The Paralympics Ireland Aspire Programme, supported by Deloitte, continued this weekend as athletes gathered at the University of Limerick for the second camp of the 2026 programme.
The Aspire Programme supports emerging Para athletes as they progress through the performance pathway, providing access to expert support, structured learning and opportunities to connect with other athletes across the programme.
Weekend two built on the opening camp, with a focus on nutrition, self-awareness, mindfulness, wellbeing and the practical supports that help athletes develop both in and outside of their sport.
Athletes took part in a series of workshops and practical sessions across the weekend, with contributions from practitioners from the Sport Ireland Institute, alongside sessions led by Laurence Halsted from The True Athlete Project.
The camp opened with a mindful arrival and warm-up before athletes moved into a sports nutrition session titled Fuel with Purpose: Taking Ownership of Your Performance. The session focused on how athletes can make informed choices around preparation, fuelling and recovery to support training and competition.
This was followed by self-awareness sessions, which encouraged athletes to reflect on their own habits, needs and performance approach, while considering what works best for them as individuals within a high-performance environment.
Laurence Halsted, a two-time Olympian in fencing, guided mindfulness sessions across the weekend. Halsted represented Britain at London 2012 and Rio 2016, later serving as Performance Director of the Danish Fencing Federation before moving into his current work with The True Athlete Project. His sessions gave athletes practical tools to pause, reflect and bring greater awareness to how they prepare, train and perform.
The True Athlete Project’s approach added to the wider theme of the camp by encouraging athletes to consider the values, habits and environments that support them as people as well as performers.
Sport specific training also formed an important part of the weekend, allowing athletes to apply the learning from the workshops within their own performance environments.
One of the highlights of the camp was a fireside chat with Paralympians Róisín Ní Riain and Shauna Bocquet. The discussion gave Aspire athletes the opportunity to hear directly from two athletes with Paralympic experience, with both sharing insight on training, competition, personal development and the realities of building a career in high-performance sport.
The second day continued with further development work, including a THRIVE session focused on building a life that supports performance. The weekend concluded with final supports, a camp recap and reflection before athletes departed.
With Deloitte’s support, the Aspire Programme continues to give emerging Irish Para athletes the chance to step out of their usual training environments, learn from experienced practitioners and build relationships with others on a similar pathway.
The Aspire Athletes
The 2026 Aspire cohort represents a diverse and exciting mix of Para sports from across Ireland:
- Para Athletics: Lana Sutton, Cathal Ryan, Brandon Ballard, Fionan Ruane*, Charlie Byrne*
- Para Cycling: Alister MacSorley, Cormac O’Callaghan, Ciaran O’Toole, Heather Jameson*, Jessica Kennedy*
- Para Equestrian: Katie Reilly, Clodagh Walsh*
- Para Triathlon: Elsie Friel
- Para Rowing: Sadhbh Ní Laoighaire
- Para Powerlifting: Niamh Buckley, Sean Hughes, Casey Fitzgerald
- Para Swimming: Luke O’Donoghue, Luke Brennan, Ellie Lynch
- Para Table Tennis: Patrick Vaughan, Kevin O’ Callaghan*
*denotes new to the programme in 2026
