Golf mad Fintan to bid for place at the Special Olympics

Golf mad Fintan to bid for place at the Special Olympics

17 October 2012

DOWNPATRICK golfer Fintan O’Connor has his sights set on competing at the World Special Olympics in America in 2015.

The 33 year-old hopes to be packing his clubs for the flight to Los Angeles with the rest of the Irish team, but knows a lot of hard work lies ahead before he gets his boarding pass.

Fintan is more than handy with a golf club and recently won a gold medal at the Special Olympics tri-nations tournament in Dublin. A staff member at the Asda store in Downpatrick, Fintan is an infectious work colleague and someone who is revered by his fellow Down Special Olympics athletes.

The 12-handicapper has been playing golf for 15 years and is a member of his home town club. He has an insatiable appetite for golf, a sport he took up after watching it on television and with some encouragement from his brothers.

Fintan’s proud to be a member of Down Special Olympics and is delighted to be coached by Ardglass Golf Club’s PGA professional Paul Vaughan and Ciaran Fitzsimons.

His current focus and training regime is geared towards the regional games at Killymoon Golf Club next year. Success at this event is the pathway to the Ireland Special Olympics in 2014 and then it’s the big one — the World Games in Los Angeles.

“Making it to the World Games is my goal. It won’t be easy to get on the team but I aim to do my best. This is my first full year as a member of Down Special Olympics and they have been brilliant to me,” said Fintan. “I heard about the organisation and decided to join. I love meeting people and have had a great time since coming here. My coaches are terrific.”

Fintan is rapidly carving out a name for himself in golfing circles and was recently invited to take part in a celebrity tournament organised by Gerry Kelly at Edenmore Golf Club.

The 33 year-old said he gets a great buzz when he’s with the other athletes and is so pleased he joined Down Special Olympics last year. Fintan said all the athletes share in each other’s success.

Mr. Frank Donnelly, manager and chairman of Down Special Olympics, said everyone is backing Fintan’s quest to make it to the World Games.

“Fintan is dedicated to his sport and a real inspiration to everyone at Down Special Olympics. We are so proud of him. His recent gold medal success has given our other athletes an opportunity to develop across our four sports which include golf of course, boccia, which is a form of indoor bowls, football and table tennis,” he explained.

“Nine boccia players have reached next year’s Ulster regional finals and we have athletes competing at the regional table tennis tournament as well.”

Mr. Donnelly said Down Special Olympics is fortunate to have excellent coaches across its range of sports and revealed the football players compete in the IFA disability league. It’s also hoped the soccer team can enter the Special Olympics league next year.

He added: “We have 56 members and are continuing to grow. We are very much a cross-community club and everyone is so passionate about this organisation. All our athletes do themselves and this district proud.”

Meanwhile, Fintan’s next big engagement is in Downpatrick towards the end of the month when he will be lighting the Halloween bonfire beacon at St. Patrick’s Square.