Irish Tenor appointed as Ambassador for Special Olympics

One of America’s favourite Irish tenors, Ronan Tynan, has linked up with Tourism Ireland in the US to undertake a special publicity campaign around the staging of the Special Olympics in Ireland.

Team USA, which comprises 1,000 athletes and 300 coaches, is scheduled to stay in Belfast for a four day rest and training period prior to the commencement of the games on June 20. It is anticipated that combined with family members and friends, the total number of people travelling with Team USA will exceed 3,500.

At the request of Tourism Ireland, Ronan has written a celebratory song for the Special Olympics ‘Ireland – This is the Hour’ which he has already been invited to perform at the Opening Ceremonies in Dublin.

Jim McGuigan, Tourism Ireland’s Head of North America said: “We are delighted that Ronan Tynan has joined our team to market the staging of the Special Olympics in Ireland. This is a prestigious international event with powerful appeal to all people of goodwill.

"Ronan is a wonderful example of how indomitable the human spirit can be. In addition to his other outstanding achievements, he has competed internationally as an athlete in track and field events and holds the world records in the discus, shotput, and long jump for bilateral amputees. We know that he will be an outstanding envoy for Ireland to these games.

“Visitors from America who will arrive to participate in and support these games will enjoy the warm hospitality they will receive first of all in Northern Ireland where they will stay to acclimatise before moving to the Greater Dublin area for the games themselves. This will be the largest event Ireland has ever hosted and the largest sporting event in the world in 2003."

Elsewhere, Education Minister Jane Kennedy has come out in support of the new 2003 Special Olympics World Games School Enrichment Programme, in Northern Ireland. The Programme is a specially designed course dealing with all aspects of disability awareness. Schools will be supplied with specifically designed resources to help children increase their knowledge and understanding about people with learning disabilities.

The Programme is being run both in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland at primary and post-primary levels to mark this year’s Special Olympics World Summer Games.

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