Search
21 Oct 2025
Search
21 Oct 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
Members of Team Ireland arriving at the stadium for the Opening Ceremony (Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile)
Fourteen exceptional athletes are flying the flag for Ireland at this year's Special Olympics World Winter Games as the competition got underway on Saturday in Turin, Italy. Four of these talented sports stars hail from Waterford.
The week-long contest will see 102 countries and over 1,500 athletes take part and attract over 100,000 spectators. Eight of Ireland's athletic stars will compete in floorball which is a fast-paced team sport, while six athletes will compete in alpine skiing.
Three Waterford men will be part of Team Ireland's floorball squad - Niall Corcoran, James Upton and Damien Kirwan. Tipperary man Frank O'Dwyer and James Hunter, Jack Buckley, Joseph Sheehan and Gavin Bourke - all from Cork - will make up the rest of the team.
READ NEXT: ‘Driving on’ - The Big Interview with Waterford's Lauren McGregor
Peter Merrins is the team's Head Coach and Dorothy Kavanagh and George Fitzgerald are the Assistant Coaches.
Speaking before the Opening Ceremony on Saturday, Passage East native James Upton said: "We have good coaches backing us, we have a good team behind us, we’ll see what happens if we don’t win medals we’ll have memories from Italy."
Clive Healy from Waterford will then represent the county in the Alpine Skiing team. Fellow teammates include Lorraine Whelan from Wicklow, Donal Brennan from Dublin, Maire Connolly from Galway, Lucy Best from Belfast and Caolan McConville from Antrim.
The team's Head Coach is Jill Sloan while Glyn Williamson and Jane McDowell are the Assistant Coaches.
The Opening Ceremony commenced on Saturday at the iconic Inalpi Stadium in Turin. Team Ireland proudly marched into the arena in their vibrant green jackets to a wave of clapping from the crowd. The phenomenal show set an exciting tone for the week ahead.
In his opening speech, 2025 Special Olympics World Games President Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo said: "I know that each one of you has carried a spark of the flame inside you, preparing and training, day after day. The ‘Flame of Hope’ is the hope in little things: a smile, a snowfall, a happy day. It is also the hope in bigger things: a welcoming community, an equitable society, a world at peace. You are the ‘Flame of Hope.’ Carry it forward. We will be with you."
Good luck Team Ireland!
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
