days in Morton Stadiumwith them and he enjoyed it so much. Itwas a new and very rewarding experiencefor him. Colm was lucky enough to beable to attend the opening ceremony inCroke Park and he said it was a magicalexperience. My other son Mark attendedthe closing ceremony and he also thought-it was a wonderful experience.

At the end of a week we were so sorry tohave to bid farewell to these wonderfulpeople. They mostly came from verypoor backgrounds and some from verydifficult family circumstances but, myfamily was certainly richer for theexperience they gave us. We will alwaysremember that week as one of the mostmemorable of our lives and I thank theSpecial Olympic's Committee, and .especially Joan Forde for affording usthe truly great privilege of being part ofthis historic occasion.


Far Left: Anne Bathe was medicalcoordinator of the Host Town Programme

Left: Jean Marie Wardfrom Dublinwas DAL (Delegation Assistant Liaison»

to the Kenyans during their stay inIreland. While in Kilcullen she stayedwith the Gahan family and ispictured

here with Geraldine.


TheShortt Putt

When Dermot Shortt took up golf fouryears ago, little did his father realise thatone day his son would win a gold medalin the Special Olympics. Frankie is anold hand at golf and took up the game inthe '60's to keep himself out of trouble.He must surely be the only member ofthe Curragh Golf Club who possesses anOlympic gold medal. " I started playingwith the other jockeys," he explained."Back in those days, the owners and thetrainers used to watch us like hawks. Ifyou were seen in a pub, you wouldn't geta ride. Of course, the owners didn't seemto realise that there was a bar in the clubhouse." He is modest about his ownperformance-which he describes as " astruggling 12" but he won the Captain'sPrize in the mid-80's. He loves the game."Come hail, rain or shine, he needs verylittle encouragement," Mary told me overlunch in the Copper Kettle. "Even if hehad an arm and leg falling off, he'd stillgo out to play."

PLAYINGOUTOFONEBAG.Twenty-three-year-old Dermot startedplaying in 1999 with the Kilcullen Pitchand Putt Club. "It was just to get him outof the house so that he could mix with

other kids and get a bit if exercise,"Frankie explained to me. He used to playwith his nieces and nephews. MarySherry of the local club was a big help. "She taught him how to hold a club and tochip, " Mary added. He did that for twoyears and was then introduced to theCurragh Golf Club. "We used to go for awalk around the course or maybe play outof one bag,"Frankie said. "He absolutelyloved it. He had been involved in other

sports such as swimming and bowling buthe dropped them. He kept with the golf."

A great achievement andone that we can all beproud of.

LEARNINGTOBEPATIENT.Then Frankie started to coach him. It wasan education for him. "I have learnedtolerance from Dermot over the years.One thing that he wouldn't stand for wasverbal abuse. He'd sit down and thatwould be the end of it. I was beingeducated. I had to be patient. Of course,sometimes my patience would run a bitthin. In a situation like that, you give hima hug rather than a reprimand."

TEEINGOFFATSUNSET.They began training in earnest about ayear ago. They were out on the golfcourse five days a week with the kindpermission of the Curragh Golf Club.Frankie paid a special tribute to thepresent and past captain of the club. "Ofcourse, we'd play when the place wasquiet and not so busy. We'd often do it atsunset. We might play six or seven holesand then spend half an hour on theputting green. Dermot enjoyed theexperience. "Despite his learningdisability," Frankie told me, "he has thatlittle bit extra."

GETTING TO THE FINALS.

Getting to the Olympics was not aforegone conclusion. There were qualify-ing games. Frankie and Dermot wouldtake part in the Alternative Shot competi-tion in the Special Olympics. Theywould play together as partners and eachof them would play alternative shots.They then had to participate in the AlI-Ireland competitions held in Elm Green.Once they had been accepted for TeamIreland, there was a lot of hard work stillto do. "From October to May, we had tomeet up with Team Ireland one weekend

LOCALseaJ

every month. We had golf practices. Wegot to meet the other members of theteam."

AHEADOF THE POSSE.

Then the Special Olympics started."There were two preliminary rounds,"Frankie explained to me, "and then theprocess of divisions began. Dermot and Istayed in Division 1 from Day 1. OnMonday and Tuesday we won four of ourfive games. Wednesday,Thursday andFriday, we had to be good." And theywere. "By the end of play on Thursday,we were nine shots ahead of the posse."The two other teams in their divisionwere from the United States.

THEJOYOFWINNING.When he won, Dermot was absolutelydelighted. "He jumped about six feet intothe air!" That sense of joy was also veryevident on his return to Kilcullen. It was,indeed, a great achievement and one thatwe can all be proud of. "Dermot put a lotof work into it. He liked it. He neverobjected to the practicing. The rain neverstopped him. If we couldn't go to the golfcourse, he'd take a bucket of balls outonto the lawn and practise his putting."

THE FUTURE.

It is not allover for Dermot and Frankieyet. They hope to qualify for the Euro-pean Games in October. And there isalways Shanghai in 207!

We wish them continued success.

Above: Sheila Peacocke pictured withPatrick and Dermot at the Welcome Home

Ceremony in the Town Hall


J

HEROESLanders

PatrickMcMahon:AnAll Rounder

When it comes to the Special Olympics,Patrick McMahon is an old hand. He hasbeen involved for the past twenty years.And he is also an all-rounder. He hasrepresented Ireland in swimming, pony-riding, softball, gymnastics and football.As far back as 1985, he won silver andgold medals in the European Games.

INDEPENDENT.

Patrick's father, James, was also deeplyinvolved in the Special Olympic move-ment. In a piece in the September 2002edition of THE BRIDGE, James spoke ofthe importance the games had for himand his family. "The Special Olympicshave given James an opportunity totravel, to meet and make loads of newfriends, many of whom are still in contactwith him. Patrick has also become veryindependent and if you know him youwould agree 100%."

IN THENEWS.

Patrick and his family have made specialfriends with a host family in Florida. Thestory of how this special relationship

developed is revealedin a piece in "TheSouth Bend Tribune

by Tribune StaffWrite, MartinDeAgostine.

"It all started withPatrick McMahon, asomewhat shy butpleasant youth withDown's Syndromewho has been in-volved in SpecialOlympics for nineyears. In 1987, hewas scheduled tocompete as a gymnastwith the Irish Teamduring the games atthe University ofNotre Dame. When amedical problem keptPatrick from travel-ling, his parents, whooperate a denim-

manufacturing firm, decided to comeanyway to support the Irish team. Whilehere, they stayed with the Millers, whohad volunteered to accommodate avisiting family during the games.Whether it was the luck of the Irish orsomething else, the couples hit it off sowell they decided theMcMahons shouldvisit again. "That's why we've comeback four times," Eileen McMahon said.

Since then, they have been back to visitthe Millers on another four occasions.

Their latest trip was last year shortlybefore James tragically died.

CONFIDENT.When I called to the Naas Road tointerview Patrick sometime ago, therewas no evidence of this shy young man.As his had father predicted, he hasbecome quite independent. He has a jobin Dunne's Stores in Newbridge. Hetalked about his participation in Games inBrighton and Strathclyde. In the recentWorld Games held in Ireland, he partici-pated in the five-a-side soccer competi-


tions. "There were six teams in eachdivision," Patrick explained to me. Theevent was held at Belfield. "There wasone girl on my team. I know two of theother players: Jason Wheelan andStephen Prendergast from Naas.I was thestriker. We tried very hard but we didn'twin. The gold medal went to the teamfrom the USA. We stayed with families inLucan."

The late James McMahon was closelyinvolved with KARE over the years. "Hewas Chairman and Treasurer of KARE atdifferent times," Eileen told me. "He wasalso on the Board of Management of StAnne's School on the Curragh. So, itcame as a great honour that he was madeKARE Person of the Year.I was sooverwhelmed by the occasion that I wasspeechless and Patrick had to get up andsay a few words in accepting this won-derful award."

We wish Patrick well. Hopefully, you willbe able to go to Shanghai for the nextWorld Games. Sorry you didn't win amedal this time but we are proud that yourepresented us so well.

