Ireland's Paralympian golden girl has an Offaly dad!

OFFALY has a new sports star, Paralympian golden girl Ellen Keane.

Speedy swimmer Ellen's father Eddie was born in Ballinree, Crinkle, Birr, as was her grandfather Francis.

Ellen won Ireland’s first gold medal of the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo on Thursday when she touched the wall in the SB8 100 metres breaststroke final in a time of 1:19.93.

Eddie Keane, 60, along with his wife Laura, was up in the early hours to watch Ellen smash her own personal best in the Japanese pool and see off the opposition in style.

Ellen's father was one of 17 children born to Francis and Clare Keane in Crinkle and the Paralympian's aunt, Brigid Keane Salerno told the Midland Tribune how proud the extended family were of her.

“She's fantastic. There's no words for her,” Brigid said of Ellen, who competes with one incomplete arm.

“Of course she was born like that with half an arm... I just felt so proud of her and for Eddie and the Keane family.

“I spoke with Eddie and he was emotional and he said don't forget to come to the homecoming.”

Brigid, a 69-year-old grandmother who resides in Monasterevin, has lived in Italy, Germany and England herself.

Her father died in 1984 and her mother passed away 10 years later. “I've travelled all over but I never forget my roots,” added Brigid. “Ellen's definitely an Offaly girl, her dad is Offaly and her grandfather was Offaly.”

Also, she pointed out that her son Ilija, Ellen's first cousin, is a noted sportsman himself, having won a World Championships gold medal in kickboxing in Maribor, Slovenia in 2001.

He now runs martial arts schools in Clondalkin and Naas.

An uncle of Ellen's, Martin Keane, played hurling in Dublin, and Brigid said she travels to Crinkle to visit the grave of one of her other brothers, Francis, a veteran with the UN forces in Congo who died in his 20s.

Brigid's brother Eddie lives in Clontarf where the whole community were out in support of the 26-year-old swimming star.

Ellen is no stranger to climbing the podium in top-level international Paralympian swimming, having won bronze at the Rio de Janeiro Paralympic games in 2016 and bronze again at the World Para Swimming Allianz European Championships in 2018.

Like many youngsters who grew up in her part of Dublin, Ellen first dipped her toes in the water at the ALSAA pool near Dublin Airport and this week her parents spoke of the many early morning lifts to training for their talented child.

“All those quarter past four mornings in the early days, they have all paid off for that gold medal and you could see it in her face, that big smile,” Eddie told the Irish Times.

One of four children, Ellen's superior ability in the water was evident very early and she became Ireland's youngest ever Paralympian at just 13 at the Beijing games in 2008.

Tokyo gold is her crowning moment thus far and speaking to RTE afterwards, she reflected on how she managed to stay ahead of New Zealand rival Sophie Pascoe, who finished second.

“When I dove in, my goggles filled up with water! I think that was a good thing as I couldn't see where the girls were around me. Just on the turn I kind of saw Sophie a little bit but I just had a gameplan in mind and I stuck to that,” said Ellen.

“The last thing my coach said to me before I went in was 'If I need to push you in a wheelchair home, I want those legs wrecked'. And that is exactly what I did.

“I tend to rush my stroke when I go fast. For me, I am a strong person and if I rush my stroke I don’t get any power from my legs so it was more about being long and strong and controlled and trying to keep it as streamlined as possible.”