Paralympians’ time to shine

Ireland’s 49-strong Paralympic team will take to London’s packed arenas this week and next with good luck messages from luminaries such as Katie Taylor, Colin Farrell and the Munster Rugby team ringing in their ears.

Every Irish competitor was provided with a handbook to record their experiences over the course of the next 10 days and within it lay a plethora of best wishes from “everyone who is anyone back home”, according to a Paralympics Ireland spokesperson.

The entire team arrived here in dribs and drabs this week, most of them from a pre-Games training camp in Comibra in Portugal, and there have been no reported last-minute aches, strains or bugs, apart from swimmer James Scully who has overcome a mild illness.