Cork GAA Club fundraiser sends winners to sporting events around the world

A Cork GAA club has caught the world’s attention by sending the lucky winners of their fundraising raffle to some of the world’s greatest sporting events

Cork GAA club Russell Rovers launched a fundraising campaign earlier this year for their club facilities and for mental health advocates Pieta House, with monthly draws forming part of an overall competition culminating in the main draw on December 30 at Sea Church in Ballycotton.

Four lucky winners from Cork and Kerry are heading off to the World Cup in Qatar and the DP Tour Championship in Dubai respectively.

Gene McGrath from Shanagarry in Cork was the October bonus prize winner of the sportpass.ie competition. Gene and his wife Rose have bagged an all-expenses paid trip to the DP World Tour in Dubai for six nights.

Susan Kelliher and Matthew Finnerty from Killarney are off to The World Cup in Qatar this month, with hospitality tickets to the England versus Wales game along with flights, and six nights in a five-star hotel in Dubai with return transfers on match day.

Funds raised by Russell Rovers will be put towards the club’s development plans which include a new astroturf facility, playing pitch improvements and an upgrade to the club house facilities at its Shanagarry base.

Michael Mannion, Chairperson of Russell Rovers GAA club said, “We’ve been delighted with the level of interest in our sportspass.ie fundraiser so far and excitement is building as we head towards Christmas and our overall draw on December 30.

“The tickets would be a great Christmas present for the sports fan in your life with the opportunity to attend these bucket list prizes. While we acknowledge that €100 is a big spend, we’re also making a sizeable contribution from the funds to Pieta, a really worthwhile charity that helps people in crisis in communities across the country.” 

Russell Rovers is being supported in the draw by local businessman Pearse Flynn, who has already sourced the September and October prizes.

Mr Mannion added, “we are very grateful to Pearse Flynn, a proud club man, who is working hard to help us to source the tickets and is a key supporter in improving the facilities for the next generation of players in Russell Rovers.” Eight lucky ticket holders will receive the ultimate Christmas gift when they get to choose from twelve of the world’s top sporting events in 2023.

This is the first time a prize like this has ever been offered in support of an Irish club and has drawn interest from across the globe since it was launched in September.

A maximum of 5,000 tickets are available for the 100K Sports Pass Draw. It costs €100 to enter, but eight lucky winners will be able to choose from a list that includes the Women’s World Cup in Australia, the Super Bowl and The Masters.

Other events included on the list are the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Cheltenham Festival, the Rugby World Cup Final, the Champions League Final, the Wimbledon Final, Wrestle Mania, the All-Ireland Final, Rugby’s European Cup and the Ryder Cup.

Not only will the winners receive two tickets for their chosen event, but they will also receive flights, transfers and accommodation at their destination.

As part of the fundraising journey, Russell Rovers GAA is proud to be partnering with Pieta House. “A considerable contribution from the proceeds will be made to this worthy charity, which provides an invaluable service for people throughout Ireland during difficult times in their lives,” said a spokesperson.

Tickets and information for the draw are available from www.sportspass.ie and on the Russell Rovers Facebook page.

The first name drawn will have their choice from the list of 12 major events. The second name drawn will have their choice from the remaining 11, and so on down the list.

Anyone who enters in November is also in with the chance of winning an all-expenses paid trip to Camp Nou in Barcelona in March 2023 for El Clásico to see Barcelona vs Real Madrid.