Tyrone GAA fundraising initiative nets more than £5.5M

A FUNDRAISING initiative originally established to help fund Tyrone’s preparations for the 1995 All-Ireland Final has now raised more than £5.5 million for gaelic games in the county.

Club Tyrone was known at that time as the Millennium Fund, but has since developed into an organisation which is the envy of counties and sporting organisations throughout Ireland.

For the first time since 2015, donations in 2019 went above £300,000. But 2013, rather than the three All-Ireland winning years of 2003, 2005 and 2008, holds the record for contributions, which reached almost £450,000.

The chairman of Club Tyrone and one of its leading members for much of the past 25 years, Mark Conway, said they were delighted to reach the quarter century milestone.

“The past 25 years have been unprecedented in the history of gaelic Tyrone,” he said.

“Among much else, they have seen us win 25 major Ulster and 14 major national titles. They have seen us complete our Garvaghey project on plan, on time and on budget. They have seen Tyrone GAA grow, develop and flourish across many fronts.

“Everyone associated with all those achievements should be very proud and content. Too often in life, people and organisations promise much but deliver little. But that has not been the case here.

“Together we have achieved something extraordinary and that’s why it’s vital that we continue doing what we do.”

Over the past year, fundraising for the organisation has seen it expand towards new outlets in England and the United States.

Out of the county’s income of £1.8 million for 2019, the organisation’s £310,000 was the second largest amount after a contribution of £467,000 from the National GAA.

One of the highlights planned for 2020 is the opening of a major new Performance Hub at the Tyrone GAA Centre at Garvaghey, which was opened in 2013 after six years of planning. It is expected to be opened at the end of next month.