Local athletes all set for Special Olympics Games

Tuam-Headford and Mountbellew Tigers will both be represented

COMPETITORS from local clubs are set to feature for Team Connacht at the 2026 Special Olympics Ireland Summer Games in Dublin.

Ireland’s largest inclusive sporting event begins today, June 18, and runs until Sunday June 21. Over 1,200 athletes with intellectual disabilities will compete across 13 sports and multiple venues.

Team Connacht will comprise over 60 athletes from Galway. Among them are members of the Tuam-Headford Special Olympics Club and the Mountbellew Tigers.

Maria Hannon (29) from Cloughanover and Leah Costello (19) from Turloughmore will be representing the Tuam-Headford Club in Rhythmic Gymnastics; Level 1 Ribbon, Ball & Hoop.

Maria has been training with the club since it commenced it 2004. While this weekend she will be in action in gymnastics, she also enjoys basketball and swimming. Leah has been with the club since 2014 and trains as a swimmer too.

The club will also be represented by Daniela Pacesos from Tuam. The 22-year-old has been training with the club since 2010. She will be competing in the 25-metre front crawl.

Helping them on their journey are club coaches Geraldine Quinn, Laura Pacesos and Patricia Creaven, who will act as chaperones for their trip to Dublin.

“All three of our members are really excited for the games. They have been training very hard every week and are looking forward to fighting for medals in Dublin,” stated Patricia Creaven, who is also the Team Connacht Rhythmic Gymnastics coach.

“Daniela trains once a week on Saturday mornings in the swimming pool in Tuam, while Leah and Maria train with me in Cloghanover in Headford on Wednesday evenings. I’m so proud of their hard work to date, so whatever happens I know they will give it their all.”

The Mountbellew Tigers will have two of their members battling it out for medals in Dublin this weekend - Sean Monaghan (20) from Belclare and and Ciara Nally (23) from Ballyglunin.

Ciara is taking part in Bocce, a sport very similar to lawn bowls, in both the individual and team competitions. She has been a proud member of the Mountbellew Tigers for over ten years and enjoys training weekly in athletics too. She will be chaperoned in Dublin by Kathleen Bergin.

Sean is one of the newest members of Mountbellew Tigers and trains every week. He will be representing his club in Athletics in both the 100 metres and Javelin events. Sean’s coach and chaperone is long-time club volunteer Vincent Flynn.

“Naturally both of our athletes are excited and want to be competitive this weekend, but what is great about these games is everyone is divided based on ability. They are coming up against others on the same level,” explained Vincent.

“As a volunteer, you get a huge buzz seeing our members competing. I’ve been involved for the past 25 years, ever since we started this club. Many of our members have been here since day one and it is great seeing them develop as individuals.”

Also among the 60 strong Galway contingent heading to the National Games is Matthew Quinn from Creggs, who will take part in the Motor Activities Training Program (MATP).

This is designed for people with complex needs and uses sport to help athletes build motor skills that support both daily life and participation in sport.

There will be 242 athletes on Team Connacht competing in Athletics, Bocce, Badminton, Basketball, Gymnastics, (both Artistic & Rhythmic) Football, MATP, Golf, Bowling, Table Tennis, Equestrian, Kayaking and Swimming.