Irish Paralympic Awards to recognise athletes

“The Irish success in Rio was astounding and I was privileged to be able to attend a number of events during the Paralympic Games.”

Athletes, coaches, sponsors and supporters of the 2016 Irish Paralympic team will gather Friday evening (2 December) at the Ballsbridge Hotel in Dublin for the 2016 OCS Irish Paralympic Awards Ceremony. The black-tie event, sponsored by Outsourced Client Solutions (OCS) Ireland, will recognise the achievements of the Irish team that won 11 medals at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games that finished 28th on the medals table. A number of media awards will also be presented to recognise the huge coverage of the Paralympic Games in Ireland across TV, radio, print and online.

Minister of State for Sport and Tourism, Patrick O’Donovan who attended the Games in Rio will present some of the awards.

O’Donovan said: “The Irish success in Rio was astounding and I was privileged to be able to attend a number of events during the Paralympic Games. Paralympics Ireland deserves great recognition for the work put in to the preparation of the team and we can all look forward with anticipation to Tokyo 2020.”

The awards take place once every four years and will cover a number of categories including Outstanding Male and Female Performances, Outstanding Games Debut Performance, Young Paralympian of the Games, and Outstanding Member of the Irish Paralympic Team.

The awards also recognise achievements in other areas including media awards for best TV, radio, and online coverage. A shortlist of Games images was also put to a public vote to choose the Image of the Games.

This evening’s awards for exemplary service to Irish Paralympic Sport will include the Irish Paralympic Hall of Fame Award, Irish Paralympic Order and the President’s Award.

Cecil Ryan of OCS stated: “OCS are privileged to have shared the journey to Rio 2016 with Paralympics Ireland and are delighted to celebrate the stunning success of the team at the OCS Irish Paralympic Awards. On behalf of the team at OCS we’d like to congratulate all members of the 2016 Irish Paralympic Team on their amazing success and for providing a big lift and inspiring the whole nation for 11 wonderful days in September.”

President of Paralympics Ireland, Jimmy Gradwell said: “The end of the four-year Games cycle gives us a chance to reflect on the amazing achievements of the team, which we are so proud of. The athletes and support staff have excelled once again at a Paralympic Games and we look forward to celebrating their stunning and richly deserved success at our Gala event tonight, supported by our great sponsors – OCS Ireland.”