He has representedIreland in swimming,pony-riding, softball,gymnastics andfootball.


---.

We werethe luckyonesSiobhan Tutty Bardon

In our house we were really lookingforward to the arrival of the Kenyans!I'd gone to the necessary meetings, we'ddrawn the map, checked the atlas and theinternet for background information,we'd even finally furnished the sparebedroom. So we were really wellprepared well maybe, there was justone thing -we still weren't sure exactlywhat to expect or how it would all workout. But we weren't worrying about thatand not necessarily because we're reallylaid back people, no, it was mostly downto the fact that we simply didn't havetime to worry!!!

The day of their arrival we were busywith last minute preparations; of coursethey'd notice that bit of dust on the topshelf or a few weeds in the flower garden.Now the word "early" is not one thatrests well with me, I'm not usually"early" for anything and it reminds me ofthe time when I used to get up "early" togo face the traffic on my way to paidemployment. I was quite surprised thenwhen I got the phone call to say theKenyans were arriving in Kilcullen"early". But what's an hour or so whenthis was what so many people had beenworking relentlessly towards for overeighteen months and I'd been workingtowards for one week!

The arrival of the coach and the excite-

ment of seeing them descend from it issomething I'll never forget. I couldn'twait to find my girls and was quicklyscanning IDs till I found Sheila who thenhelped me find Judy and their coachVIrginiah. Little did I realise that thiswas just the beginning of what was tQbea brilliant and unforgettable week, but fornow the main thing was to get the girlshome and let them get to bed. I did makesure to tell them on the way home that wedidn't have any maids as our informationhad been that depending on their back-ground it was possible that they couldhave what are know in Kenya as housegirls, and I didn't want them to expect toomuch. I needn't have worried.

Over the next few days we learned lots -

both about the girlsand ourselves. Noneof the three werefrom wealthybackgrounds. Sheilawas not able to

speak very well butcould easily under-stand us and had analmost permanentsmile on her face.Judy was extremelyshy, didn't have muchEnglish and spokevery little, but anytime we managed tobreak through the shyness and get her tosmile, it was simply beautiful. Unfortu-nately she would quickly go back tobeing shy again. VIrginiah, their coachon Saturdays, and an IT teacher duringthe week, had left behind her husbandMoses and her four-year old son Brian.She is not very well paid for the work shedoes and her employer was not payingher anything for her time spent workingwith the Special Olympics. She was oncea very good athlete herself and lovesworking with the girls.Her day is long, rising at 5.30am andfinishing at around 10pm. At the schoolwhere she works the children lie downand sleep for an hour and a half. This isnormal practice in Kenya due to the hightemperatures. School runs for periods ofthree months followed by one month off.

Siobhan, Connor, Cliodhna and AoibhinTutty Bardon with Sheila, Judy and Virginiah

Back home the fIrst test was probablytrying to get everyone (Kenyans andchildren) out on time on Monday morn-ing, I'd visions of us being the lastarrivals at the Town Hall. But all wentfine. Despite warnings that the athletesmight be slow moving the girls were wellable to sort themselves out and before Iknew it were sitting at the breakfast table.The children also performed according toplan once they got over the shock ofseeing a properly laid breakfast table inthe dining room instead of the usualcasual approach adopted at the kitchentable! I quickly discovered that the girlswere more than happy to try out differentfoods and were fond of Irish bread and

2003 Special OlympicsWorldSummer Games 20

the children's breakfast cereals. While Imade lunches, washed teeth, brushed hairetc. the girls insisted on clearing the table- things were looking better than usual bythe time we left the house - on time.

And so the days passed, we checkedschedules, listened for the doorbell, wentover the day's events, shared stories andintroduced friends. In the evenings wewent along to the social occasions andinvariably went to bed later than in-tended. The children took all this in theirstride and were having no trouble sharingthe house with VIrginiah,Judy andSheila. We learned more about the girls,how Judy could not straighten up whenshe'd started two years earlier withVirginiah. She is from a big family andher mother is a nurse. Sheila on the otherhand is an only child and extremelyaffectionate, she loves clothes andchildren, though I'm not sure in whichorder. Virginiah told us about some ofthe different tribes and how some gotalong fme while others were poles apart.A lot of the things we take for granted inlife they don't possess, she doesn't have acar, a phone or even a washing machine -but she does have dignity and is ensuringthat her son will be well educated so as togive him the best possible chance in life.From listening to Virginiah we were alllearning just how well off we are here inIreland and looking around at how muchunnecessary "stuff" we have.

Cont'don next page

~


Oncein a LifetimeCarmel O'Connor

A unique, once in a lifetime experience isthe only way we can describe the SpecialOlympics. When we were asked to host afamily we were a bit apprehensive,particularly the children, but we've allbenefited greatly from it and the childrenwere sorry to see them leaving.

Our three guests were Samuel the coach,David and Muthama. They were ajoy tohave and they settled in so easily it wasno trouble. On the Sunday evening, theonly evening they didn't have to go out,we decided to have a sing song for them.We invited a few friends and had a lovelyevening. Later in the evening we askedSamuel if he would like to sing and hedid. He sang two very spiritual hymns.As most of us were involved in thefamily Mass group, we decided toreciprocate finishing with a celtic bless-ing. It was a very pleasant evening.

Muthama and David had very littleEnglish and Muthama in particular was

very shy. However,as the week went bywe discovered that

he had a lovely smileand by the time hewas leaving heseemed much

happier in himself.When we went toBewleys to saygoodbye on theMonday night,Milcah remarked on how much Muthamahad changed since his arrival.

Shane, Niamh, Joe and Carmel O'Connorwith David, Samuel and Muthama

One of the evenings during the week webrought them into Lifestyle Sports to buythem new runners. They had never wornany shoes until they came here. WhenMuthama put on his new runners he wasso excited that he ran around the shopshouting "I run, I run, I run, I run, I run, Irun". We got some strange looks, but itwas well worth it.

We went two days to Santry Stadium towatch them run. They won one gold twosilver and one bronze medals betweenthem.

Samuel has e-mailed us several timessince his return and is still talking aboutthe wonderful time they had.

All in all it was a wonderful experience,which we will never forget. We wouldn'thave missed it for the world.

- We were the lucky ones (cont'dfrompreviouspage)

They loved everything they were doing and greatly appreciated anything we did forthem. And so the days flew by without a glitch. On the Monday night we all went tothe parade. On Tuesday the girls arrived home early and we were delighted to havesome extra time with them. Judy and Sheila played football with Connor, whileVirginiah looked through lots of photos with Cliodhna, Aoibhin and myself. Laterthat evening we went to the Ecumenical Service. On Wednesday we managed tomake time for a quick shopping trip to Newbridge before their excursion to the NaasRaces. Thursday was the school sports day and the children were delighted to seethe girls visiting their school. Later in the day it was time for the farewell party andso hard to believe that their stay with us was coming to an end. We'd had a greatweek, and we had a great night in 0' Sullivans. The committee thanked the hostfamilies but I felt like I'd done the easy bit, not going to all the meetings and work-ing for months on end organising the various events. No, we'd just come in at theend and had the pleasure of their company. And they'd taught us a lot, or maybe wejust learned from listening to them. Suddenly we knew how well off we were, notjust to have our health and all our "worldly goods", but also to have love. At onestage Milkah, who headed up the delegation, said that apart from everything elsewe'd given to the Kenyans we'd given them the gift oflove, something that theydon't necessarily have back home.

And so at the end of the day and while we were very sad to see "our girls" go, wecertainly felt that we were the lucky ones, lucky to have had the opportunity to be aHost Family.


The CakeMade by Siobhan TuttyBardon for the farewellparty at O'Sullivans, thecake was decorated withthe names of the entireKenyan Delegation withthe Irish and Kenyan flagson top


--.I

A Special Momentin TimeThe Jennings Family

Finally June 14th arrived. This wasthe day that our visitors fromKenya were scheduled to arrive. As

a family, we are not known for beingready for guests too far in advance!! Sowhen we received a call saying that 'theKenyans' would arrive earlier thanexpected there was a bit of last minutescurrying in our house.

