Sixty-three clubs and organisations allocated Return to Sport funding from Mayo Sports Partnership

At the final Mayo Sports Partnership committee meeting of its five-year term, €36,400 was allocated to 63 clubs and community organisations in Mayo through the Partnerships 2024 Return to Sport Small Grant Scheme.

This significant support is possible through Sport Ireland and the Dormant Account Volunteer fund.

To be eligible for support, all applicants needed to be a community or voluntary club or group. A full listing of those in receipt of funding can be found by logging on to the Sports Partnerships website at https://www.mayo.ie/sportspartnership.

Announcing the allocations, outgoing chairperson of the Mayo Sports Partnership, Councillor Michael Loftus, congratulated all organisations on their great work promoting sport and physical activity in the community.

He said: “While we have a limited budget for this scheme, it's fair to say that a relatively modest contribution towards physical activity or volunteer upskilling programmes can have a positive impact in communities across the county.”

Councillor Loftus continued: “On behalf of Mayo Sports Partnership, I would like to thank Sport Ireland for providing the funding for this initiative and also to Mayo County Council for all their support.”

Some of the projects submitted for assistance include integration sports programmes, participation initiatives for people with disabilities, women in sport initiatives, support for new sports such as pickleball, support for Mayo Autism Camp, along with volunteer coach education training assistance for sports such as soccer, powerboating and tennis.

“It was refreshing to see through the applications priority given to hard to reach groups in local communities. Inclusion is one of Mayo Sports Partnership's main priorities, and this small grant scheme supports just that,” said Mayo Sports Partnership head Charlie Lambert.

Recently announced data from the 2023 Irish Sports Monitor Report shows that for the first time, close to two million adults are participating regularly in sport, with 47% of the population now active. This has recovered well from a low of 40% during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Mayo Sports Partnership committee comprises of representatives from local agencies, sports organisations and community representatives, is core funded by Sport Ireland, and is hosted locally by Mayo County Council.