Denis O'Brien is paying for the Iraq team's stay in Northern Ireland

Iraq's hopefuls have arrived in their host town Larne ahead of Saturday's start of the Special Olympics in Dublin.

The athletes arrived in Belfast on Sunday evening on a private jet owned by event chairman and prominent Irish businessman Denis O'Brien.

The 12-strong Iraqi party seemed genuinely touched by the welcome from their Larne hosts.

"The head of the Iraqi delegation is grateful for this welcome," said a team spokesman.

"He feels most obliged to tell the Iraqi people of this welcome.

"This will be in the history books of Iraq," added the Iraqi official.

Larne mayor Bobby McKee said he offered the "hand of friendship" to the Iraqi team.

"We welcome you all to Northern Ireland and to Larne, the gateway of Ulster".

We were going to get them here by hook or by crook Denis O'Brien

The athletes will stay in a hotel near Larne where the bill will be footed by Mr O'Brien.

"We know that the host town of Larne would have been very disappointed if the Iraqi team had not been able to travel because of all the work that they have put in," said Mr O'Brien.

"We were going to get them here by hook or by crook.

"It was not that difficult. The problem was getting permission to fly into Baghdad".

Larne Borough Council chief executive Colin McGarry put aside his fear of flying to travel to the Iraqi capital.

In fact, Mr McGarry helped to calm a couple of Iraqi athletes who became distressed during the flight.

"Two of the lads were traumatised with the flight going up and down a bit," said the Larne Council chief

"We lay them on the floor and put a blanket round them and they are OK now".

Belfast is welcoming Special Olympics athletes

As regards first impressions of Northern Ireland, one Iraqi team member described the country as "like paradise".

"I'm from northern Iraq and this is greener than anywhere I've seen before".

The Iraq athletes are among 30,000 people who are arriving in Ireland for the World Games.

This year is the first occasion that the event has been staged outside the United States.

A bagpiper and cheering crowds greeted the arrival of every delegation at Dublin Airport, including athletes from several SARS-struck nations whom Ireland had threatened to ban before relenting under international criticism.

The two exceptions are the teams from Hong Kong and Taiwan, which are still serving 10-day quarantine periods in Macau and Thailand to meet Irish safeguards.

The bulk of the US team, which is the largest in the field with 1,300 athletes, arrived at Belfast International Airport in three chartered flights from Boston, Orlando and Denver.

They are taking over the main student dormitories at Queen's University and, officials predicted, were about to be wowed by Belfast hospitality that has been months in planning.

Our experience in Belfast will be great US official Kathy Meagher

"We've never been exposed to a host town before, because we've always been the host," said Kathy Meagher, a member of the Team USA management committee.

"Belfast is nothing like the unfriendly place the media portrays. It's wonderful.

"So our experience here will be as great, if not greater an experience, for the athletes than next week's competitions".

Meagher said that the athletes take the competition "very seriously".

The World Games puts athletes in different groups of ability, "so you'll have groups at the low end of the spectrum with low skills, and at the other end extremely high-skilled athletes," Meagher said.