Irish Bid For
Winter Olympics 2026

Global warming - the paradox!

The world climate is changing and there is a distinct possibility that the climate in the west of Ireland is heading for a mini ice-age at some point in the not too distant future.

The following quotes are from an article in the Irish Independent on June 21st 2001

"Ireland's winter climate could become as cold as Moscow's. New evidence has raised fears that the warm Gulf Stream which dominates the Irish climate is beginning to lose its impact."

. . .

"It would mean that a warmer world caused by the man-made emissions of greenhouse gases could paradoxically lead to a colder and more uncomfortable climate for Ireland."

For more information on this environmental issue please visit our "global warming section".

and if you think this is bizzare check out an even more unlikely scenario with the film "The Day After Tomorrow".

The $125-million epic, The Day After Tomorrow will show Manhattan frozen solid after the Gulf Stream shuts down. We could do a lot of preparation for the winter Olympics here with that kind of money!

Be Prepared!

It is no good assuming it won't happen, preparations need to begin now. To this end a dedicated band of volunteers intend to show how the west of Ireland could cope with the holding of the Winter Olympics at some time in the future. They will put together a bid to hold the Winter Olympics in 2026 and this should give adequate time for the building of the necessary infrastucture. Should the climatic changes not have materialised by this time the application can be held for a later date.

Origin of the Idea

The kernel of this idea arose as a result of the bitter disappointment all over Ireland that the joint Ireland/Scotland bid for the 2008 European Soccer Championships failed. That event triggered the formation of a Winter Sports Steering Committee and a proposal was passed to bid for the Winter Olympics in 2026. An official sponsor is being sought and if you are interested you can contact michael@mayo-ireland.ie. Perhaps 20th Century Fox will donate some of the profits from "The Day After Tomorrow" to get us started.

Infrastructure and Requirements

There are a number of key ingredients needed to hold a successful winter olympics:

Snow!

No problem if the trends in global warming and its effect on the West of Ireland climate come to pass! If not . . . . see our visualisation page.

Accommodation

It is anticipated that there would be a large number of visitors for the Winter Olympics and we have found a website which would be helpful in planning your trip to the west of Ireland. This site is available in English, French, German and Italian. Of course you don't have to wait until 2026 to visit Ireland!

• West Ireland Holidays
• Ouest Irlande
• West Irland
• Ovest Irlanda

Getting to Ireland

Getting to Ireland and travelling within Ireland is very easy at present (see gettingtoireland.com). However in the context of a mini ice-age many changes would have to be made to allow easy travel on snow covered roads.

Ski Lifts

These could be financed by local communites or the relevant county councils.

Ski Equipment

Many sports shops in Ireland already carry a stock of ski clothing, skis and boots. These shops will need to look into expanding their services to provide a ski, sticks and boots hire service and employ ski technicians to service them. They will also need to consider setting up new premises in the mountains where their services will be required.

Ski Schools

Expertise will need to be sourced in other "ski countries" to train Irish ski instructors.

Links

As can be seen above a great deal of preparation needs to be done if the Irish bid for the Winter Olympics 2026 is to have any chance of success.

We are developing a links page to cover items such as snow-ploughs, snow-mobiles, snow-chains, ski equipment, ski lifts, ski schools etc which would be of value for people living in the west of Ireland in planning the future.

See our "links section"