Any worries that we held about the wholeexperience appeared to evaporate whenthe party arrived at the community centre.The flag waving and spontaneous singingof songs by the visitors created a bondthat was to grow and develop during thecoming week. Having located our group -Milcah (Head of the Kenyan Delegation),Andrew and Kimanthi - we all headed

home quickly as they were tired aftertheir long journey. Their first day with uswas a busy one. They attended a schoolplay and a field day in the local primaryschool. However there was time forgetting to know our guests over dinnerand they felt very much at home. Andrewhad competed successfully in twoprevious Special Olympics in the USA

- while it was a first outing for Kimanthi.They told us about their lifestyles inKenya. Andrew was the more vocal ofthe two athletes, describing his passionfor cycling and his training regime. Heloved to sit and chat, talking freely abouthimself, his work and his home. He tookgreat pride in all of his achievements. Heis involved in an Aids Prevention Pro-gramme in Kenya, indicating his aware-ness of the difficulties presented by thisdisease. Kimanthi was a more reservedman but had a warm, endearing personal-ity whose face lit up when he flashed hisbeaming smile. He was very happy toplay pool, football or basketball with anymember of the family or their friends.Watching TV was very popular alsoalthough the hectic schedule of the weekdid not leave much room for that andnaturally people wanted to talk andexchange information.

As the week progressed, our visitorsbecame more and more relaxed to such

an extent that they abandoned their ownsurnames and so three new members

were added to the Jennings clan. Andrew

and Kimanthi tookgreat pride in helpingme complete ourwindow boxes. Asthey are in full bloomnow, they serve as areminder of our dearKenyan friends.

The social events ofthe week wereparticularlyenjoy-able. The highlightfor them was beingtransported in thevintage cars. A lot ofthought went intodressing up for theseoccasions and theresult was always aspectacular display. Milcah's choice ofoutfit and co-ordinating head -dress wastruly spectacular. On complementing heron the dress, Milcah reassured me that Icould wear it also since I had' goodKenyan hips'!!

Rachael, Anna, Matt and Eoin Jennings withKimanthi and Andrew

It was a great pleasure to to see theathletes at a training session and towitness their effortless sprinting. It waseasy to lose sight of the fact that this wasalso a serious sporting event. Milcah,Malec (Assistant Head of Delegation)and I went on a short shopping spreewhile the athletes were training. Thisgave us an opportunity to check outclothes, phones and make comparisonswith their own country. Milcah managedto buy a lovely outfit as a memory of hertrip to Kilcullen. It was during this tripthat the ever jovial Malec referred to mylittle trustworthy car as a 'shoppingbasket, not a car' !!

The trust placed on the whole communityof Kilcullen by the families of theseathletes was very humbling. I thoughtmany times about the level of anxietywhich I would have if members of myfamily were heading to such a distantdestination. I enjoyed the experiencetremendously on so many fronts -myonly regret is that our pre-booked holi-days prevented us participating in theevents of the last week. Hopefully we canmaintain contact with our friends inKenya.

Anna.


Before the Kenyans came to ourhouse I was kind of nervous. Butafter a day they started to become

part of the family. Their names wereMicah, Andrew and Kimanthi. Theyseemed to like our food and liked thesame things as myself. Except they werebetter at eating vegetables than I was.Kimanthi drank Coke but Andrew drankorange juice. They did not make any fussabout food, just ate whatever we werehaving as a family.

After a while they were playing football,snooker and basketball with me and my

friends. They all came to see me in a playat my school. They then went to ourschool field day. Both Andrew andKimanthi rode a horse for the first time

that day. They were very happy aboutthat. We sometimes watched TV togetherand ate crisps. They came to our schooland enjoyed the performance that we puton for them. The night before their lastday in Kilcullen we had a big party and itwas very good. And all too soon it wastime to say goodbye.

I went to the opening ceremony in CrokePark and then it was allover. I reallyenjoyed having Milcah, Kimanthi andAndrew staying with us and I hope wewill see them again sometime.

Eoin -)-


J

We were not part of the originalplans for accommodating theKenyan delegation in Kilcul-

len, but I think because the numberscoming increased somewhat late in theday our chance to playa part material-ised. The news of the imminent arrival ofthese unexpected guests caused someapprehension initially. Would we be ableto look after them properly, would thefood be ok?, Would we be able to com-municate with them?

That apprehension rapidly disappearedunder a wave of excitement and curiosityas we got more information on who thepeople were, what they might be like,what sports they were involved in. Themost wonderful and exciting part of thewhole thing then began to take hold -therealisation that we were playing a realpart in something very special. We got somuch out of the whole experience frombeginning to end that we feel almostguilty that it didn't cause us some hassle.

We very soon got to know a lot about thebackground and lives of our three guests.Their courtesy, graciousness and abilityto fit in made their presence in our homea privilege. It's always enriching to talkto people from different cultures espe-cially people from Africa with it's recenttribal structure and huge economicproblems. How our guests lived theirlives in the difficult economy andpolitical system that is Kenya was an eyeopener to us. At the end of the day apartfrom the colour of their skins and the factthat they were a lot (and when I say a

- lot I mean a lot!!) fitter than the averagecustomer you might find in Brennans ona Saturday night, they were not thatdifferent to ourselves. As for the learningproblems which allowed them to be partof the Special Olympics, well the skillsdisplayed by our friend Andrew when hewent to buy parts for his mountain bike inNaas wouldn't be wasted on a parts buyerworking for General Motors or Boeing.Milcah had shown great bravery to behere having had recent serious healthproblems and the relatively recent deathof her husband. She proved to be astrong very articulate woman of culture.

The benefits of having these people stayin our home did not end with what wegained from their stay. Being part of thewhole occasion with our friends andneighbours, especially the trip to theopening ceremony was a very specialexperience.

I can only sum up the whole thing byquoting a member of another host family" We should have one of these everyyear"

Matt

The week before the arrival of TheKenyan Team, all the finer detailsof their stay were ironed out.

Sleeping and travel arrangements werediscussed as well as the difficulty wewould most certainly have fitting at thekitchen table together! I was demoted to amattress on the floor in my brother'sroom but was glad to be able to do my bitto make the athletes stay as pleasant aspossible.

I was away the night they arrived butarrived back home the following day. Ididn't know what to expect when Iopened the door. I was introduced toAndrew and Kimanthi first and wasgreeted by big smiles from the two veryprofessional looking athletes who werealready engrossed in a pool tournamentwith my brother and his friends. Milcahwas relaxing in the kitchen when Iarrived and greeted my friends and Iwarmly when we were introduced.Milcah was amazed by the many differ-ences between Kenya and Ireland and didnot understand how the cows in the fieldbehind our house were left there withoutbeing stolen!

In my many talks with Andrew, I foundthat he was very intelligent. His favour-ite topic of conversation was definitelybikes and he took great pride in showingme the pictures of his bike back home inKenya. On a visit to Flemings in Naas,the owner of the shop was bowled overby Andrew's knowledge of bikes. Healso makes jewellery in Kenya.

Although not as talkative as Andrew,Kimanthi, the 100m sprinter was never-theless a great pleasure to have in ourhouse for the week. Kimanthi lovedplaying pool and gave both my brotherand I many challenging games. LikeAndrew, Kimanthi enjoyed watching TVimmensely as they only had black andwhite televisions back in Kenya. He willbe most remembered in Kilcullen for hisflipped cap and sunglasses -worn byevery member of the Kenyan Delegationat some time or another!

Milcah, the leader of the Kenyan delega-tion took great interest in all our lives,and life in Ireland in general. LikeAndrew and Kimanthi, she was affectedby the "cold", even though it was prob-ably one of the hottest weeks in June.Milcah's friendliness and genuine interestin my life contributed greatly to myenjoyment of the week

The week spent with the Kenyans wascertainly an eye - opening one for me. Ihadn't expected them to be as able-bodied and interesting and it definitelychanged my attitude towards people with


disabilities. I believe that both theKenyans and the people of Kilcullengained much from the Host Townprogramme. On all fronts, it was aresounding success.

Mark.

