national

Irish paralympians prepare in Portugal for London games

Ireland's Paralympic athletes leave for Portugal this morning for a final training camp ahead of arriving in London for the start of the games on 24 August.

A big send off took place last night at Bewley's Hotel near Dublin Airport as family, friends and supporters gathered to wish them well.

Team Ireland consists of 49 athletes, representing 20 different counties and will compete across ten sports at the London Games.

The squad represents the largest Irish Team since Atlanta 1996.

The 2012 Irish Paralympic team contains five reigning world champions in athletics and cycling and two defending Paralympic champions, athletes Jason Smyth and Michael McKillop.

Michael McKillop and fellow track star Jason Smyth will also defend the Paralympic titles they won at Beijing 2008.

For the first time ever, Ireland will compete in shooting and rowing at the Paralympic Games.

RTE