The Kingdom, Page 68, 07-Oct-2008
Kerry fans raise €28,270 for local GAA clubs and schools

The love for, and pride in, the GAA, which is shared by GAA fans across Mayo is responsible for raising €27,254 for grassroots GAA in the county between January and June of this year! Mayo was the second highest earner of the Connaught counties, taking 32% of the total provincial payout. Over the past four years, the GAA and Mayo fans have earned a total of €138,394 for the local Association! “It is only due to the support and loyalty of the members of the Mayo 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.”

Nationally, the GAA and its exceptionally loyal and supportive fans have raised €3.4m for GAA clubs and schools over the past four years! The innovative but simple scheme 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, comments, “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 Gaelic Telecom customers.