Sat 28 April 12

London 2012 Paralympic Games: Setanta to Broadcast Paralympic Games live

by Roisin Dermody

Setanta Sports announced that they will be showing live coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games this September. This coverage will be provided on a “Freeview” basis. The Setanta Ireland channel will be unencrypted so that all viewers, whether they are a Setanta subscriber or not, will be able to access the coverage free of charge.
This news was greeted with great enthusiasm at the Press launch in Irishtown Stadium on Thursday morning where, Liam Harbison, CEO of Paralympics Ireland stated “This is a momentous announcement for Irish Paralympic sport. The Irish Team are on the cusp of great success at London 2012 and we’re thrilled that the support of Setanta and Allianz will allow the Irish public to view, admire and be inspired by the achievements of Ireland’s elite Paralympians. Paralympic sport at the top level is exciting, gripping and ferociously competitive – we look forward to Setanta bringing this to Irish Sports fans.”
For the first time in Ireland, friends, family and sports fans generally, who cannot make it to the games will be able to watch and support the Irish Team live. I was very disappointed not to get tickets for any of the events I applied for but I have now booked my seat on the couch for two weeks.
Brian Quinn, Marketing Director of Setanta Sports commented “We are delighted to be broadcasting the games on a Freeview basis. This means that the majority of Irish households will be able to follow the Irish performances.” Brendan murphy CEO of Allianz Ireland added “For the first time ever Irish audiences will witness the achievements of Team Ireland as they happen, which for Allianz, as a long-time partner of the Paralympic Movement, was seen as a fundamental need in the Irish market. By supporting Paralympics Ireland and Irish athletes, Allianz supports their quest for medals but also, through our association with Setanta, to drive awareness of the Paralympic movement and provide live, real time access to all that is achieved.”
Brian Quinn paid tribute to the support of Allianz, “They are not simply a sponsor of our coverage, they have played a far bigger role than that. Without them live Paralympics TV coverage would not be seen in Ireland. We appreciate their vision and are very thankful to have the opportunity to bring live coverage to the friends, families and fans of Irish paralympians.”

Our own Sarah McLoughlin, who acompanied Roisin to the launch, will be posting some pics over next few days.

Sat 14 April 12

A Day at the Races but, no Night on the Town

Joe Geraghty Visits our Paralympians at UL

As John Fulham, Paralympcis Ireland Communications Office kindly dropped me off at Limerick Railway Station yesterday afternoon; I couldn’t but think of how times have changed.
Gone are the days of the Irish team turning up at Paralympics wearing 40 shades of green, different gear for different national governing bodies (NGBs) within Irish Paralympics. Gone are the days of not meeting your fellow Paralympic athletes until you headed out on the ‘plane. Gone are the days where officials, in the interest of their own NGBS, fought with other for team places, PR and, most of all, funds.
Mind you, current Paralympians should resist any temptation to smear at the past. Current Paralympians must realise the enormous work carried out within the NGBs such as the then Cerebral Palsy Ireland, Irish Wheelchair Association and Irish Blind Sports (and its pre-decessor the Sports and Social Club (NLBI).
I seek no plaudits for my own role in the formation and development of sport for the Blind here 30 plus years ago. However, I never played an active role within the Paralympics movement (my NGB was my prime love and interest). So, I can say how much I admire those like Anne Ebbs, Brenda Greene, Paddy and Jimmy Byrne plus my friends within Irish Blind Sports for laying the foundation stones for where Paralympics Ireland is now.
Also, our current Paralympic team, our best, best prepared and best funded ever, may not be aware how different it was three decades ago or more.
When I represented Ireland in New York in 1984 I, like my Visually Impaired colleagues, I organised and fund raising events to beat the band, never mind the opposition. Indeed we were so successful in that period that we raised several times more money than was required for our NGB to fund us.
In two weeks time the Paralympians Club = for vets like myself – will be launched. We can resume the conversation there …

I sign off now but I can’t leave without thanking John Fulham, Liam Harbison and all at Paralympics Ireland. It was great meeting you.

Dateline: 1400 same day, Castetroy Hotel, Limerick

Met and interviewed them all now…a brilliant group.

I felt sorry for the cyclists who went through 10 min inTerviews with me although their lunch was waitingv.

I will pop up some photos later on Facebook but first I must find Fintan…

Dateline Friday 13th April 8“30 am, Cork train

Rockets falling to earth; train carriage full of people heading to the titanic centenary and it’s Friday the 13th. Ah, I don’t care as the only rockets I hope to meet today are our paralympians.

