Athlone woman's key role with Ireland squad at Paralympics
As Ireland's athletes prepare to battle for glory in the Paralympic Games, Athlone woman Fiona Scally will have a central role with the Irish squad when proceedings get underway in Paris.
Fiona has been working with Paralympics Ireland since September 2022 and her role encompasses communications and commercial affairs.
The Summerhill native has been in the enchanting city of Paris for over a week at this stage in preparation for the start of the Paralympics. Fiona is spearheading communications for Paralympics Ireland in the French capital, with social media updates and athlete interviews among her duties. Therefore, Fiona will be responsible for many of the online updates people will see during the Parlympics.
Fiona previously worked at the Para Swimming World Championships (Manchester 2023), the Para Athletics World Championships (Paris 2023) and the Para Swimming European Championships (Madeira 2024).
No stranger to sporting excellence herself, Fiona has represented Ireland in basketball up to senior level, in addition to playing rugby for Connacht (she was on the squad for last year's interpro series) and Gaelic football for Clann na nGael. She played basketball for the University of Limerick club and college teams while studying there, and also played for the Maree club in Galway.
Having played sport at a high level, no doubt Fiona will have a genuine insight into how Ireland's athletes are feeling as they aim to perform to their optimum in the Paralympics.
Fiona is a daughter of Ann and Matt Scally, and the Scally family is well renowned for involvement in sport. Fiona's dad Matt Scally was Athlone and Westmeath goalkeeper for several years, winning a number of senior championship medals with Athlone, and he remains a familiar figure around Páirc Chiaráin.
Fiona's brother Matt is part of the current Athlone GAA senior football squad. Having played with Clann na nGael for several years, achieving Roscommon senior championship success with the club, Matt transferred to the club of his father last year. Matt has also been a key player for Monksland United FC and he has enjoyed Combined Counties Cup success with the club.
The opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games will take place at Place de la Concorde in Paris tonight (7pm, Irish time) with competitions starting tomorrow. And with Ireland having recently enjoyed the nation's most successful ever Olympic Games, hopes are high that more medals will be coming home from the Paralympics.