Niall Ledwith sits on a bench and pulls his jersey over his head. It's not coming off. He doesn't want it to. The Ireland representative is emotional and he's hiding tears. Ireland's 5-a-side soccer team have this morning missed out on the final after losing 2-1 to Libya. Ledwith is gutted. This is serious business to him.
Swarms of school children from the Muslim National School in Clonskeagh, Dublin, are dancing in and out of a nearby circle formed by the jubilant Libyan team. Some teachers join them in chants of "Libya, Libya".Ledwith can't help but hear the singing but still he hides his face. A teacher spots the despondent Irish contingent just metres away and ushers the kids over to them. "Ireland, Ireland" they yell. Ledwith's semi-shaved blonde head pops out from the white jersey, face reddened. But he's grinning. No bitterness, no bad feeling at the Special Olympics.Coach Gerard Murphy knows there's a game later as Ireland face Luxembourg for bronze. He gathers his despondent troops in a huddle. They need lifting. Their meeting is private, we hear no words. The huddle breaks and suddenly there's pep in the step as the squad trek off the pitch. Murphy's magic they say."Hopefully they can pick themselves up for the Luxembourg game," he says later. "They've come this far, its unreal. Everyone has played such a major part but nobody is going on that pitch this afternoon if their head isn't right. They've a few hours to prepare"."We've travelled the length and breath of this country. We want to walk off and say we gave it everything". Ireland will be giving it everything against Luxembourg at 2 p.m.