Ireland is a 3-sport Special Olympic athlete, competing in swimming, cycling and cross-country skiing for over 10 years. She lives with her parents, her older brother and younger sister, all of whom are her biggest fans. Ireland is fulfilling her dream of going to college and attends a 3-year transitional/college experience program. She enjoys cooking, morning yoga, drawing/painting, listening to music, beach days, and playing with her new puppy, Finnegan. Ireland has made many friends in Special Olympics and especially loves to spend time with her special friend, who is also a 3-sport athlete. When not training or competing, Ireland has fun strutting her stuff onstage, recently representing New Jersey as Miss Amazing Jr. Miss in a national showcase empowering young women with disabilities. She is known by her family as “The Little Mermaid” because of her red hair and her love of the water and swimming, which she has been doing since before she could barely walk. Ireland is excited to be swimming for Team NJ and is looking forward to competing in Orlando with her friends, both old and new, and spending time at Disney.