Saw Colin Lynch on TV yesterday. He lost a leg during a rugby career a decade ago and qualifies for Ireland under the parent rule. A great para cyclist a real inspiration.

The first time I went to a training camp was 34 years ago this month. w
What’s Another Beer was No. 1, Charlie Haughey was getting debt forgiveness from AIB while you could buy a home for ten grand. not much has changed then?

I suspect a lot is different at Paralympics though. Today I hope to meet the only man to beat my 1500m record as well as probably our best ever Paralympians team.

Talk later.

Dateline: Thursday 12th April, 10 pm, Maynooth, Co. Kildare…

Tomorrow I’m off on a day trip Shannonside. I’ll pack a picnic and camera. I’m off to join our Paralympians at their base camp at the University of Limerick (UL).

Friday the 13th is Media Day at Paralympic Ireland’s training camp. It’s planned to simulate media interrogation – similar to post race in London from late August – as athletes return from their intense morning training sessions. Among the intrusive questioning of athletes I’ll probably throw in a few Dunphyisms! maybe not, I want to be invited back.

I’ve got a child’s excitement about this day trip. Maybe that’s because I was part of Paralympic sessions in the ‘80s, albeit very disorganised events then.

I’m curious too. The athletes will be in serious mode tomorrow and will most likely be pointed towards the national media heads rather than little me here at ibsports.ie. However, I really hope I can meet Andy Fitz and James Brown. I have not seen either of these boys since the mid-80’s when they were ace athletes.

We’ve all changed a lot since then – well, actully, their photos show them looking very young, and it will be amazing if, given the opportunity, we recognise each other. Again, if chance allows, I’m looking forward to meeting again our World Champion cyclist Catherine Walsh (last time we met was accidentally on a Sligo train). Also, I am keen to meet Amanda Crotty and Nadine Lattimore who were very much part of our last May Games.

Then there’s the ones I have never met …Ailish Dunne, Katie George Dunleavy, Sarah Caffrey, Shane Ryan and Stephen Campbell. I’m in deep admiration of the guides including the lead tandem cyclists and guide runners. Of course, every team has it’s live-wires and I hope to meet these guys and gals too as time passes, of all disabilities and levels of fun.
The notable absentee from a Visually Impaired perspective will be Jason Smyth, my new Facebook friend! I suspect Jason is setting out on a crack at the Olympic qualifying time in the States. More to follow there as this could be one sensational story.

I have two notes of introduction, to two very busy people, when I get to UL. 1. I must ring Paralympic Ireland’s Communications Officer John Fulham (himself a past Paralympian) and 2. ring Paralympic Physio Fintan O’Donnell, our former IBS Chairman and past Paralympian. They won’t let me run loose but I think they’ll both give me good links to a place I haven’t been to in almost 30 years.

So tomorrow we begin the www.iobsports.ie countdown to Paralympics 2012.

I hope I’m note over-excited. I need to sleep tonight and hop out early …

Thu 15 March 12

Great News For Tandem Cyclists as Record 7 London 2012 ParaCycling Places Awarded

Today Paralympics Ireland announed a record 7 places have been awarded for Paracycling at London 2012. This is really good news for our tandem cyclists who will be in the frame for some of these places.

The following has been Posted on March 13, 2012 by Paralympics Ireland …

The International Cycling Union (UCI) today announced that Ireland has been awarded an unprecedented seven cycling slots for the London 2012 Paralympic Games (five men’s and two women’s).

Championship success

Irish Paracycling squad manager Denis Toomey explained that the team’s exploits at both the 2011 UCI World Paracycling Road Championships in Denmark and last month’s World Track Championships in Los Angeles, pushed Ireland to 11th place in the Combined Nations Ranking List and on to a record seven slots.

To put this in context, Ireland secured one cycling slot for the 2004 Games in Athens and four for the 2008 Games in Beijing. Speaking after the announcement, Paralympic Performance Director, Nancy Chillingworth was delighted:

“Paracycling is a perfect example of the “three-Games pathway” for Paralympic sport in Ireland.”

“At their first Games in Athens they qualified one bike and the target was Games experience. They then progressed to Beijing where they qualified four bikes and targeted finals. They are now at their third Games having qualified seven bikes and with three world champions across five events.”.

“This is a phenomenal progression and testament to both the calibre of elite athletes and support staff”.

Preparations for London 2012

The squad now face a busy five months in which they’ll look to maintain peak fitness up to the Games in August.