When I first heard about thepossibility of being a hostfamily to the Kenyan delega-

tion I was glad I was able to be a part ofsomething so great and important but alsoslightly nervous about having peoplefrom such a enormously different cultureto our own. Would they speak English?what were their disabilities? Wouldcommunication be difficult? Would weperhaps insult them somehow withoutmeaning to? There were also morepractical problems such as where wouldthey sleep and would our food be suit-able. So we did our best to think of anypossible problems and did a bit of a purgeon the upstairs bedroom, which was a bitof a state. My kind brother volunteeredhis bedroom saving me from eviction andwe had the task of making his roomsuitable for female inhabitation (not apleasant operation to say the least!), ashis room was to go to the female coach.

The night of their arrival came at last andthe parents went into the complex to pickup the athletes and the head of thedelegation.If we werenervousabout c

meeting our visitors our nerves wereunfounded as it was clear that they hadvirtually flawless English and werefriendly and wanted to become part of thefamily. The two athletes names wereAndrew and Kimanthi and the head of thedelegations name was Milka. Kimanthiwas quieter than Andrew who was verychatty but as the week progressed he toocame out of his shell to a certain extent.Andrew had a keen interest in cycling,cycling miles every morning in his hometown. He also was interested in moviesand really enjoyed watching my littlebrothers video: "Star Wars:Attack of theClones". Kimanthi enjoyed music andwas delighted with our gift of a Walkmanand tapes. He was also rarely seenwithout his shades and cap! We had a lotof chats about life in Kenya and reallylearned a lot about their culture from allthree of them. I couldn't believe it whenthe time for them to leave for Dublincame; it felt like they were barely herefive minutes. It was an interesting andenlightening few days and a time that Iwill never forget. I can only hope thatthey enjoyed the experience as much~asour family did.

Rachael


IIi

Sawahiliin the Showers

When we offered to accommodate some

of the Kenya delegation, like most others,we did not know what to expect. It's only6 days -how bad could it be?Little did we know that it would turn outto be one of the best experiences we'veever had.

On the fIrst morning we were awakenedat 5.30am by the sound of Swahili in theshowers. However the lively programmearranged by the committee and the peopleof Kilcullen soon tired our guests and byday three they were having a lie in until6.30am. We hosted the chief coachPatrick Wanyama who was an athletehimself and has worked as a volunteer for23 years training these special athletes.He also proved to be quite a character. Heexhorted my husband to take a stand andstop helping with domestic tasks. Men inKenya don't do that type of work. Healso told me many times to respect myhusband. One of our athletes, Josephath,arrived from the airport quite ill butthanks to Anne Bathe and Dr Kelly herecovered and went on to win two goldmedals in both his long distance runningevents. Josephath is one of twentychildren and comes from the Rift Valleywhere all the great Kenyan runners comefrom. They achieve their great results

Gemma O'Dwyer

despite a diet verylow in meat but highin cereals and milk.Josephath had nevertravelled outside theValley before andwas amazed bywestern technology.He loved the CDplayer and became aNirvana fan duringhis stay. Our secondathlete Isaac comesfrom Mombasa andhas a job in a wood-work shop. He hadtravelled to the USAbefore so was lessfazed by ourtechnology. All ourguests were extremely polite, friendlyand good humoured. Patrick has writtento us since their return and says that in allhis 23 years with the Special Olympics,the welcome they received in Kilcullenwas the best ever. He is also very pleasedwith the team's performance here- Theywon a total of 16 gold, 9 silver and 6bronze medals.

Gemma and John O'Dwyer with Isaac,Patrick and Josephat

how many material comforts we take forgranted. We also learned the price wehave paid. As Patrick Kavanagh said,"we have tested and tasted too much,

lover- through a chink too wide therecomes in no wonder". The Kenyans hadso little but were so happy with any newexperience or kindness they received.The experience also confIrmed, what wealready knew, that there is a great com-munity in KilcullenWhat did we learn from the experience?

We learnt just how easy our lives are and

2003 Special OlympicsWorldSummer Games

After the parade through the town theKenyan visitors were introduced to Kilcullen

people in the Community Centre whereentertainment was also provided. A special

presentation of a St. Brigid's Cross was madeto Milcah by Sister Mary from the Brigidine

congregation in Kildare.

24 The Kilcullen Experience

Life with two wivesLiz, Padraig, Luke and Kate Maloney

If you ask Luke, our 3 year old son, what he wants to be when hegrows up he'll tell you he wants to be a fast runner like the Ken-yans! We took Luke to Morton Stadium to see Godfey, Samueland Jotham, the three athletes that had been staying with us,compete in their athletic events. Luke was very impressed and thiswas certainly the highlight of the Special Olympics for him.

Before our visitors arrived we were a little anxious about howKate, our 15-month-old daughter, would react to having fourstrangers stay with us for a week. We needn't have worried; Kateloved having four tall, dark, athletic men fuss over her. Katereally enjoyed the farewell party in O'Sullivans. Her dancecard was full all night; she even had two of the athletesfighting over who would dance with her at one point! Padraig, Luke, Liz and Kate Maloney with

Christopher, Samuel, Godfrey and lothamAs for Padraig and myself, we can't pick out one particularevent or moment we enjoyed the most -it was all brilliant.From seeing the fascination on the boys faces when John Brady took them on a tour of his bog to Christopher's, (a Kenyan coach)tales of life in Kenya (In Kenya it is typical for a man to have more than one wife -Padraig's still not sure if life with two wiveswould be better or worse!). And from seeing the athletes who were quite shy at the beginning of the week come out of themselvesto watching their remarkable performance in the Olympics - we enjoyed it all.

We couldn't have asked for four easier, more considerate guests. We learned a lot over the six days and made many new friends bothfrom Kenya and Kilcullen.

We were all winners

For many months I was waiting to land inIreland for this wonderful event, theSpecial Olympics. On 14th June I startedmy life at Kilcullen where we all livedwith host families. The experience wasexciting, good, warm and full of joy andthis made our training and acc1imitisationvery easy. Within hours, we had allsettled down. I had a very good timewith my athletes at the O'Connor family.

The fields for training at Newbridge andCrookstown were quite good and thepeople we met there were all veryfriendly. The facilities were also excel-lent and fields very green. This made ourtraining very enjoyable and safe.

Each day we experienced a new life aswe vjsited different restaurants where wehad differend kinds of Irish food at St.Bridget's Pitch & Putt Club, Berneys,The Hideout, Roundys, The CopperKettle, McTernans and An Tearmann.The food was good, sweet and delicious.

The host families gaveus a very special time.The experience I wentthrough was mostenjoyable. The weekflew, as every momentI was making newfriends, meetingpeople and familiesevery time. The time Istayed with Joe andCarmel and theirchildren was very good.They ensured that the athletes werehappy and had a smile on their faces.Just like other host families it was painfulwhen time came to part. The friendshipwe had developed was more than justfriendship. We lived like families andenjoyed the Irish food altogether.

Samuel G. KiuraAssit. Head Coach

Colm and Mary Murray with RichardEliud and Mustafa

Dublin. Their support and cheering madethe athletes do very well. At the end wewere all winners and celebrated thevictory together of 16 gold medals, 6silvers and 9 bronze. To all KilcullenHost Families, you were very special.To all I say thank you very much for youmade us feel at home far from home

Due to the good hospitality from theKilcullen community we did quite well inour competition at Morton Stadium'in


11

An enriching experience

The 2003 Special Olympics WorldSummer Games will always be remem-bered with fondness and affection in ourhouse. We were enthusiastic but a littleapprehensive at the prospect of being ahost family, but looking back on it now, itwas an unforgettable experience.

The organising committee, having done'all the hard work over the preceding twoyears made it easy for the host families asall their careful planning kicked in andeverything fell into place.

Hamilton, Mica and their coach AbdulMalik, stayed with us, and they relaxedand made themselves at home veryquickly. The sun shone for the week aswe all flew around making sure theathletes reached their training sessionsand all the various activities and func-tions which were organised throughoutthe week. When they were at the house,Mica and Hamilton got to know Eoin,Nessa and Aoife very well. They sam-

The Gorman Family

pled the delights of GaelicFootball, practised theirrunning skills on our frontlawn and took part in ournormal family life. Thechildren enjoyed learningabout life in Kenya. Theywere surprised to hear ofthe similarities between ourtwo countries.

