Abbeyleix garda sergeant is set for Italy
Sgt Paul Howard of Abbeyleix Garda Station will be among 106 police officers from across the world at the run in Turin next March, at the opening of the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games
AN Abbeyleix garda sergeant will travel to Italy to take part in the Special Olympics opening ceremony torch run.
Sgt Paul Howard of Abbeyleix Garda Station will be among 106 police officers from across the world at the run in Turin next March, at the opening of the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games.
Sgt Howard attended the Special Olympics Team Ireland launch on Friday 13 September at Salesforce Towers, Dublin, where he was joined by Assistant Garda Commissioner Paula Hilman, Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton and police officer Becky Minish of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). All were representing the Irish Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) committee. Sgt Howard and PC Minish will travel to Turin to support the Irish athletes throughout the eight-day games and to take part in the Special Olympics opening ceremony torch run.
The games from 8-16 March will see 1,500 athletes from 103 countries competing in a wide variety of winter sports. Among them are 14 exceptional athletes, who will represent Team Ireland in alpine skiing and floorball.
The LETR is made up of members of An Garda Síochána and the PSNI and supports Special Olympics by serving as guardians for the Flame of Hope, assisting with fundraising and raising awareness of the Special Olympics movement across the island of Ireland and worldwide.
The first Torch Run in Ireland was in 1989 when gardaí undertook the project. The event made history in 1996 when both gardaí and the then-Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) took part in an all-island Torch Run.
Since the committee's formation, joint PSNI/Garda Síochána Torch Runs have been held for Special Olympics Games at world and Ireland level. Each has been honoured to have Special Olympics athletes on the Torch Run team.
The LETR currently supports many fundraising activities for Special Olympics, most notably Cops and Donuts and the Polar Plunges. Sgt Howard is involved in organising the annual Cops and Donuts fundraiser in Portlaoise, which was held for the first time in 2022 and sells thousands of doughnuts to raise funds for Special Olympics Ireland.
