Board yet to land a new sponsor for top football grade

SPONSORS STILL view Gaelic football and hurling as providing the most popular opportunities in Ireland, with up to one in five sponsorship deals linked to the G.A.A. Sport continues to account for the largest portion of sponsorship activity in Ireland, with high-profile deals at national level for the All-Ireland championship, while counties such as Dublin, Cork, Tipperary, Limerick, Galway and Kilkenny continue to negotiate sponsorship deals that are the envy of the remaining counties.

While these counties are continuing to win out, Wexford G.A.A. has lost out on one of its major sponsors, with Tom Doyle Supplies no longer continuing with their backing of the county Senior football championship.

Looking through the recent weekends’ football championship programme, it is the only grade not carrying a main sponsor which in itself is surprising, as one would believe that it would provide an ideal opportunity for a local sponsorship brand to be associated with.

Tom Doyle Supplies has been a great supporter of Wexford G.A.A. down through the years, with its lucrative sponsorship of the county Senior football championship which has extended through to Halo Tiles and the Ferns Centre of Excellence since its opening.

But with the company having decided to move on, Wexford G.A.A. it appears has been unable to secure a new sponsor for their main adult football grade which is quite disappointing.

When this was all fresh, with Wexford having dipped even further at one particular stage, a group of anxious football people gathered twice to discuss why the game was drifting in the county.

At the initial meeting, Paud Moriarty, who has served Wexford football for a lifetime on and off the pitch both at under-age and adult levels, spoke of not just being rapped on the knuckles, but being severely rapped, for bringing forward an initiative which he felt would be for the betterment of the game in the county.

Since that initial meeting, former Louth and Westmeath manager, Colin Kelly, has joined the backroom team while the football advisory committee met with former Cork manager Brian Cuthbert to discuss talent development and identification.

But this cannot have been too successful in the Rebel county who have just been relegated down to Division 3. Yes, imagine a county the size of Cork dipping to this level.

But it’s the lack of transparency and openness which is reflecting negatively on the G.A.A. in the county since clubs and supporters are no longer aware of what is happening within the Association given the media ban from covering its affairs.

Therefore, it came as no surprise to read a paragraph that emerged from within its closed door meeting referring to the comment of Paud Moriarty at that football gathering.

The Leas-Chathaoirleach, having explained the activity of the football advisory committee, having held three meetings, along with meeting Brian Cuthert, expressed disappointment that a member of the committee saw fit to put confidential information out into the local media at a time when it is proving challenging to find volunteers willing to work with county under-age football squads.

This in turn brought a response from a Wexford town County Board member who expressed grave disappointment at such a breach of confidence and said that, in his opinion, the F.A.C. member should consider his position.

A stalwart football worker was targeted simply because he was open with his feelings and hurt relating to the game in the county.

And the criticism came from a Board member whose very own club opted out of football this year, leaving them with only a single adult team in Junior ‘B’ hurling. By the way, they were annihilated by a St. Martin’s third string over the weekend, even though their catchment area is one of the largest-populated parishes in the Diocese.

Elsewhere, Wexford hurling and football teams will have a new mode of transport, since Ardcavan Coaches, after some 40 years of loyal service to the G.A.A. in the count,y are no longer part of the inter-county set-up.

Wexford G.A.A. has decided to accept a Wexford Bus offer to become their bus partner, but one awaits the financial detail of this sponsorship package.

It’s the end of another era, and of a company’s long association with Wexford G.A.A. as they have now joined Tom Doyle Supplies on the sideline.