Paralympics Ireland welcome the beginning of the new National Velodrome and Badminton Centre. The sod was officially turned at the Sport Ireland Campus by Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport Patrick O’Donovan, Minister of State with Special Responsibility for Sport and Postal Policy Charlie McConalogue and Sport Ireland CEO Dr. Úna May.
The centre will provide a fantastic new facility for Irish athletes to train and compete in both cycling and badminton. It is testament to the incredible ability of Irish athletes that they have competed and succeeded at the highest level despite the lack of a velodrome in this country.
Speaking about the commencement of the Velodrome and Badminton Centre project Paralympics Ireland CEO, Stephen McNamara said “We are delighted that this project has now begun. It will be a huge positive for athletes in both Cycling and Badminton and especially for Para athletes in both sports. We have all seen what Irish Para athletes are capable of in the Velodrome thanks to the huge success of people like Katie George Dunlevy but now, with this venue we can look forward to even greater success from the next generation of riders. Para badminton is a wonderful sport that is so accessible to all members of society. It would be fantastic to see the return of Para badminton to the Paralympic Games and this fantastic new facility will help to achieve that.”
