Minister of State for Tourism and Sport and Limerick TD, Patrick O’Donovan, officially opened new Special Olympics Ireland offices at the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus.
The new offices situated at the heart of the Blanchardstown facility will be home to Special Olympics Ireland’s national headquarters, as well as being the base for their Eastern and Leinster divisions, and was developed through a special €5million Exchequer allocation.
Speaking at the opening, Minister O’Donovan welcomed the development of facility: “I am delighted to officially open the Special Olympics Ireland offices here at the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus. Special Olympics Ireland do fantastic work the length and breadth of the country, something I witnessed first-hand while volunteering with them myself and these new state of the art offices will assist the staff and volunteers as they continue to have a positive impact on the lives of all their athletes. I would like to congratulate all involved with the development of this facility, and wish Special Olympics Ireland the very best for the future.”
The building, which was project managed by the Office of Public Works (OPW) on behalf of Sport Ireland, provides for a reception area, offices, meeting facilities, an open plan office area and volunteer centre, canteen and ancillary accommodation extending to 1,601m2. The facility also includes storage facilities and a Learning & Education Centre which extends to 338m2.
Sport Ireland Chairman, Kieran Mulvey, welcomed the addition of Special Olympics Ireland to the growing number of National Governing Bodies with a presence on the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus. He said: “The development of the new Special Olympics Ireland offices will enhance their position as one of the foremost sporting organisations in the country, and ideally situates them in closer proximity to the excellent facilities on the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus, as well at the other National Governing Bodies for Sport.”
Sport Ireland Chief Executive, John Treacy, added: “Sport Ireland is delighted to add Special Olympics Ireland to the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus. We have seen over the years the great work which is being done by the dedicated work of Special Olympics’ staff and volunteers and the positive opportunities they create for so many, providing sporting and social experiences for persons with intellectual disability. The development of this new facility will help those staff and volunteers build on this good work to continue to create more and more opportunities and experiences long into the future.”
Special Olympics Ireland Chief Executive, Matt English, said: “Special Olympics enables persons with an intellectual disability to take part in sports training and competition. We are really thrilled to be now based at the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus alongside so many other National Governing Bodies of Sport. On behalf of everyone associated with Special Olympics, I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all those who made this move possible and most especially the Department of Transport Tourism & Sport, Sport Ireland and the OPW. As a volunteer led organisation, we are also very grateful to the many experts who provided services free of charge in support of this historic relocation. Furthermore we are thrilled that close to 10,000 registered Special Olympics athletes across the island of Ireland will benefit as a result of Special Olympics having a long term base at the beating heart of Irish Sport.”
