Community Games final to take place in Carlow this weekend

COMPETITORS from the 26 counties in Ireland will descend on Carlow this weekend for the national finals of the Cairn Community Games.

The athletics events and team games will take place at SETU sports campus on 22-23 August and as many as 3,000 children will participate. The following weekend, another 2,000 children will compete in music, drama and make and model competitions at St Patrick’s College and Visual.

Cllr Paul Doogue, who is the deputy president of the national committee, said he is “excited” to see the 'Olympics’ of community games return to Carlow for the sixth year in a row. He said he expects 20,000 people to come to Carlow over the two weekends; more than what the Pan Celtic International Festival draws in.

All the bed and breakfasts and hotels have been booked out for months and “it’s great to see so many small shops getting a small spin from the games,” said cllr Doogue.

A new part of this year’s games is the friendship tent, where children can go to have fun and do arts and crafts without the pressure of competition.

“I feel for some of the children the strongest memories will not necessarily be the race they ran or the medal they won, but the friendships they made and the feeling of being part of something bigger,” said cllr Doogue.

He thanked the stakeholders, including An Garda Síochána, security, council staff, SETU and the national community games committee for collaborating on an action plan to ensure the smooth running of the games.

“Things don’t just happen, you have got to make it happen,” he noted.

As for the visitors, cllr Doogue welcomed “each and every one” and wished the competitors the very best of luck in their events.