€2.7 million Resilience Fund for Republic of Ireland golf clubs
Golf clubs in the Republic of Ireland will receive €2.7 million from the Sport Ireland Reslience Fund announced today by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Media and Sport.
The Covid-19 pandemic has forced clubs to shut for prolonged periods, resulting in many golf clubs and facilities facing serious financial difficulties.
As a result, Sport Ireland has granted €2.7 million in funding to clubs through the Club Resilience Fund as well as a Restart and Renewal Fund of €30,000 that will see the creation of a Golf Ireland Education Portal, aimed at developing online courses for affiliated clubs, staff, volunteers and PGA professionals.
Golf Ireland, the new governing body that will replace the GUI and the ILGU on January 1, says it has ”continued to make a compelling case to Sport Ireland”, resulting in today’s announcement by Catherine Martin TD, and the Minster for State for Sport and Gaeltacht Jack Chambers TD detailing the allocations of the Resilience Fund for Sport.
“Irish golf welcomes the allocation of €2.7 million in funding which will support clubs that have been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Mark Kennelly, CEO of Golf Ireland. “This substantial allocation underlines the important role of golf in the country’s sports landscape.
“It will be a very welcome addition to the €597,000 we allocated to clubs last week under the R&A Covid-19 Fund.
“We will be working closely with the Sport Ireland in the coming weeks to finalise the qualifying criteria for the club resilience fund and look forward to communicating this to clubs as soon as possible.
“In addition, we are excited to begin work on the Golf Ireland Education Hub which we hope will be a further support to clubs, staff, volunteers and PGA professionals across the country.
“We would also like to thank Sport Ireland for the support they have shown us throughout this pandemic and we look forward to continuing our work with them.”
A total fund of €70m to protect the national sports system in Ireland in the wake of the pandemic was announced in June with the allocations announced by Sport Ireland today.
Over €64m of funding has been allocated to National Governing Bodies, Local Sports Partnerships, and other funded bodies across four key schemes while an emergency fund has been established.
Sport Ireland chief executive John Treacy explained: “The initial schemes announced in June were designed to support organisations with Covid-19 related losses in 2020. However, having engaged with our funded bodies, we understand that the current Level 5 restrictions present additional challenges.
“As such, we are ringfencing finances to address any immediate needs that may arise in the sector in the coming weeks. Sport has shown itself to be incredibly resilient throughout the Covid-19 restrictions having made a critical contribution to Irish life with more people being active than ever before.”
Total NGB Funding Allocations
Organisation Total €
Gaelic Games – GAA, LGFA, Camogie, GAA Handball €30,795,000
Irish Rugby Football Union €18,000,000
Football Association of Ireland €13,000,000
Golf Ireland / CGI €2,730,000
Cricket Ireland €1,498,500
Gymnastics Ireland €1,380,000
Basketball Ireland €1,157,500
Horse Sport Ireland €1,040,000
Tennis Ireland €950,000
Athletics Ireland €805,000
Swim Ireland €780,000
Irish Sailing €650,000
Irish Athletic Boxing Association €645,000
Cycling Ireland €533,000
Badminton Ireland €369,000
Hockey Ireland €240,500
Triathlon Ireland €235,500
Rowing Ireland €149,000
Irish Martial Arts Commission €120,000
National Community Games €110,000
Archery Ireland €101,000
Student Sport Ireland €95,000
Irish Orienteering Association €77,000
Volleyball Ireland €71,500
Irish Underwater Council €70,000
Fencing Ireland €59,000
Motor Cycling Ireland €50,000
Irish Surfing Association €50,000
Bowling League of Ireland €50,000
Canoeing Ireland €48,000
ONAKAI €40,000
Pitch and Putt Ireland €39,000
Irish Squash €38,000
Racquetball Association of Ireland €33,000
Special Olympics Ireland €348,000
IWA Sport €194,000
Vision Sports Ireland €97,500
Irish Judo Association €24,000
Irish Ice Hockey Association €20,000
Rugby League Ireland €19,000
Bol Chumann na hÉireann €12,500
Totals €76,724,500
