Council Chair hosts a reception for local Paris 2024 Olympians

Recently the Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor John McClaughry, hosted a reception for the local Paris 2024 Olympians - Ross Corrigan, Nathan Timoney, Clare boles and Gavin Noble.

The following is a copy of the speech made by the Chair at the reception:

Good evening Councillors, ladies and gentlemen

As Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, I am delighted to welcome you all here to the Townhall, Enniskillen for this reception in honour of our Paris 2024 Olympians - Ross Corrigan, Nathan Timoney, Claire Boles and Gavin Noble.

It was a remarkable achievement to have not 1 but 4 young people from Fermanagh playing a key part in the Paris Olympics this year.

Nathan and Ross

Nathan and Ross, it was during your time at school at Portora Royal Grammar School, now Enniskillen Royal Grammar School, that your keen interest in rowing started.

You have both won many titles since you started rowing including a World U23 silver in a four in three years ago. Last year you both raced in the senior ranks making a World Cup final (sixth) before going on to win bronze at the Worlds which secured your place in the Olympics.

You have been paired together since your junior days, therefore, it was fitting that you would both make your Olympic debut together as a pair.

Your opening race saw you finish 3^rd ahead of a strong Switzerland crew and this resulted in automatic qualification for the semi-finals. You knew that a 3^rd place finish in the semis would earn you a place in the final and you achieved just that. I understand you were disappointed not to win a medal but to be part of the final on your debut was a significant achievement.

This is testament to the many hours of training you are committed to and I know one of your coaches, Derek Holland, said you never made any excuses and always trained hard.

This and your determination to go to the top has enabled you to achieve your dream of going to the Olympics and I am confident that your performance in this year's games will mean it is not your last and you will continue to go from strength to strength and achieve your goal of an Olympic medal soon.

Claire Boles

Claire, your rugby career started at the age of 14 when you played tag rugby at Enniskillen Collegiate Grammar School, now Enniskillen Royal Grammar School. You then joined the first ever girls' team at Enniskillen Rugby Football Club following a taster day at the club and you have been playing ever since.

You were part of the first Ulster Team to win the Ireland Under 18 Interprovincial title in 2016 and you played for the Ulster VX and Sevens Teams and you were selected for the Ireland Under 18 squad to play Sevens Rugby.

You joined the Ireland Senior Sevens Team and made your debut in 2017 in Clermont. You also won 3 caps for Ireland at the Women's Six Nations in 2019.

You were also part of the squad that won gold in the first World tournament at the SVNS Series Cup in Perth in January of this year.

At the Olympics you made your debut against Great Britain and scored a try which was a fantastic achievement. Since then, you have been named among the 37 elite to receive a central contract from the Irish Rugby Football Union. This is testament to your talent on the field and your commitment to the sport which you have continued to play and train for whilst you studied Engineering at University College Dublin and for a PhD.

I am confident that you will continue to excel and play at the top of the game and represent Ireland for many years to come. You definitely have and will continue to be an inspiration to many young girls at Enniskillen Rugby Football Club.

Gavin Noble

Gavin, you competed as an athlete from a young age and took up the triathlon in 1995 going on to win at every level from youth, including a British Junior Title, to Senior. You were the first ever male to represent Ireland in the triathlon at the London Olympics in 2012 where you finished in 23^rd, a truly remarkable achievement.

Such is your interest and passion for sport, you studied Sports Marketing at college meaning that, even though you have retired as an elite athlete, you are still involved in the sport through your work with Team Ireland and HupHup.

The success and experience you gained competing as an athlete saw you being selected as Deputy Chef de Mission for the Tokyo Olympics before stepping up to the Lead role this year for the Paris Olympics.

This is a very significant role as you are responsible for overseeing all the logistics, managing the village, selecting the final team and promoting the brand and working with sponsors. Your goal was to bring home more medals than from Tokyo and you achieved this with seven.

I believe this success was due to the wealth of experience you had from being an athlete and your knowledge of and passion for the sport as well as your hard work, commitment and attention to detail. You were the ideal choice as many athletes will have, and will continue to, be inspired by you. I am confident that you will continue to play a key role in Team Ireland for many years to come.

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council is committed to ensuring our people are healthy and well, physically, mentally and emotionally and supporting our young people to be active in sport can help to achieve this. We are committed to achieving this through our Significant Sporting Achievement Grant and the Sports Bursary Awards.

Nathan, Ross, Claire and Gavin, your success at the Paris Olympics and throughout your sporting career is testament to your dedication to training and this is admirable as you have undoubtedly made sacrifices along the way to be the best sportsperson you can be. I am delighted that this hard work has paid off and you have enjoyed this outstanding success and it will be one experience you will never forget.

On behalf of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, and on my own behalf, I congratulate each of you on your achievements to date. You have done yourselves, your clubs, your coaches, your County, your District and your country proud. I wish you all every success for the future and I am confident we will be hearing of more, much deserved success in the years ahead.

Thank you.

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