Magical atmosphere cherished as life-time dream realised

SPECIAL Olympics boss Mary Davis let out a sign of relief and whoop of delight simultaneously at the close of Saturday night’s opening ceremony as she realised a dream eight years in the making had finally come to life.

The chief executive who is responsible for bringing this year’s World Games together said the opening celebrations had been a success beyond her wildest dreams.

“We all knew the line-up, we knew the order but wondered would it run on time and it did but it did more than that. The atmosphere in Croke Park was electric. There was something very, very magical,” she said.

She said her abiding memory of the night would be the arrival of the Olympic flame into the stadium after its 17-day journey across 15 countries and its two-day whirlwind tour

of Ireland where an estimated two million people turned out to see it For her, it symbolised not just the start of the games but an enormous achievement in itself after the long years of preparation just to get to the stage of hosting the event.

A former PE teacher and director of Special Olympics Ireland, she first thought of bringing the games to

Ireland in 1995 while attending her ninth World Games in the US where they had always been held.

Then government advisor Fergus Finlay, the father of a Special Olympics athlete, was thinking much the same and between them, and with the help of other like-minded friends and associates, they put a proposal to the rainbow coalition of the time.

A feasibility study followed, a bid for the games was submitted to the organisers, venues were proposed, venues were inspected and after four years it was announced Ireland would indeed get the 2003 games.

An organising committee was then formed, 30,000 volunteers found and 56m in funding was raised. It was no wonder the lighting of the flame on Saturday night brought Mary to the verge of happy tears.

“I will never, ever forget that moment. It was just magical. I t’s fantastic and the athletes should be really, really proud, .” she said.

As attention turned yesterday from Croke Park to other sporting arenas for the start of the competition proper she promised the rest of the event would live up to its spectacular start.

The games have taken over 22 sports venues around Dublin for the competitions, including the new

National Aquatic Centre and the all-purpose Simmonscourt Pavillion at the RDS in Dublin.