Marking one of the highlight events of the 10th anniversary of European Week of Sport, the very first Special Olympics European Union (SO EU) Day brought Special Olympics athletes together with EU leaders and citizens for two days of sport, dialogue, and action. Irish representative and Sargent Shriver Global Ambassador Margaret Turley travelled to Brussels with Special Olympics Ireland CEO Karen Coventry to speak at events and to EU parliamentary members about the impact and importance of inclusion.

On Thursday, 2nd October 2025, Special Olympics Ireland and the Rosemary Collaboratory research consortium will host a national forum at the University of Limerick to highlight health inequities faced by people with intellectual disabilities in Ireland. This free, one-day event brings together athletes, families, supporters, healthcare professionals, social care staff, and policy leaders to discuss how we can move from access to action in shaping a more inclusive health system.

The forum will also mark the launch of the Irish research report, part of the global Focusing on the Invisible study released by Special Olympics in September 2025. This international report, based on surveys across 50+ countries, uncovered major systemic challenges—including communication barriers, limited decision-making for people with IDD, insufficient training for health workers, and significant data gaps. The Irish findings will be shared for the first time at this event, providing critical insights to drive change in national policy and practice.

Special Olympics Ireland Volunteer Awards 2025 was held on September 13th in Dublin. These awards are a celebration and recognition of the tireless, amazing work of volunteers that makes our programmes and mission possible. The winners of the Munster Volunteers Award 2025 were Donagh & Carmel Cronin.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Oisín Jordan as our new Director of Sport.

This month, meet Sheelah Watson, a dedicated volunteer engaged in many aspects of her community and many facets of Special Olympics.

SportABILITY Day 2025 brought together athletes, coaches and families for an incredible day of inclusion, activity and fun.

Saturday 13th September was a day filled with energy, learning, and leadership as 11 athletes took part in Fitness Captain Training.

On Saturday 13th September, 2 of our Special Olympics Athletes from the Eastern Region took to the cold waters of the Liffey, Dublin, to battle it out among the hundreds of swimmers during the 105th Liffey Swim, hosted by Swim Ireland and Dublin City Council.

At the end of August 2025, Eastern Region Basketball Athlete, Ashwin Maliyakal, from Killester Basketball Club completed an Introductory Basketball referee course. This two-day course was run by Dublin Officials Association in ALSAA.

This month, meet 2 of our amazing Connaught athletes!