As the curtain comes down on a successful Special Olympics World Games in Athens today (Sunday), Team Ireland's success at the games were boosted with yet more medals from the three Irish football teams at the games.


The Irish male 5-a-side team claimed gold, the male 11-a-side won silver while the Irish women's 5-a-side team won bronze.

The male 5-a-side team which is led by FAI coach Paul Whelan dominated the tournament with wins over Cyprus, Finland, Timor Leste at the group stage and they confirmed their status as tournament favourites with a stunning 6-5 win over Cyprus to claim the gold medal for Team Ireland.

Meanwhile, the men's 11-a-side team who were defeated 4-1 by a strong Turkish outfit in the opening game bounced back in style with a 5-1 victory over India which was followed by a hard-fought 3-2 win over Australia. Ireland's 1-1 draw against Great Britain in their final game was enough to claim the silver medal for FAI coach, Paul Martyn's team as Turkey claimed the gold medal.

Head coach of the women's five-a-side team, Laura Cusack and her players ensured that the male teams did not dominate all of the footballing headlines with a spectacular performance at the games as they claimed the bronze medal after a near seamless tournament. They began their challenge with a 3-0 victory over Italy which was followed by a 1-0 victory over Thailand. The only blot in their copy book was a tight 1-0 defeat to World Games hosts, Greece but in the 3rd place play-off, the team bounced back with great class to defeat the Azzurri once again by a score-line of 4-0.

Team Ireland - Football Results and classification

11-a-side
Team Ireland 1-4 Turkey
Team Ireland 5-1 India
Team Ireland 3-2 Australia
Team Ireland 1-1 Great Britain

Rankings:
1st Turkey
2nd Team Ireland
3rd Great Britain

Women's 5-a-side

Team Ireland 3-0 Italy
Thailand 1-0 Team Ireland
Greece 1-0 Team Ireland
Team Ireland 4-0 Italy

Rankings
1st Greece
2nd Thailand
3rd Ireland

Male 5 a side
Team Ireland 2-0 Cyprus
Finland 0-2 Team Ireland
Timor Leste 0-2 Team Ireland
Team Ireland 6-5 Cyprus

Rankings
1st Ireland
2nd Cyprus
3rd Finland

Team Ireland - Football Squad

Oliver Boyle - Donegal Football Special Olympics Club - Donegal
Samantha Battams - Galaxy Special Olympics Club - Westmeath
Linda Cannon - Loughrea Training Centre - Galway
Emma Finneran - Creagh Training Centre - Galway
Christine Kelly - Creagh Training Centre- Galway
Fionnuala Treacy - Creagh Training Centre - Galway
Raymond Gannon - Stillorgan Rangers Special Olympics Club- Dublin
Paul Kenny - Sunbeam House Services - Wicklow
Marguerite Donegan - Tipperary Special Olympics Club - Limerick
Clodagh Kilcullen - COPE Foundation Cork - Cork
Michael Neville - Limerick Celtic Special Olympics Football Club- Clare
Vincent Rockett - Waterford Special Olympics Club - Waterford
Sheila Sheehan - Cope Foundation Cork - Cork
Maureen Sheridan - Brothers of Charity South Tipperary - Tipperary
Gary Tobin - Waterford Special Olympics Club - Tipperary
Keith Whelan - Waterford Special Olympics Club - Waterford
Adrian Clarke - Donegal Football Special Olympics Club - Donegal
Veronica Donnelly - Newry United SOC - Down
Luke Egan - Donegal Football Special Olympics Club - Donegal
Gareth Egan - Donegal Football Special Olympics Club - Donegal
Kenneth Ervine - Belfast Special Olympics Football Club - Antrim
Greg Kirkpatrick - Belfast Special Olympics Football Club - Down
William McBride - Lisburn Together Special Olympics Club - Antrim
Peter McCord - Lisburn Together Special Olympics Club - Antrim
Mario McShane - Donegal Football Special Olympics Club - Donegal
Stephen Nesbitt - Donegal Football Special Olympics Club - Donegal
Kaelan Northey - Foyle Special Olympics Club - Derry
Hugh Sweeney - Donegal Football Special Olympics Club - Donegal
Patrick Doyle - National Learning Network Portlaoise - Laois
Patrick Moore - Tullamore Special Olympics Club - Offaly
Mark Whelan - National Learning Network Portlaoise - Laois
Darren Farrelly - Cheeverstown House - Laois
Christopher Power - Waterford Special Olympics Club - Waterford
Joe Shaw - Shoot 'n' Stars Special Olympics Club - Longford
Colm Brennan - Waterford Special Olympics Club - Waterford
John Paul Shaw - Shoot 'n' Stars Special Olympics Club - Longford


FAI Head Coaches
Paul Martyn - Team Ireland 11-a-side
Paul Whelan - Team Ireland Male 5-a-side
Laura Cusack - Team Ireland Female 5-a-side