Tony, Nessa, Therese, Eoin and AoifeGorman with Mica, Malik and Hamilton.

The farewell party at O'Sullivans wastinged with sadness as we were about tobid farewell to our new friends, but it wasa night we will remember for a long time.We all 'shared the feeling' that night, andas we said goodbye in Kilcullen the nextmorning, we all felt that we had justshared a very enriching and uniqueexperience and had been part of anhistoric experience.

As we waved our flags in Croke Park atthe opening ceremony, we all felt greatpride, that this event was being hosted in

our country. We stayed on for a longtime, waving to our Kenyan friends, notwanting to leave. The experience ofSpecial Olympics has changed ourattitudes about people with a learningdisability. People all over the countryhave been touched. Volunteers, Commu-nities and host families have all beenworking together. It has been an experi-ence that has lifted our spirits, and in thisvery materialistic society that we live in,it has made us open our hearts andenabled us to give, without looking foranything in return.

Continued from page 3

disappointment and frustration among theGOC at this news. This was nothing I'msure to the disappointment felt by thosedelegations whose athletes, coaches andfamilies had trained and prepared for fouryears to compete and attend these Gamesonly to be faced with the prospect of nownot travelling. The crisis had to bemanaged at a time when our effortsshould have been focused elsewhere.However, at the end a solution was foundand all the SARS affected countries didmake it to the Games.

The LegacyThe Games were a national event and forthose two weeks in June, Ireland reallydid itself proud in hosting these Games.They were an outstanding success and thegeneral view is that Ireland took theGames to a whole new level and setstandards across the board, which will bedifficult for the organisers of futureGames to match. Two months after theGames the GOC is still receiving lettersand.e-mails of congratulations fromaround the globe. The Irish peoplewholeheartedly embraced these Gamesand it gave them the opportunity to showto the world their generosity, their spiritand unselfish commitment. It would be

difficult to acknowledge the contributionof all but for me some of the key con-tributors were:

The volunteers from all walks of life whoanswered the call in their thousands.The families who opened their homes andtheir hearts to host athletes and visitingfamilies.The Host Town Committees who workedtirelessly. Kilcullen gave the KenyanDelegation the time of their lives duringthe Host Town week. It is important torealise that what happened in Kilcullenwas also happening across the entireisland of Ireland in 160 cities, towns andvillages.The sponsors who gave generously.The people who fundraised and supportedthe Support an Athlete Campaign.Finally one does not often get the oppor-tunity to acknowledge the support of theGovernment and politicians from allparties but this is one situation, whichwarrants that.

One of the goals in bidding for andhosting these Games was that it wouldsecure a lasting legacy for people with adisability. There is no doubt that afantastic start has been made. Publicawareness levels are at an all time high.There is hardly a person in the country


who has not heard of the Games and whowas not touched by the event. The realheroes of course were of course theathletes. For me and for many othersthey provided the highlight of the Games,their joy, their dedication, their enthusi-asm, their commitment, their skill, theirattitude was inspirational. For theseGames the emphasis truly was on abilitynot disability and in this regard theathletes did show the way.

The challenge now is to build on thesuccess of the Games to ensure that thereis greater understanding and levels ofawareness going forward and thatattitudes are permanently changed andopportunities are provided to improveand enhance the lives of all with alearning disability. The goodwill andenergy of all who were part of Team 2003has to be harnessed and put to goodeffect. Many a volunteer has said thatthey would like to do it all again andmore, that they got far more out of theGames than they put in to it. I would alsoendorse that sentiment, for me personallyit was a hugely enriching experience anda privilege to have been involved in the2003 World Summer Games. It was anevent that has made a difference andhopefully will continue to do so long-term.


J

The BradyBunch(To the air of Christy Moore's Lisdoonvarna)

In this poem Padraig Maloney captures some of theatmosphere which the EntertainmentCommittee helped foster during the Kenyan visit.

How's it goin' there everybody,From Brannockstown, Nicholastown, Logstown,Kilcullen Town, Sunnyhill and Milemill,Here we are in the County KildareIt's a long, long way from Kenya to here.There's a Special parade and Giltown studO'Sullivans, where the craic was good.Billy Redmond and sound by FrankJimmy Lee and Brady's bankThere's tea and buns lorried inIf it's a welcome you want, go to Kilcullen.

CHORUSOh, Oh KilcullenKilcu, Kilcu, Kilcu, Kil, Kilcullen!

Everybody had an effort to make,Be it build a float or bake a cake.The multitudes, they flocked and thronged,To hear the music and the songs.There's 32 in the Kenyan DelegationAnd the town turned out for this African NationThere's people there from everywhereShane Nolan said he saw the Earl of Kildare.There's Celestine with her fancy dressAnd Christopher in Markeys' easing the stress.There's Charlie Brown who built the Great wallo' ChinaAnd the Drama Group represented by Sabina.The Kenyans even had their own wailersAs they were drawn by Dillon's trailers.We all stood and watched them passBe God he had a fine ass.

There's Sinndar at 30 grand a shotSiodhna said "get the collection pot".There's Herbie who undertook the truckerWho said go away ya ould fat ......


The Kenyans were leaving us on a Thursday nightSo we partied at O'Sullivans till first light.There's John and Joe on the box, Phil and Una on chorus, Paulon the spoons, and Tom with a winner.There's set dancers, set dinners, harp players, harp drinkers,future medal winners and the Kiltegan Fathers to forgive thesinners.


There's people there from Moanbane and McGarry's Lane, Ithought Philomena would go insane.There's Lambe on the video and beef on the menu, Maurice onthe mike, and everyone on the ball.There's step dancers, break dancers, Irish dancing, Kenyansdancing and volunteers everywhere.I tell ya, if it's a Special welcome you want you'll find it here.


There's women with hair meshesAnd the Ballymore band just back from the Feis'There's Grennell School, Landers School, Bridgets School,And Chris on the highstool.There's Mass goers, new comers and multitudes of on lookers.There's old cars, new friends, grownups in diapers and mcingbikers.There's Civil Defence, but no uncivil behaviourThere's pulling together to pull in a favourThis is heaven, this is hellWho cares, oh the video will tell.


Well Friday came and we said goodbyeFrances remarked there wasn't a dry eye.According to Smullen,Newbridge, Naasor a Curagh raceHaven't got a patch on the Special town of Kilcullen.

CHORUSOh, Oh KilcullenKilcu, Ki1cu,Kilcu, Kil, Kilcullen!

Photo: Philomena Griffin,Chairperson, Kilcullen Host

Town Committee with

Fiona O'Loughlin, NationalCoordinator of the Host Town

Programme.

27

The Kilcullen Experienl

Left: JohnBrady onthe bottle.

Right:Herbie

Eager drivesa Porche

Left: Philomena BreslinAbove: Pat GouldingRight: Paddy Maloney

Right:Post Office Staff

Left: The Stray Inn

Below Left:Jude & MaireadConnellan driving a1924 Fiat.

Below Right:Maggie and MarthaKelly and Nuala

Egan AT THE PARADE


J

Left: FionaSloan and

DympnaReddy

Right: Dickand KittyReade.

Below:Frances andNoel Clarewith Celestine

FAREWELLPARTY

Above: Paul Carey and Dan O'Sullivan

Below Centre:Magdelene and Larry Campbell

Below Right:John Talbotdances with Virginiah

Above: Christopher andVirginiah


Want to HorseAround?Doit at Kill

Richard Reade (AwardsCo-ordinator Kill)

In October 2001 an article in our Scout-ing magazine announced that CSI wouldbe helping out at the Special OlympicsWorld summer games 2003. As it wassomething I always wanted to get in-volved in, I put my name forward to helpout. Fast forward to June 2002 andtogether with a brilliant team of 14Scouts and leaders we are conducting themedal ceremonies for the NationalSummer games at Kill Equestrian centre.

