When eir closed down its eir sport offering it looked as though it was exiting from an active engagement in sports sponsorship but today it has bounced back to be unveiled as a new headline partner for the GAA All Ireland Hurling Championship.
It is a transition from the Football Championship where it has been a partner since 2016, and extends an overall relationship with the GAA that goes back to 2011.
The new agreement will see eir join Bord Gais Energy and Centra as the three main sponsors of the Hurling Championship and the new partnership will run for an initial period of five years.
Very, the brand previously known as Littlewoods Ireland has come to the end of its partnership with the Hurling Championship but is still involved as partner of the Camogie National Leagues.
eir’s role on the Football roster, alongside SuperValu and AIB has yet to be filled but discussions are understood to be taking place with a number of brands that see the potential of the GAA as a major opportunity to reach both national and local audiences.
Hurling stars from across the country were present to launch the sponsorship alongside eir at Croke Park yesterday, including Declan Hannon, All-Ireland winning captain with Limerick (pictured above), Waterford talisman Austin Gleeson, Cork’s Shane Kingston and Dublin captain, Eoghan O’Donnell.
The five-year deal, which begins with the 2023 Championship season, will “highlight the synergies that exist between hurling, the world’s fastest field sport, and eir, which is committed to providing full fibre superfast broadband to over 1.9 million homes and businesses across Ireland.”
That in itself is a neat line to start the new phase of the partnership which we understand will be activated to a greater degree as has been the case with eir over the last couple of years of the Football sponsorship.
Prior to this, there was significant engagement, through the “That One Day” campaign, clip rights on social and more. It will be good to see them back in the game.
Today’s announcement further strengthens eir’s sponsorship commitments. It has proudly sponsored Special Olympics Ireland since 1985 – one of Ireland’s longest continuous corporate social responsibility relationships. eir provides particular support for the Special Olympics Young Athlete Programme, offered to boys and girls with an intellectual disability from 4 to 12 years of age.
“We are incredibly proud to announce that we will continue to support the GAA for the next five years with our sponsorship of the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship,” said Chief Executive Officer Oliver Loomes, pictured below with Susan Brady, Managing Director Consumer and Small Business.
“Like eir, the GAA is embedded in every town and city across Ireland and is rooted in community.”
“We are really excited to support the world’s fastest field sport at a time when eir is investing €250 million per annum in our network to improve speed, coverage and resilience. To date, our €1 Billion investment has already enabled us to deliver superfast broadband to more than 900,000 homes and businesses, we are well on our way to our ultimate target of 1.9 million homes and businesses across Ireland connected with Ireland’s best fibre broadband network.”
“We are delighted to welcome eir on board as a sponsor of the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship,” added GAA President Larry McCarthy.
“Since 2011, eir has been a wonderful supporter of CLG and we are thrilled to continue our partnership with them for the next five years.”
“The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is one of our most historic and exciting competitions, as the speed and skill of the game fascinates and enchants our fans around the world. With eir’s support, we look forward to the continued development of hurling and growth of the Championship.”
