Dare to Believe ambassadors Gráinne Walsh (left) from Offaly and rowing star Fintan McCarthy at Mullingar Educate Together National School on Thursday. Photo: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Olympians Walsh and McCarthy visit Westmeath school

Offaly boxer and 2024 Olympian Gráinne Walsh, along with rowing ace Fintan McCarthy, visited a Westmeath school yesterday (Thursday) as part of their roles as Dare to Believe ambassadors.

Tullamore native Walsh has been a Dare to Believe ambassador since 2019 and, speaking about the impact of the programme on the community at a visit to Mullingar Educate Together National School, she said: “I've been a Dare to Believe ambassador since day one, and my journey has grown so much since then. I love visiting the schools to inspire kids because I know how much I would have valued this at their age.

“It’s all about paving the way for the next generation, passing the baton, and showing them that anything is possible with belief and hard work. Honestly, I get as much from these visits as the kids do. I leave every school feeling fully of positivity and ready to smash my next challenge, so it works both ways.

“I try to share with the students that setbacks happen, I’ve had my fair share of them, but you have to find a way of getting over them, and believing in yourself. When you do that, success is all the sweeter,” the Offaly woman added.

A total of 21 new Dare to Believe ambassadors have been named, including double Olympic champion Fintan McCarthy, bringing the total number of athlete ambassadors to 44 across 15 sports (see full list below).

There are now 21 female and 23 male ambassadors sharing their stories with and inspiring school children around Ireland. The programme centres on the Olympic values, and since its launch in 2019, students have enjoyed, not only athlete visits, but the wider activations of the programme, such as the Road to Paris, Olympic Movement Breaks and the hugely popular Olympian Live! events.

Programme coordinators Roisin Jones and Roisin McGettigan are looking forward to launching into a new year of school visits,

“We are delighted to announce 21 new Dare to Believe ambassadors, to join some of our more seasoned ones. It’s really exciting to see how much this programme has evolved, and we are very grateful for the support of Allianz, whose values align so closely with ours around the value of sport to young people," they said.

“We are looking forward to what the future holds. We know from research that having sporting role models positively impacts activity levels for children, and we have great Olympic and Paralympic ambassadors on our programme.”

Sponsored by Allianz Ireland and developed with the support of the IOC Olympic Solidarity Fund, the Olympic Federation of Ireland schools programme aims to inspire the young people of Ireland to ‘Dare to Believe’ in themselves through an interactive curriculum that explores the Olympic values using Team Ireland role models to bring the messages to life.

Registration for the Dare to Believe programme is free of charge and all details can be found on www.daretobelieve.ie for both primary and secondary curriculums.

Dare to Believe Ambassadors:

Thomas Barr (athletics), Brendan Boyce (athletics), Ronan Byrne (rowing), Victoria Catterson (swimming), Dean Clancy (boxing), Lily Cooke (luge), Ross Corrigan (rowing),Andrew Coscoran (athletics), Tim Cross (hockey), Oliver Dingley (diving), Philip Doyle (rowing), Monika Dukarska (rowing), Eric Favors (athletics), Michelle Finn (athletics), Stacey Flood (rugby 7s), Jude Gallagher (boxing), Darragh Greene (swimming), Kellie Harrington (boxing), Phil Healy (athletics), Noel Hendrick (canoeing), Aifric Keogh (rowing), Sarah Lavin (athletics), Marcus Lawler (athletics), Natalie Long (rowing), Daire Lynch (rowing), Thomas Maloney Westgaard (cross country skiing), Fintan McCarthy (rowing), Jack Marley (boxing), Rhys McClenaghan (gymnastics), Bryan Mollen (rugby 7s), Lucy Mulhall (rugby 7s), Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (rugby 7s), Sophia Noble (badminton), Katie O’Brien (para-rowing), Tiarnan O’Donnell (para-rowing), Shane O’Donoghue (hockey), Louise Shanahan (athletics), Greta Streimikyte (para athletics), Richael Timothy (para cycling), Nicola Tuthill (athletics), Aidan Walsh (boxing), Gráinne Walsh (boxing), Ellen Walshe (swimming).