Now it was on to the big one, the WorldSummer Games 2003. This was clearlygoing to be far bigger than I had everimagined, now the biggest task wasrecruitment. In order to run the medal

ceremonies properly we had to have ateam of 34 on the ground every day of thegames. After much pleading, arm-twisting and appeals, we ended up with ateam of 72 committed Scouts from

Kilcullen and Naas. My problem nowwould be trying to select 34 people eachday; it meant that each day I had 38substitutes should anybody be unable tomake a selected day.

I coulddetail herean accountof whathappenedday-by-dayat Kill, but that would defeat why Iwanted to write this article. For, dearreader, what happened at Kill defies amundane description. My Scouts, OurScouts, Your Scouts made me feel soproud. Sure the leaders did their job,they did them to perfection; the awardceremonies ran like clock-work. But thatis what I have come to expect from theleaders of the Kilcullen Scout troop. Butthe Scouts were simply amazing, straightaway the scouts recognised the ability inthese Athletes, they befriended, laughed,sat and chatted with, and looked out forthe Athletes. It was the scouts who ranthe front of house show and they did itwith grace, style and elegance.

Once the Athletes were presented front ofhouse to begin the medal ceremony, ourScouts became their escort for theduration of the ceremony. What began at

During the long winter months of 2002/ the start of the week as a polite hand2003, training was proceeding as shake an introduction very quicklyplanned. The medal ceremony, like any became a hug and a kiss towards the endother ceremony at the games is a highly of the week. Our scouts shared in the joyorganised and planned event. The that the Athletes themselves experienced.athletes have to be checked-in, then they But above all the Scouts showed a side

need to be prepared for the medal that many people forget that youngprocession. The medals and ribbons also people possess. The looked out keeping aneed to be prepared and presented on watching eye during the ceremony forboards all leading to the presentation. any Athlete that became distressed, theyThe presentation is the part of awards to guided the athletes with a very tender butthe front of house, the bit that makes it all loving hand and by doing this, theyso worth-while; the joy on the faces of all allowed the Athletes to remember a verythe athletes, the love that radiates special moment for the rest of their lives.throughout the arena during the presenta- Ciarain B, Elaine Clifford, Lauration makes it a perfect world, even for Clifford, Gavin and Lisa Dooley,Laurathat short space of time. When the and Emma Doyle, Emlynn and Waynepresentation is over, the athletes need to Kelly, Ciarain (Curly) McMahon, Katebe checked out again. Nolan, Stephen Nugent, Ross O'Dwyer

Top -Team Ireland at Kill Equestrian Centre

Right -Galiana is escorted by Terri Finglasduring the presentation of her medal


and Mark Traynor take a bow, for whatyou offered during these games, thepeople of Kilcullen should be very proudindeed.

Not only did your Scouts do you a greatjustice, but also to the leaders whoworked "behind" the scenes and made

my job such a pleasure. To Kitty, Dick,Joe, Sandra, Pabo and Siobhain whoworked with me almost from the start, tothose who helped for the duration of thegames themselves. They all representedKilcullen with great pride. I almostbecame tired of people coming up to meduring the games and complimenting theScouts, I say almost as I could never tireof such praise. The Scouts lit up thevenue, they were good humoured, polite,respectful and above all willing to shareof themselves. In a time where so manyyoung people get bad press, I write thisone extolling the virtues of young people.They have a renewable energy source,they all brought this to the Games venue,and they unleashed it with vengeance atKill, suffice to say that all the peopleloved what the saw.

Even beforethe gamesstarted, underthe carefuleyes of JoeRobinson,many of ourScouts hadstarted a veryearly loveaffair with the

Kenyan team.Of courseKenya with itsspecialscouting connections (it is where thefounder of the Scout movement is ...


J

buried), had some members of our teaminvolved as host town volunteers. Theytook the Kenyan team so well to theirheart that on their days off from Kill,they were off to give support to theKenyan's at other venues. Also, so goodwere our team at Kill; that we were

asked to provide some help at theKayaking event on Friday. We were ableto provide them with Scouts to help out(at very short notice I asked and got 4volunteers).

We travelled to the closing ceremony asa team united in the fact that we had beeninvolved in something very special andsomething life changing. We havememories which will stay with us for therest of our lives. It was emotional, it was

special, it was everything we had hopedfor and expected. It helped all of us tofocus on the word ability which some-times gets lost in the word disability. Itwas a time where mere words cannotexpress the pride of being part of such aprofessional team. One little cameosummed up the whole games for me, oneof the awards involved three Athletesfrom different countries who had nevermet each other, while they were waitingfor their medals, the three of them stoodin a row (instead of a normal line)holding hands and smiling at each other,the could not speak each others language,but their was no need, their love wasoverwhelming, they were very happy tobe here. Just like all of us I guess.

Medals Ready for Presentationat Kill Equestrian Centre

More Horses!

A Trip to GilltownFollowing in the steps of film stars,business tycoons etc, it was inevitablethat our World Class Kenyan Athleteswould pay a visit to Gilltown Stud. TheStud is in a beautiful setting and isowned by His Highness the Aga Khan.John Brady was the leader for theevening that would see us visit the studyard and meet some of the most expen-sive horses in the world today.

We all met outside the gates of Giltownand entered through a beautiful tree linedavenue that brought us to the main house.

Ray Kelly

We were met byFrank Faughnan. whowas to be our chaper-one for the few hourswe were there. He

gave us a tour of thetrophy room whichhouses some of the

Racing Trophies won by horses ownedby the Aga Khan. A nice leisurely strolldown by the lake gave our Kenyanfriends and us some good photo oppor-tunities.


Some of the Athletes wereamazed at the buildingsand green grass, whichthey would not normallybe exposed to in Kenya - Ithink all of the Kilcullenfolk felt the same way....Onward then to meet thegreat horses whose namesmost of us had heard offrom listening to andwatching the classic races.

Introductions were madeas each Stallion was

31

brought out by Liam Foley and a briefaccount was given of their winning andstud fees. It was enjoyable to listen toNoel Clare as he passed on the informa-tion regarding covering, stud fees, teasersetc., to some the Kenyan Delegation whothen passed the information to the non-English speakers who strangely enoughrolled around the grass laughing...

A relaxing walk back through the gardenswhere the team could take their time andenjoy the scenery. Training that eveningwas cancelled as the team were quitetired after their day.

Above: relaxing withthe stallions.

Left: Joe Dooley andSabina Reddy


II

An Eveningat the Races

Mary Charlton

In a haze of anticipation four Special Olympic teamsconverged on Naas Racecourse on Wednesday June 18th-Japan, New Zealand, North Dakota and Kenya.

After a meal in the marquee a wonderful evening ensued withmusic, dancing and betting! The visiting team from Kenya waslucky in that they picked a few winners - in fact they told usthat the proceeds were going towards the purchase of newrunning shoes.

Following a lively demonstration of traditional Kenyan dancethrough the crowds and in front of the stands, the race goerstook the athletes to their hearts, so much so they were invited bythe Sponsors to present the trophy to the winning owner of thefinal race of the evening.

Top: Jenipher and Lorine enjoy NaasRaces

Above: Mary Charlton, Gese Muckeand Mary Berney watch the Kenyan

athletes train in Crookstown


What follows is a brief description of the night by Ray Kelly.Please note that some poetic licence was taken......

An invite to the races by the Naas Host town group,Saw us pack our buses with the Kenyan troupeWe arrived on the course, the team looked really neatAnd out to the marquee for a bite to eat,

The party began with the band and the dancing,Salim and Maureen were on the floor prancing,Sheila, Jenipher and Judy really looked ace,With Daisies and snakes painted allover their face.

The races began amidst all the craie,Kilonzo back the horse which was coloured all black,He watched as it ran round the course at great speed,But alas it was second this noble black steed.

Then word then came out, "there's a bookie right here,"And Frances Maher gave the tips of the year,Milcah celebrated as the tips all came in,And Samuel won too, you could tell by his grin.

Christopher and Mary were engrossed in one raceEliud the quite one had a smile on his face,He'd bet on the winner, put two euro on the nose,He won with a bet on a horse called Ambrose.

We backed some slow ones both Siodhna and meJohn Talbot backed fast ones and made some monee,Philomena was sad she had little luck,Till Maureen gave advice how to beat the book.

