Enniscorthy Echo, Page 23, 08-Oct-2008
€10,000 raised by G.A.A.

Nearly €10,000 was raised for grassroots GAA in Wexford during the first six months of the year. €9,650 or 5% of the total Leinster payout was earned by the model county between January and June - only slightly less than the 7% taken by nearest neighbours Wicklow. “It is only due to the support and loyalty of the members of the Wexford Association and the GAA itself, whose commitment to this project is invaluable, that we have been able to raise such a large sum,” says Ciaran Doyle, General Manager, Gaelic Telecom. “Working with the fans and the Association, we, as the official telecoms partner to the GAA, are incredibly proud of the funds raised so far and hope they have made a real difference to clubs and schools in the county” continued Mr. Doyle.

Seán Keogh, Runai, Crossabeg-Ballymurn said the money is sorely needed: “This money is great for the daily running of the Club. We’d like to thank all our members who supported our Club by joining Gaelic Telecom and encourage others to follow suit.”

The GAA's winning sponsorship deal sees 15% of call costs being donated back to customers’ preferred club or school, while at the same time saving them money on their home phone and Broadband bills.
All 32 County Boards support the scheme, which sees 2,500 Clubs around the country receive cheques from Gaelic Telecom twice a year.

Nickey Brennan, President of the GAA said that the level of investment was incredibly significant:
“On behalf of all our members, I would once again like to thank Gaelic Telecom and its customers for their ongoing support of GAA Clubs and Schools nationwide.

This significant continuous investment at grassroots level is vital to the organisation and I would urge all GAA members to consider signing up to this initiative and helping us to maximise this great funding opportunity.”
Between January and June of this year, a total of €520,000 was raised by the scheme with all provinces showing great growth. Meanwhile Cork, Dublin and Tyrone were the highest earners nationally with Armagh, Derry and Fermanagh showed the highest growth on the same period in 2007.

The total raised by the 6 Northern Counties during the same period was €110,143. They are now earning over 62% of the total Ulster payout.