Changing Attitudes
In the summer of 2003, the 11th Special Olympics World Summer Games were held in Dublin, Ireland. This was the first time the World Summer Games had been held outside North America and it was a truly phenomenal success. Altogether, 7,000 athletes from 166 countries competed in 23 different sports and 85,000 athletes, volunteers and spectators attending the opening ceremony at Croke Park.
But the real success was how the Games captured the hearts and minds of the people of Ireland and Europe. The Games enjoyed the full support of more than 30,000 volunteers and millions of euros were raised through corporate partnerships. The participants from Kosovo were the region's first team at an international sporting event. A 12-member team from Iraq received special permission to attend the games, despite ongoing war in their home nation.
Such was the impact of the Games on the Irish community, that when a few weeks later Sophie Mai was born with Down Syndrome to the Pierce Family, she was instantly valued a treasure. "The rich living legacy of the Special Olympics is that the parents of any new born baby with any form of disability can be congratulated without hestitation" said father Richard Pierse. "Any such child will grow up with the potential to be not only a focus of love within its own family, but also to become a real contributor in our transformed Ireland."