This has been a wonderful week for Ireland for during that time the people of this wonderful island attempted to reach for the stars but instead we pushed through and touched the very rim of the heavens. And while we were there, it seems as if God himself listened and for a whole week the rains stopped and the Irish sun took on a life of its own and seemed to rise naturally into a cobalt sky as if it required no practice. The divine adjustments to our light and atmosphere lifted our spirits into a carefree merriment and even the cold winds of the western Atlantic seemed to blow more gently for a while. Gone were the sullen days of June, where glittering beams of sunlight once fought their way through broken grey and black clouds and for a whole week the colours of Ireland’s rolling countryside took on an emerald green and even the evening sky went to bed on a pillow of cloud that was streaked with pinks and reds. Often, at that hour of our twilight when the golden grasses of the Kenyan savannah became dappled with blues and the evening sun descended over the flat topped houses along the banks of the Tigris, mothers around the world held their young close by their side and thought of their other children in Ireland. For these were their special children, competitors who were memorable in their forbearance, who freely gave their affection to everyone without restraint and made it possible for all men to say, that if this state was to survive for a thousand years then “this certainly was our island’s finest hour”.

For this was certainly not the misty green Ireland of the dormant west, forever lost in some shamrocked-bordered poorly printed John Hynde postcard of yesterday. No!.. this was a new Ireland. It was an Ireland that had rose above those cathartic years of celibate abuse and corruption trials and one that shared a new-found spirit of love with these special people who were generous in their laughter and also disappointed in their defeat. During those wonderful days, when policemen smiled and Nelson Mandela and Bono could chat quietly about the problems of South Africa in the comfort of the Ice Bar, Ireland became a special place defined not by exclusion but by inclusion. It was a place where differences in minorities were not a cause for castigation but for celebration; a place where Catholic and Protestant, Indian and Pakistani, Israeli and Palestinian and Christian and Muslim all shared a new spiritual experience together, not in spite of their differences, but instead being indifferent to them. It was a week when the benevolent entrepreneur Denis O’ Brien made his private plane available so that the Iraqi team could travel from the bombed out remnants of Baghdad to share their shattered world with the rest of us. These wonderful athletes who shared the stadium with people that they probably believed had helped to steal the dreams of their youth, yet through the dignity of the event not one person amongst them protested or complained. For this was indeed a special world, one that embraced togetherness, that abhorred human barriers of any kind, one that strove to change negative stereotypes of ignorance and prejudice and even those of intolerance and fear.
               And I am still humbled that I was privileged to be part of it all, being present during the extraordinary and unforgettable opening ceremony and later when I was fortunate enough to be asked to present medals to the athletes on the last Saturday in Morton Stadium. I share the feelings of Tim Shriver, the Special Olympics President when he said. “I can’t imagine a night on which Ireland was more beautiful. Never more united, never at one with itself, never more proud of what it had accomplished” Even Colin Farrell was inclined to add “It’s beautiful, man”. Personally, before this special week, I used to think that we had to be tolerant of Special Olympics athletes, largely because they were prisoners who never had committed a crime who had everything to learn from the world. Now, I realise that it is really the people of this world who have something wonderful to  learn from the enthused, inclusive and celebratory example set by these athletes and those who support and cheer them on.

When Special Olympics hosted its first International Games in 1968, athletes gave their all in a stadium that included 100,000 empty seats—a reflection of the attitudes and lack of awareness of the time. Since then, Special Olympics has served enough athletes around the world to fill each of those seats 10 times over—and attracted enough volunteers to fill each 1,000 times. More nations than ever before are recognising the need for Special Olympics, which is why they are working to double their reach by recruiting one million more athletes by 2005.

I wish them every success in their venture, because they gave us back the great Christian virtues of our childhood and made us realise they had really never left us,…..it was only the guardians of our morals who had embarrassed our dignity.

Please click to see Special Olympics Video