They will base their track preparation at the Palma Arena Velodrome in Majorca which provided a huge boost to their preparations for last month’s Track World Championships. The road preparation will revolve around the 2012 UCI Paracycling Road World Cup Series with races in Rome in May and Segovia , Spain in June. They will also compete in the National TT Championships in Clonmel.

The squad is well placed to bring back the first ever Irish cycling medals from the Games. We wish them luck!

Sun 12 February 12

Catherine Walsh and Fran Meehan - Queens of the Road

Whether it’s on the road or on the track Catherine Walsh, with cycling pilot Fran Meehan,are golden queens of the road.

For the second time in 8 months Catherine and Fran have stuck gold at the World Paracycling Track Championships in LA.

lAST June Catherine and Fran won gold in the tandem cycling time trial at the Paracycling World Cup in Segovia, Spain.

Catherine Walsh (38) from Swords Co. Dublin lives life to the limit, and beyond.
Although born albino with peripheral vision she is a physiotherapist, a race cyclist and a mother of two.
The 2010/2011 Irish Sports Council carding scheme rated Catherine as one of an elite group of athletes and awarded her the highest grant available to pursue her beloved sport of race tandem cycling.

Catherine has pursued sport for as long she can remember. She attended St. Mary’s School for the Visually Impaired in Merrion, Dublin before moving to London to train as a chartered physiotherapist.

In 1992 Catherine Walsh represented Ireland at the Paralympic Games in Barcelona. The Paralympics, the Olympics for disabled athletes, are held immediately after Olympic Games taking the same flame, city and venues. Catherine went on to compete in a record breaking 5 more Paralympics. Catherine’s Paralympic highlight came in the sport of athletics at Sydney 2000 when she won the multi discipline athletics event of pentathlon: 100m, 800, shot put, discus and long jump.

Catherine won many honours over the years at national, European and World level. At the 1994 World Disabled Championships in Berlin and the 2002 World Disabled Championships in Lille she won bronze at the pentathlon.

Catherine retired from athletics in 2005 after the birth of her first daughter. However, the lure of sport was always close and soon an interest in leisure cycling soon turned to racing. On the classic bicycle made for two, the tandem, Catherine recruited pilot cyclists and she pushed from the back seat. In 2007 Catherine competed in her first World Disabled Cycling Championships, quickly followed by
Paralympics. Last November she won silver at the World individual indoor pursuit in Manchester.

The road hoem from London next September could just be paved with gold!

Fri 30 March 12

April Date Set for Launch of Paralympians Club

Paralympians Past Present at Bewleys, Ballsbridge, 1pm Sat 28th April

The Paralympians Club is set to rock. It will roll out on Saturday 28 April at Bewley’s Ballsbridge. If you have represented Ireland at past Paralympics this is for you …

Paralympics Ireland, in association with partner Allianz, is setting up an exclusive club for athletes who have competed for Ireland at a Paralympic Games. The aim is to bring current and former Paralympians together in the build up to the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

The inaugural event for The Irish Paralympians Club will be held in the Thomas Prior Hall at Bewley’s Ballsbridge on Saturday 28 April. Starting at 1pm, this will include:
• Welcome and complimentary buffet lunch
• Opportunity to meet with former/current Irish Paralympians
• A goody bag to mark the occasion

If you are an Irish Paralympian and you’d like to become a member of this exclusive club, please go to this link and complete the online form Click Here.

If you would like to attend the event in Bewleys, please email info@paralympics.ie as soon as possible.

2012 will be an incredible year for Irish Paralympic sport and we would like as many Paralympians as possible to share the excitement.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Thu 01 December 11

MORE LONDON 2012 PARALYMPIC GAMES TICKETS ON SALE THIS FRIDAY AT 1PM

The remaining Paralympic Games tickets go on sale to the general public on a first come first served basis this Friday (Dec. 2nd) at 1pm. Tickets can be purchased online at www.tickets.london2012.compara) with a VISA credit or debit card.

Over 1.14 million tickets have been sold in the first round of ticket sales which closed in September, which has resulted in a no. of sessions in some sports (particularly cycling and swimming) and ceremonies already sold out marking London 2012 as the most popular Paralympic Games ever with all tickets likely to be sold before the Games commence on Aug. 29th, 2012.

Paralympics Ireland is aiming to have a team of 40 athletes in 9 sports compete in London and encourage all sports fans to support the team from the stands at what is essentially a “home Games” and a unique opportunity to witness elite Paralympic sport live. Paralympics Ireland have produced a ticket guide for Irish fans to identify the “must have” tickets to support Irish team members. (p

To view guide check the below upload …

The Irish Team looks forward to your support.