10 euro went on to the grey in the last,With the Kenyan team shouting it went very fast,Round like a rocket it ran round, it came in firstWe celebrated with something to quench our thirst...

All VIPs then the Kenyan team became,They presented the prize to the winner of the same,The photo got took, with smiles all around,They sang their song Jambo; they made a great sound.

The Races were over, enjoyed by us allThen back to the buses, where we had a roll call,Who was missing, it appeared to be Kimanthi,He was still on the course in dispute with a bookie.

We all arrived home, a good night had by all,Home to their "families" and bed was the call,Training the next day, they'd be raring to go,We can still hear their song Jambo, Jambo...

32 . The Kilcullen Experience

Morton StadiumMaire O'Sullivan

Morton Stadium in Santry was the venuefor the Track and Field events, and the

place where our Kenyan athletes proudlycompeted during the week.

The stadium has an intimate homelyatmosphere where spectators had theopportunity to mingle closely with theathletes. All had a ring side view of theevents. It was possible to move about, tobe at the starting posts to witness theapprehension and tension on the faces ofthe competitors at the start, and at thefinishing line, the sheer joy on the samefaces having won, or simply crossed theline. They had run their hearts out and thespontaneous applause from the spectatorsacknowledged that they too were de-lighted for each athlete completing thecourse. Each athlete was certainly bravein the attempt.

Every athlete was already a champion, asPresident McAleese reminded us duringthe opening ceremony. Each had earnedhis or her place at the games. Standardswere extremely high and all athletes wereexpected to abide by the rigorous rules ofthe competitions. The focus was certainlyon ability, not disability.

The running prowess of Kenyans islegendary and their representatives herewere no exception. It was amazing towatch them run, mostly in their bare feet.They were so tall and lithe and raneffortlessly, it would appear, almost likegazelles.

A wonderful atmosphere prevailed, and itwas enhanced by fine weather. Eachdelegation had supporters from their hosttowns, who cheered, waved banners andflags and encouraged their new friends toachieve success.

We have never had the opportunity tohave so many people from so manycountries all together in a joyful happy

gathering. The crowdsbecame larger with each daywith families bringingchildren to this event that

they will never forget. Teachers fromlocal Primary schools brought theirclasses in the mornings. People walkedabout and were delighted to speak aboutwhere they came from. It was interestingto note how much could be communi-cated even where language was a barrier.What a delight to see such sights asathletes from Ivory Coast all kitted inDublin GAA jerseys, Muslim womenwearing baseball caps from Macroomover their veils and the bright yellowRoscommon baseball caps on Ugandans.As the week wore on more and moreathletes walked about proudly displayingmedals and were delighted to receivecongratulations.

But it was sad, and moving too, tobecome aware of the inequalities in ourworld, even here. So many had comefrom very poor nations and it was thanks..

Top: Games Chairman Denis O'Briengives the thumbs up along with someguests.

Above: Kildare Football managerPadraig Nolan with some Kenyanfriends at Santry.

Right: Carmel, Joe, Niamh andShane O'Connor at Morton Stadium to

cheer on the Kenyans

2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games 33 . The Kilcullen Experience

.

to the generosity of the host towns thatsome team members had any sports gearat all. (Sponsorship from large sportscompanies was noticeably absent...)

The respectful way athletes and theirfamilies ate their picnics was a reminderthat there were people here who did nottake food for granted.

The award ceremonies were equallymoving. Fanfares greeted the victoriousathletes and their medals were presentedby well known sportspeople, broadcastersand entertainers. Variouscelebritiesvisited the Stadium during the week, alsoand mingled easily with the crowds.

A Trip to the Aras

President McAleese opened her houseand garden to a large number of volun-teers who got involved in the SpecialOlympic World Games. Thanks to theO'Connor family, Joe, Carmel, Stephen,Niamh and Shane, I got to attend theGarden party on behalf of the KilcullenHost Town Group.

I travelled up on my own but was soonsurrounded with people who, through theWorld Games had much in common -sponsors, athletes, parents, friends, allwere invited by the President and herfamily. The day was sunny and warm aswere all the days of the Games and as Ibussed the short journey I thought of thefamous people who have had the honourto be an invited guest of the President ofIreland.

We were all welcomed to the receptionby a barbershop quartet. A short wait inthe company of Tony 0' Sullivan, andthen we were introduced to the Presidentand her husband.

I got a bit a of shock here when thepresidents' Army aide gestured towards

. me but it was Tony he wanted - he was along time friend who apparently spenttime in the Curragh with Tony as cadets.

Jenipher pictured atMorton Stadium, Santry

The volunteers were very friendly,helpful and efficient. The announcersensured that events ran smoothly and totime. They also kept the momentumgoing and were a wonderful source ofencouragement for athletes and specta-tors alike.

It was a privilege to be able to attendthe Games at Morton Stadium and to

experience the true Olympian spirit.The atmosphere generated was greattribute to the athletes, and to all thosewho gave so much of themselves toorganize the event and ensure itssuccess. Sl:iinte saoil chugaibh uile!!

Ray Kelly

Then it was out into the splendour of thegardens for some wine and chat amongSpecial Olympic friends. Dermot andFrank Shortt were there in the TeamIrelandgear-Dermot informed me thathe had just finished a round of Golf intime to meet the president. Des Traverswas there also -Des having got involvednationally after some persuading fromTony 0' Sullivan.

I met Rita Lawlor who informed me shewas now officially out of a job -Rita wasan International Ambassador for theGames for the last 3 years -knowing Ritashe will have little difficultygetting a job.

On into the Marquee for thePresident's address in which she

praised all who had contributedin any way in making this year'sWorld Games the best ever in

the history of the Games.

The President then introduced

the Games CEO Mary Daviswho gave an insight into whatwas involved in arranging thebiggest sporting event ever seenin Ireland.

When you consider that the groundworkstarted in 1998 you can appreciate the


work andeffort putinto theGames byMary andher team.

Following the speeches it was back intothe Garden for some more wine andsocialising. In all it was a great day and apleasure to have been there.

As Mary McAleese stated in her wel-come, we were all welcome into OURHouse.

Des Travers pictured at Aras anUachtaran with Col. Terry Young


SalmonLeapFrank Mitchell

Frank Mitchell was actively involved inKilcullen s Host Town Programme but healso had the title (and the responsibili-

ties) of Event Services Manager atSalmon Leap where the 2003 SpecialOlympics World Summer GamesKayaking events took place.

Now that the Special Olympics worldsummer games are over, it is perhaps agood time to reflect on what we haveachieved. By we I mean the 30,000volunteers who gave their time, energyand skills to ensure that the games wouldbe the best ever. Without the enthuasimand commitment of these people thegames would not have been as successful.The motivation for this commitment wasthe athletes themselves. Everything wedid as volunteers we did for the athletes;so their years of training and absolutecommitment could be shown to theworld, and also to afford everyone theopportunity to "Share The Feeling".Apart from the host town program,people from the Kilcullen area wereinvolved at all levels of the games. Afterthe hugely successful host town week,some volunteers took a well-deservedbreak, while others continued theirinvolvement with the games by workingat different venues. I was lucky enough tobe given the position of Event ServicesManager at Salmon Leap, Leixlip wherethe Kayaking was held. Initially, thisseemed like a daunting task, as I hadnever even sat in a canoe, and had noidea what an Event Services Managerdid. We were told we would be well

prepared for our given task, and wereasked to commit ourselves to a compre-hensive management training course,which began in November 2002 andfinished on 17th June 2003.

Games time at Salmon Leap was anextremely busy time. We began our dayat 6.30am with a team briefing for TeamLeaders and Assistants (the people whoactually did all the work) then it was onto a Core Venue Management Team

meeting to plan the day ahead and discussanyproblems or issues. Most of theEvent Services, and other venue teams,worked for up to fifteen hours each daywithout a single complaint. This extraeffort was a major factor in the success ofthe games. While Kayaking was classedas a "demonstration" sport, the venue wasrun as a competition one. Thirty-oneathletes participated in the events,representing Ireland, Poland, Finland andGermany.

