Cork GAA clubs receive nearly €450k funding from Munster and Central Council

THE Munster Council in conjunction with Central Council approved a €1.6 million Club Development Grant Fund two weeks ago, which will cover capital grant works in clubs.

The Rebel County were the biggest winners from this grant, with Cork receiving €447,553. Clare were in second with €318,738.

Bride Rovers were allocated the most in Cork with €34,273, with Watergrasshill (€27,637) and Russell Rovers (€27,462) not far behind. Other big winners were Dohenys (€22,056), and Knocknagree, Passage and Dungourney who all received €20,000 each. There were in total 49 clubs in Cork that benefited from the grant. For example, Midleton and Glen Rovers pocketed €2,680 and €2,510 respectively. Brian Dillons received €700. 

But how does the Munster Council bodies decide on what each club receives? John Brennan Head of Operations and Finance at Munster GAA talks to The Echo at how the process is undertaken.

“It was a lengthy process, that’s for sure,” says Brennan.

“If we start with the easy part first. If you just take Bride Rovers, they applied for category 1 which was a land purchase application and they also had other applications such as pitch development, floodlighting and so on, so that meant they were getting 10% rebate back on each application which brought their figure to €34,273. The clubs that apply on any given year would be under capital expenditure. There are perimeters, the application is only valid for three years so last year would have been a big year for us as we were clearing out what was in the kitty from Covid so a lot of clubs would have benefited from that.

Ultimately it’s testament to the work that is being done in clubs in Cork and across Munster. 

"There was just over €19 million of expenditure recorded to feed into the system and that is for all six counties in Munster. There is an application process in place, guidelines that need to be followed. The majority of clubs that apply are successful. Out of 260 applications, we only had ten or eleven that were unsuccessful and that was down to a minimum expenditure of €20,000 that is required to meet the threshold. Unless you meet that target the application isn’t considered. But, the carrot for the clubs that don’t reach that number, they can apply next year.” 

The Council agreed on a budget of €1,600,000 for the grant scheme. €928,000 is donated by Central Council and the remaining €672,000 is contributed by the Munster Council. €150,000 of the Munster Council budget is allocated to a new category this year, the urban participation projects. The remainder of the Munster Council budget and the Central Council allocation fund category 1 – land purchase, category 2 – clubhouse developments, category 3 – school’s development projects, category 4 – refurbishment of handball courts and category 5 - pitch and non-pitch works.

GOOD INVESTMENT

Munster GAA chairman Ger Ryan said at the launch of the funding, “I am delighted to announce the awarding of €1.6 million in grants supporting 260 development projects throughout Munster. These grants have supported an impressive range of capital development projects, with clubs investing over €19 million in upgrading their facilities. This level of expenditure is testament to the strength of the GAA in the province and reflects the impressive vision of our clubs to continually improve facilities for players and supporters alike.

“The grants provided would not be possible without the great support we get from the many thousands of people who attend our games each year. 

We are very fortunate to have such loyal support in the province, and we are delighted to be able to redistribute income from games to the clubs and schools.” 

It has been a good time for GAA clubs in Ireland. The news of the €1.6 million from the Munster Council and Central Council on Thursday, December 14, came hours before it was revealed that JP McManus would give each GAA County Board in Ireland €1 million. It certainly was an early Christmas present. When you break it down, every club in Cork will receive approximately €2,660, which was the lowest due to the high number of clubs. Sligo were top of the pile with each club in their county picking up the most substantial donation of roughly €30,303.