29/04/2005
Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.
Special Olympics ‘Name the Network’ – Competition in Primary Schools
Press Release
The Civic offices in Clondalkin were buzzing with excitement on Tuesday 22nd March for the presentation of prizes to local primary school children who entered in the Special Olympics ‘Name the Network’ competition. Children, accompanied by their teachers and families were welcomed at a reception to announce the results of this local competition.
The aim of the competition was to find a ‘user friendly’ name for the Special Olympics Network - Clondalkin/Newcastle /Saggart/Rathcoole. This new Network, established in December 2004 aims to help establish new clubs to provide sports and social events for people with learning disabilities in the four localities.
Over 150 entries were received from local primary schools. The winning entry entitled ‘Speisialta’ was submitted by Adam Guthrie, a 5th class student from the Sacred Heart National School in Sruleen. The judging committee stated that ‘Adam’s entry captured the ethos and purpose of the Network to a tee’. The Mayor of South Dublin County Council, Robert Dowds, presented Adam with a gift voucher and a piece of crystal, which were sponsored by the SDCC. Awards of Merit were also presented to 9 other entrants who impressed the judges with their innovative thinking and creative artwork. In addition, the organising committee were delighted that Claire Savage from Rathcoole, a Gold Medal winning Athlete from the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games attended the presentation to show her support for the new initiative.
‘Speisialta’ hopes to have its first sport up and running by the end of the summer and will be holding numerous fundraising and publicity events in the near future. If you have a relative/friend with a learning disability in the Clondalkin/Newcastle/Saggart/Rathcoole localities or indeed if you would like to volunteer to help this local group, please contact Deirdre Hogan, Network officer for Dublin South at 01 8691619. The Special Olympics Network is sponsored by Bank of Ireland