The excellent weather brought out thecrowds with scores of employees fromHewlett Packard and Intel cheering onthe athletes. We also encouraged localschools to come along. During the weekwe were visited by members of theShriver family, Denis O'Brien, variousambassadors, and a delegation of observ-ers from the Games Organising Commit-tee from Shanghai, who will host the2007 Summer Games. Reports suggestthat all were very impressed. Despite theattention of the above we never lost sightof the fact that we had thirty one VIP'swith us every day, and strived to ensurethat they would be impressed, and wouldenjoy their games.

Although we did not have much time tosee many of the races, the few we did seewere very exciting, and obviouslyrequired enormous skill and determina-tion from the athletes. On the final day,the awards ceremony was held in the lateafternoon, and all volunteers were givenan opportunity to participate. This wasmost definitely the highlight of the week,and an appearance by our own BrendanO'Connell to present medals was great tosee. Another person with a Kilcullenconnection working at the venue wasEdwina Cahill. Edwina works part timein Bardon's and certainly set a newstandard in Spectator Marshalling! Herfriendly welcome and enthusiasmdelighted the spectators and athletes.

Finally, I would like to say what aprivilege it has been for me to have beeninvolved with the 2003 Special OlympicsWorld Summer Games; a privilege tohave worked with some of the finestathletes in the world; and most impor-tantly, a privilege to have" Shared TheFeeling."

Above: Frank Mitchell with other spectators andvolunteers watching the presentation of medals at

Salmon Leap.


Journey into Kenya

On July 25th, Philomena Griffin set off on afact-finding tripto Kenya. Here she is in conversation with Sean Landers.

Sean:Phil:

Sean:Phil:

Sean:Phil:

Sean:Phil:

Sean:

Phil:

Sean:Phil:

Sean:

Phil:

Sean:Phil:

Sean:Phil:

When did you decide to go to Kenya?It has always been a dream of mine, but having metwith the Kenyans during the World Summer Gamesprompted me even more and so off I went.What was the purpose of your visit?Firstly I was invited to attend as a guest at NationalGames for people with leaming disabilities at St.Catherine's Institute in Western Kenya where one ofthe coaches who came to Ireland namelyChristopher Wandera works and while staying inNairobi I was guest of Special Olympics Kenya.Who sponsored your trip to Kenya?No one as of yet. I had to borrow from my friendlyCredit Union.I understand you had a special gift for the Kenyans.Yes. I brought with me 120 t-shirts specially designedfor the games which Kilcullen Host TownCommittee had sponsored along with two localfamilies.Wereyou not a bit scared to be going off to Africa onyour own?Certainly not. When I make a promise, I keep it. Also,I knew I was going to be among friends. I was reallyexcited as the prospect of going there. Everyone elseseemed to be nervous on my behalf but, as they say,ignorance is bliss.Tell me about your journey.I flew from Dublin to Amsterdam imdfrom there to

Nairobi. Milcah, Francis and Christopher met me atthe airport. My luggage didn't make the flight. I had towait until the next day for it.What precautions had you taken before you leftIreland?

I had six vaccinations plus a six-week course of anti-malarial tablets.What wereyour initial impressions of the country?Firstly the darkness when I arrived at 8p.m. and thenthe brightness early in the morning. Theweather in Nairobi was similar to Ireland on a pleasantday but moving west and crossing the equatormade it much hotter. Also the erratic drivingconditions - no traffic lights in such a city - was areal shock to me!Where did you stay when you were in Nairobi?When I arrived there I spent four nights in the city:three nights with Milcah one night with theDirector of City Education. Then I travelled to Butuhin the Western Province to attend the games atChristopher's school. I stayed at Christopher's housewith his wife. I travelled there in a small school van.The first six hours of the journey weren't too bad but


Sean:Phil:

Sean.Phil:

Sean:Phil:

SeanPhil:

Sean:

Phil:

Sean:

Phil:

Sean:

36

the last two hours were indescribable. It was dark, theroads were full of craters and the driver had nevertravelled doJ.n that road before.Tell me about the games.They lasted for three days. There were four hundredathletes competing. I had the chance to meet all theathletes who had been in Kilcullen. They wereoveIjoyed and introduced me to all their friends. Iwas asked to present some of the prizes as Guest ofHonour at the closing ceremony. I met the Bishop ofKitale who is a Kiltegan missionary. He has been therefor thirty-one years.What was the food like?I ate as the Kenyans did. It was basic but good: lots ofrice and beef and chicken; the fish was very good. Weusually ate at home but one night they took me out toa restaurant where we had ostrich, zebra and crocodile. They told me that they were sorry that theydidn't have snake or giraffe on the menu that night. Iwas not really so disappointed. I also ate ugali madefrom flour and maize. I drank lots of tea.What insight did you get into life in Kenya?In Nairobi, there are extremes of wealth and poverty.What little the poor people have, they share. Abit like Ireland was when I was a child: no runningwater, no modem facilities in the rural areas andvery basic housing conditions but the people havehearts of gold.How wereyou treated?Like royalty. They couldn't do enough for me. Theybought a mosquito net for me. Milcah slept on amattress on the floor and gave me her bed. I wasescorted everywhere I went. They believed I wouldcome. It meant so much to them. You could see the joyin their faces, and the excitement everywhere I went.I understand that your family have been verypatientover the past few months.Yesbut also very supportive. The next visit to Kenyawill be a family trip.And what about Kilcullen's association with the

Kenyans?We would like to maintain the contacts and hopefullyprovide some financial assistance for projects theyhave in mind. Special Olympics Kenya have invitedme to attend the next World Games in Shanghai in2007 as part of their delegation. And you know what?I just very well might go.I am sure you will.


J

The Kenyan'Special Olympics TeamCoaches: Milcah Omenda, Malik Elkindiy, Patrick Wanyama, Samuel Kiura, Francis Addikah, Celestine Buluti, Maureen Alur,Richard Omaseme, Christopher Wandera,Virginiah Magachi.

Athletes: David Kinyua, Muthama Kilonzo, Isaac Tembe, Josephat Kipkorir, Dan Eric Omondi, Joshua Agare Japhethe,Ramadan Salim Twalib, January Juma, Jenipher Angeyo, Larine Daisy, Winnie Kibera, Eliud Nyambati Ogari, Mustafa Abubakar,Samuel Wekesa Nasongo, Godfrey Obasale, Jotham Kilimo, Hamilton Onzere, Mica Kipruto Kamen, Sheila Mbane, Judy Njaki,Andrew Mburu, Kimanthi Mbatha.

KilcullenHost Town VolunteersAnne Bath Nessa Dunlea Siodhna Kavanagh Mary Murray Margaret SalmonBernard Berney Brian Dr. Dunne Ray Kelly Shane Nolan Brenda Scullion

Mary Berney Bernadette Dunne John Kelly Maurice 0 Mahoney Mary SherryJohn Brady Kieran Forde Ger Kelly Seamus Phelan Liam SherryFiona Brown Joan Forde Niall Kennedy Mary Phelan Mary Shortt

John Calvey Sineda Forde PJ Lydon Eilis Phillips Fergal Sloan

Magdalene Campbell Patrick Gallagher Frances Maher Dick ReadeFiona SloanDaniel Sweeney

Mary Charlton Therese Gorman Fred Maher Kitty Reade John SweeneyFrances Clare Sue Goulding Roisin Mc Bride Esther Reddy Gabrielle SweeneyNoel Clare Philomena Griffin Frank Mitchell Sabina Reddy John TalbotSean Crowe Wayne Hegarty-Kelly Frances Moloney Billy Redmond Margaret TalbotDina Dillon Emlyn Hegarty- Kelly Padraig Moloney Paul Robbins Mark TraynorJoseph Dooley Matt Jennings Gese Muecke Nancy Robbins Siobhan Tutty-BardonLisa Dooley Anne Jennings Rosemary Mullins Joseph Robinson Sandra WalshMichael Doran Mark Jennings Mary Murphy Nora Salmon Anne Wheeler

,,-

~

~

the kilcullen experience

Documents

ourftiendsin xnya

mica andmalik

commemoralefiie visi