Ellen Keane (born 6 April 1995) is an Irish

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

and gold medallist competing in S9, SM9 and SB8 classification events.

Career

Keane won three bronze medals at world championships before winning a bronze medal in the 100 m breaststroke (SB8) at the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fro ...

, and gold at the same event at the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

Personal life

Keane was born with an undeveloped left arm and competes as an

amputee Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indiv ...

. She is a student at

Dublin Institute of Technology Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT, ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a major third-level institution in Dublin, Ireland. On 1 January 2019 DIT was dissolved and its functions were transferred to the Technological U ...

. In June 2017 she was honoured by the

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The ...

, Brendan Carr, with a Lord Mayor's Award, which is awarded 'to citizens who, through their ordinary everyday lives, enrich this city in an extraordinary way'.

Media appearances

In 2017, Keane gave a

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

Talk Entitled 'My Lucky Fin' telling the story of how she changed the way of looking at her own disability - and how that in turn changed her entire life. In 2022, Keane appeared on the fifth series of the Irish version of ''Dancing With the Stars'' overall Keane finished the competition in second place losing out on the win to

Nina Carberry Nina Carberry (born 19 July 1984) is a retired Irish female National Hunt jockey. She hails from a racing family and is the daughter of jockey Tommy Carberry. Career Carberry got her first Cheltenham Festival win in 2005 on Dabiroun in the Fred ...

and her pro-partner

Pasquale La Rocca Pasquale La Rocca (; born 24 June 1989) is an Italian dancer and choreographer. Best known as former Italian Ballroom and Latin Champion, La Rocca joined the second series of the Belgian version of ''Dancing with the Stars''. Early life La Ro ...

Culture

For International women's day in 2022

An Post (; literally 'The Post') is the state-owned provider of postal services in Ireland. An Post provides a "universal postal service" to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provided include letter post, p ...

launched a stamp collection of Irish sports women which featured Keane and others. Ellen was joint Grand Marshall with

Kellie Harrington Kellie Anne Harrington (born 11 December 1989) is an Irish amateur boxer, amateur World champion and an Olympic gold medallist. She was a silver medallist in the light welterweight division at the 2016 Women's World Boxing Championships. She ...

at the Dublin St. Patrick’s Day parade on 17 March 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keane, Ellen 1995 births Congenital amputees Living people Irish female swimmers Irish amputees Paralympic swimmers for Ireland S9-classified para swimmers Paralympic gold medalists for Ireland Paralympic bronze medalists for Ireland Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Medalists at the World Para Swimming European Championships Sportspeople from Dublin (city) Paralympic medalists in swimming 21st-century Irish women