28 June 2003
Normally the Olympics or Paralympics are hosted by a single city. However, the 2003 Special Olympics was hosted by Ireland, and it was definitely hosted by the whole country. Nearly every town seemed to be the billet of a national team and its entourage; my home of Tralee welcomed El Salvador. I wasn’t personally involved in the 2003 Special Olympics but, from the lavish opening and closing ceremonies in Croke Park to all the events in between, it brought a palpable buzz to Ireland that summer.
So, it’s a bit of a let down that the official song of the 2003 Special Olympics has none of the colour and celebration of the games themselves. As embodied by its singers, tenor Ronan Tynan and trad vocalist Rita Connolly, ‘May We Never Have To Say Goodbye’ seems to pitch itself as a cross between the light-opera event anthem of ‘Time To Say Goodbye’ and the souvenir-shop Celtic mysticism of ‘Riverdance’, drizzled with an ‘Ireland’s Call’ key change. In its strain to be uplifting and inspirational it almost pulls a hamstring. As a stadium singalong it sounds more fitting of a rain-soaked outdoor novena mass at Knock. If they ever let us host the Special Olympics or any other major international sporting shindig again, let’s instead make the official song vibrant and fun.
Irish Number Ones 