In many areas the Olympics Games do not play a significant role in many people’s lives, but almost everybody has a passing interest.
This community has been blessed in the recent past in the Special Olympics the area had competitors who not alone competed, but accomplished with distinction, most notably the late Rory Murphy who captured the Silver Medal at the Special Olympics World finals in 2003 in the Common horse of the Gymnastics section.
Roy and others have represented themselves, their families and community and the areas rowed in behind them. The Special olympics and Winter Olympic’s often go unnoticed but the Summer Olympics always captures the imagination of many.
This year carries a special interest for this community. Last week young Cillín Greene from Kiniska was selected as part of the Irish team to participate in the 4×400 Mixed Relay team. A few weeks ago Cillín took first place in the National Finals of the 400 metres.
Cillín attended Bawnmore National School and later Presentation College Athenry before going on to study Law at DCU. He comes from a family where running has been part of life as his father Colman has run over one hundred marathons and several long endurance tests and is always running the roads and the trails locally.
Cillín played soccer with Cregmore FC in his youth and played underage hurling with Turloughmore and played Gaelic football with Claregalway until recent times and had also played minor football for Galway.
Cillín is a long time member of Galway City Harriers and he will be joined on the Irish team by GCH colleague Robert McDonnell. Both athletes area among the 25-person group named last week and they will join Chris O’Donnell, Phil Healy, Sophie becker and Cliodhna Manning on the Mixed 4x400m Relay Team. This team will contest the final at the Olympic Statium on Saturday, 31st July 2021.
The Olympic games are the pinnacle of sport and it takes moknths and years of oustanding work by athletes and coaches to get as far as competing for your country at the Olympic Games and the challenges of recent times made it all the more difficult. Ireland has had relative success on theAthletics fields in the Olympic games over the years.
Cillín Greene is son of Coleman Greene and Sinead Mitchell whose brother Damien won an all Ireland senior football medal with Galway in 1998, and Cillín has two sisters Iarlaith and Miriam.
Cillín will carry the hopes and dreams of a nation but especially an entire community in his surrounding home area.
