The journey to the 2026 Summer Games began in spectacular fashion today at the National Indoor Arena on the National Sports Campus, Blanchardstown, as athletes, partners, volunteers and supporters gathered to celebrate the official launch of the Special Olympics Ireland Summer Games 2026.

Representatives from the Golisano Foundation and Special Olympics global leadership visited Ireland to see inclusive health initiatives in action and meet the athletes and partners driving this work forward.

On Thursday 26th February, the efforts of Special Olympics Ireland volunteers were highlighted with two award wins at the Federation of Irish Sport Volunteers in Sport Awards at the Crowne Plaza, Blanchardstown.

Special Olympics volunteer Kelly Fitzgerald of Owenabue Special Olympics Club is one of 36 volunteers to be honoured at the 2025 Volunteers in Sport Awards by the Federation of Irish Sport!

We were proud to be invited to the Sports for Business - Sporting Year Ahead event yesterday, hosted by the wonderful Rob Hartnett, who generously gave our CEO, Karen Coventry and three of our incredible athletes — Dara Kiernan (Badminton), Chris Byrne (Football), and Jacob McKenna (Swimming) — centre stage at the closing of the event to speak about the upcoming Ireland Summer Games.

The Special Olympics Ireland Games, Ireland’s largest inclusive sporting event takes place on 18–21st June 2026. Over 1,200 athletes will compete across 12 sports over four action-packed days, alongside MATP, Young Athletes and Healthy Athletes events - all powered by thousands of volunteers and supporters.

Special Olympics Ireland and Hockey Ireland have officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The signing of the Memorandum was celebrated at the FIH Hockey Pro League event in Dublin.

Our athletes dedicated a full 8 weeks to learning Olympic Style weight lifting and they did not dissapoint! This brilliant pilot with Weight Lifting Ireland was a huge success, with athletes showing skill, grit and ability in every lesson and lift!

Read all about Team South Galways Swim meet, the athletes personal bests, and which other teams came to compete & enjoy the day!