Kare athletes and staff at the official Team Leinster Launch at Eir HQ on Saturday 9th March
Today is an historic day as Kare athletes and coaches will take part for the first time in the Special Olympics Ireland Winter Games.
Kare has a proud tradition for more than 40 years of being represented by athletes at the Special Olympics Ireland Summer Games. This weekend will be a new step for Team Kare, as 15 athletes and 4 staff join the Leinster team to participate in the three-day residential Winter Games event in Craigavon, Northern Ireland.
Comprising of two sports, Alpine Skiing and Floorball, the Ireland Winter Games 2024 is set to be one of the largest games yet with 207 athletes from all corners of Ireland competing. This competition will be the qualifying event for the World Winter Games in Turin, Italy in 2025.
These Winter Games will be a highlight for Special Olympics athletes across Ireland, having been postponed in 2020 due to Covid-19. For many, it is their first time competing at All-Ireland level.
The athletes and staff representing Team Kare and Leinster in the games received a well-deserved send-off at a special social club event on Wednesday 20th March.
Scroll down to learn more about our talented athletes.
Conor Butler
Conor, part of Kare's service in Prosperous, is a keen golfer and models his game on Shane Lowry's. Conor is also an accomplished soccer and basketball team player.
Brendan Connolly
Brendan, supported by Kare's Outreach team, has previously represented Leinster in basketball and football. In 2019 Brendan also travelled to the USA as the only Irish representative in basketball at their annual All Stars NBA Cares exhibition match.
Lisa Conway
Lisa is part of Kare's Athy service and has been participating for many years with Kare in a range different sports. Lisa is also a member of Carlow Special Olympics Club.
Amy Crofton
Amy, supported by Kare in Clane, has participated in many sporting activities over the years at Kare including bocce, bowling and equestrian. Amy is the goalkeeper for Leinster Ladies Team 3.
Eoin Daly
Eoin is an experienced Olympian, having competed in the World Summer Games in Berlin in 2023 and now taking part at Craigavon. Part of Kare's Rathangan Service, Eoin in a bit of a local celebrity!
Aaron Gorry
Aaron from Edenderry is in his second year with Kare and already an active participant in the sports programme. This is Aaron's first time competing in the Games, and sure to be the first of many.
James Harrison Doyle
James from Kare's Moorefield service has been involved in a lot of sports activities: soccer league, basketball league and bocce. James trains every Monday night at Kare's floorball session in Newbridge Town FC.
William Havens
William is supported by Kare in Newbridge and is an expert shot stopper. William has been involved over many years in soccer, swimming, and bowling, to name but a few, and has attended other representative games at Leinster level in the past.
Steven Keiller
Steven is part of Kare's Academy St service in Kildare Town. Steven has previously represented Kare at the All Ireland Summer Games in Athletics and is looking forward to a new challenge at the games in Craigavon.
Una Kenny
Una, another member of the Clane crew, loves floorball almost as much as open water swimming where she also excels. Una has also previously represented Leinster at the Summer Games in golf.
Sean Marron
Sean, also from our Clane service, has being playing floorball for several years now. As well as that he is a keen soccer player, and can also regularly be found on the fairways of Clane Golf Club.
Amanda Muldowney
Amanda is part of Kare's Athy service. An accomplished medal winner in bowling and bocce already, this will be Amanda's first representative games.
Shannen Myles
Shannen is supported by Kare's Outreach team. A talented basketball player, Shannen has been participating for a number of years in Team Basketball and is a former basketball league winner.
Conor Sheridan
Conor is part of Kare's Project SEARCH programme. A goalkeeper extraordinaire, Conor takes part in many of our sports such as soccer, bocce and of course the floorball.
Michael Ward
Michael is part of our Clane service. A veteran of the sporting programme at Kare, Michael is an all-rounder with soccer, bowling and athletics among his past achievements.
Team Kare members
Athy area: Shannen Myles, Amanda Muldowney, Lisa Conway
Newbridge area: Brendan Connolly, William Havens, Conor Sheridan, James Harrison Doyle,
Kildare area: Eoin Daly, Steven Keiller
Clane area: Conor Butler, Michael Ward, Una Kenny, Amy Crofton, Sean Marron
Edenderry area: Aaron Gorry
Coaches: Bridie Collins, Ken Kavanagh, Maria O'Reilly, Eamonn Quirke
The very best of luck to all of our athletes and coaches. We are so proud to have you as part of the Kare community.