Mayo GAA club prepares for National Lottery Good Causes Awards
Ballintubber GAA Club is getting ready to take on the sport category of the National Lottery Good Causes Awards on Saturday (May 29).
The awards honour the inspiring work and achievements of thousands of projects, clubs and individuals from all over Ireland who, with the help of National Lottery Good Causes funding, have had an extraordinary impact on their local communities. Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on National Lottery games goes back to 'good causes' all over the country.
Since receiving National Lottery funding, Ballintubber GAA Club has been able to modernise the facilities at both of clubhouses (in Ballintubber and Clogher) and construct new facilities at both sites for the benefit of the wider community.
The community walkway, gym and astroturf pitch have proven to be hugely popular for the entire community, from the younger generations to the older.
Ballintubber GAA Club shares its facilities with numerous other teams and personnel, such as Carnacon LGFA, Bord na nÓg, Gaelic 4 Mothers & Others GAA, Ballintubber Over 55s Club, and Ballintubber basketball.
The community nurse is also based at the same location and the wider community can use the facilities for meetings and functions. The impact of the upgraded facilities has had a highly positive effect on the entire community.
The National Lottery Good Causes Awards have six categories: sport, health and wellbeing, heritage, arts and culture, community, and youth. A seventh category, Irish language, will have a special award to be announced on Saturday night in recognition of outstanding work done in the promotion of the Irish language.
The virtual judging segment of the competition took place on February 16 and 17, with representatives from each of the finalist groups asked to do a short presentation remotely to the judging panel and to answer any questions that arose.
The judging panel was chaired by Nuala Carey, Lotto presenter, and also included Seamus Griffin, CEO of the Griffin Retail Group, Fergus Finlay, columnist and author, and Jennifer Crowe, CSR manager of the National Lottery.
Each category winner will receive €10,000 while the overall Good Cause of the Year will get an additional €25,000 on top of this. The winners will be announced at a virtual event hosted by Grainne Seoige live from the Mansion House this Saturday.