Indian athletes get a taste of O'Briens

O’BRIENS Irish Sandwich Bars are to open an outlet in India in July but Indian Special Olympic athletes won't have to wait that long to taste the company’s speciality.

Tomorrow, O’Briens Irish Sandwich Bar in Athlone is providing lunch for 120 Special Olympic Athletes from India.

During the games, O’Briens are feeding 7,000 athletes and their coaches 200,000 sandwiches.

As soon as the team returns to India they will be able to sample their very own O’Briens Irish Sandwich Bar in New Delhi, the very first O’Briens in India.

The opening of the O’Briens store in India was confirmed yesterday, as the country's athletes arrived in Ireland to compete in the Special Olympics World Summer Games 2003.

The Indian team, of whom 85% are vegetarian, will experience a traditional O’Briens Irish lunch, made by Athlone O’Brien’s franchisee Nicola Harvey Neil and her staff. Athletes returning from their training session will be served an O’Briens vegetarian-style platter, made up of organic hummous, vegetarian cheddar cheese and salads, followed by apple tart and cream. To ensure the team feels really at home, O’Briens in Athlone has sourced caffeine-free lemonade, as the team doesn’t drink tea of coffee.

O’Briens Irish Sandwich Bars has pledged to raise 1.27m as one of the official sponsors of the games.

“O’Briens involvement in the Games has touched the hearts and minds of O’Briens employees around the globe.

“Here in Athlone we are really delighted to welcome these amazing athletes to our town, sharing with them a little taste of Ireland and learning about their country and their achievements,” said Ms Harvey Neil.

The 140-strong Indian contingent will be the largest ever number of athletes from the country to attend the Games and will also be the biggest group from the entire Asia Pacific region.