Eamonn Coghlan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome everybody back to the House after a restful summer period. I hope we are all energised, enthusiastic and ready for the forthcoming session. The summer may have been one of the wettest on record - the rain was unrelenting throughout Ireland from May until August - but it was spectacular for sport and it is not over yet. If I get two tickets for the all-Ireland final, I will be cheering for Donegal. In the final week of our last session we wished our Olympians and Paralympians the best of luck in London. They and other sportspeople made the summer of 2012 a spectacular one. We are familiar with the exploits of Rory McIlroy, for example. Having spent some time in the United States over the weekend, I know that everybody there is talking about Rory. I congratulate our Olympians and Paralympians and will mention a few obvious names. Senators do not need to be reminded of the exploits of Katie Taylor who won a great gold medal in boxing, double gold medalists like Jason Smyth and Michael McKillop and the inspirational Darragh McDonald and Catherine Walsh. The recent games marked a turning point for the Paralympic movement, not just in Ireland but all around the world. London pulled off a spectacular games. The police, the organisers, Sebastian Coe and the volunteers were all tremendous.

Many of our young athletes have dealt with setbacks in their careers. I recall an event at Athlone Institute of Technology at which Mark Rohan and I spoke. When I introduced myself, I mentioned that one had to decide whether to turn right or left when one faced a crossroads in one's life.

He got up after me, when he was being inducted and said he was honoured to be there with myself, Sonia O'Sullivan and Barry McGuigan. He said that I had talked about turning right or turning left but that he missed both the left and right turns and ended up hitting a tree and was paralysed from the waist down for the rest of his life. The inspiration these athletes are to themselves, their families and to Ireland has to be admired. I asked during the last Seanad session if we could bring some of these inspirational people to the House so that we can hear their stories. I call on the Leader to congratulate these wonderful athletes who represented Ireland and to invite them to the House, if appropriate.