HE may play for a Limerick club but soccer player Michael Neville is a Clare man through and through.
The 25-year-old from Cappa Lodge, Sixmilebridge, will represent Ireland in soccer for this year’s Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens.

Michael, who plays for Limerick Celtic Special Olympics Football Club, will join 126 Irish athletes, including Inagh’s Ciara O’Loughlin, for the games, which will run from June 25 until July 4.
“Representing your country is the biggest thing. It’s a great achievement to be able to play for Ireland and I’m really looking forward to going to Athens. I’m proud to represent a Limerick club but it’s where you come from at the end of the day and I’m a Clare man and I’m not going to change that,” he said.
A former pupil of St Anne’s in Ennis, Michael is a huge sports fan, playing both hurling and soccer for Sixmilebridge when he was younger.
He was first introduced to the Special Olympics while at a training centre in Limerick. Since then, he has gone on to play for Munster before being called up for the Ireland squad.
Michael told The Clare Champion he is only too well aware of his team-mates’ skills through playing provincial games.
“We were competing in the 2010 Special Olympic Games against Ulster in the final. They were the first team we had played and then we played them again in the final. The unfortunate thing was it was one at the end when it went to penalties and we lost,” he said, before adding with a smile, “half the lads from the Ulster team are my Ireland team-mates now though.”
This is the first time Michael has competed in the world games or has even left the country. “I haven’t been outside Ireland yet and I’m really looking forward to it, getting to know people from different countries. We’re going to be learning different languages, making life-long friends. It’s an experience I will never forget. You don’t really know what to expect really until you’re over there but I’ve been talking to one of the guys and he told me a bit,” he said.
The Ireland football team have enjoyed plenty of success in the past but Michael isn’t going to let the pressure of the competition get to him. “I suppose from what happened before, we’ll be expected to go on and win the whole competition,” he laughed.
“Some of the guys who are playing on the team went to Shanghai and it was a great achievement to win it once but to win twice would be great and I would love to get a gold medal.
“There can be a bit of pressure on you but you can’t let it get to you. You can just go out and do what’s expected of you, do your job the best that you can do. At the end of the day, if you lose one game that’s fine, you can win the rest. Our manager, Paul Martin, said to us try your best, don’t go out to lose, just try your absolute best.”
No doubt, Michael’s goal scoring impressed those putting together the Ireland team, with the player putting 36 in the back of the net for his club.
“I’m hoping to be able to score for Ireland, the chances will come and it’s just a matter of hitting the target and seeing what happens,” he said.
Michael has been training hard in the run-up to the games. He is up at 6am each day, heading into the National Learning Network in Raheen. After a full day of work it’s training on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, along with training in either Limerick or Dublin on Saturday. “So far, I haven’t found it too difficult combining the training and work, I take a break on Thursdays and Fridays and I find time to meet my friends,” he said.
His training will continue in Greece, with the Irish team heading to Rhodes for a few days to acclimatise to the heat.
A life-long Man United fan, Michael’s footballing hero is Robbie Keane, although he admitted “my favourite player was Roy Keane but since he left it would be Robbie; it has to be an Irish person.”
Michael said he has received lots of support from many people on his journey to the games.
“I have lots of people to thank, Ronan Keane has been great, Cyril Garvey, I’d be nowhere without him and John Collins, my manager in Limerick. And of course my mam, dad and sister. There have been lots of people, too many to mention them all but I really appreciate what they’ve done,” he said.
Michael’s parents and his aunt will be among the crowds cheering in Athens during the games.
His mother, Mary, said, “We are very proud of him, we’re proud of every one of the athletes, each and every one of them. We’re nervous as well, obviously as any parent is, you always worry that they’ll be okay. Michael is a very independent person and he likes to do his own thing.
“We’ll be there to support them and we can’t wait.”

Ciara looking forward to world games

Inagh athlete Ciara O’Loughlin, who is a member of the Shannon Flyers Special ­Olympics Club, will also feature on the Irish team.
This is Ciara’s first time representing Ireland at the world games. She previously competed in the 2010 Special Olympics Ireland Games in Limerick, where she won gold medals in the shot putt and 100m.
Ciara will compete in athletics (track and field) and has trained very hard in preparation for the games. She has has been involved with Special Olympics since 2004 and enjoys the comradeship that comes with being part of a sports club. Since joining, Ciara has made lots of friends and looks forward to meeting them all every week and having the craic.
The highlight of Ciara’s time with Special Olympics was stepping onto the podium to collect her gold medals in Limerick last year, having her photo taken and celebrating her 16th birthday, all in the same week.
Ciara’s hobbies include swimming, music, dancing, fashion and watching DVDs on her laptop. Munster and Ireland rugby international Paul O’Connell is her sporting hero while Miley Cyrus is her favourite actress. Ciara loves music and is a big fan of Westlife – she attended their concert in Croke Park last year. On television, she enjoys watching Hannah Montana, Home and Away and any talent show featuring music and dancing.
Over the next few weeks, she will represent Ireland in Greece, giving her all for her country, county, parish and family.