APRIL 21ST 2022: Today, Electric Ireland has announced a five-year extension to its sponsorship of the Electric Ireland GAA Minor Championships. Having sponsored the GAA Minor Championships since 2012, Electric Ireland has supported the development of future inter-county stars across the country and will now continue its support of these historic competitions until 2027.
Electric Ireland will also continue its sponsorship of the Electric Ireland Higher Education GAA Leagues and Championships for an additional five years, having been title sponsor of the competitions since 2017. Each year, over 7,000 students take part in the Electric Ireland GAA Higher Education Leagues and Championships and culminate with the prestigious Electric Ireland Sigerson and Fitzgibbon Cup Finals.
As part of today’s launch, Electric Ireland is also announcing that it will become the title sponsor of the Celtic Challenge, a developmental hurling competition which features 39 teams from 29 counties, for the next five years, becoming the Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge.
This year, to celebrate its 11th year sponsoring the Minor Championships, Electric Ireland will be highlighting the ‘Minor Moments’ which last a lifetime over the course of the 2022 Electric Ireland GAA Minor Championship season.
Electric Ireland understands the positive impact partaking in the Electric Ireland GAA Minor Championships has long after the championship ends. In recognition of this fact, Electric Ireland has teamed up with former Galway Minor dual player, Alan Kerins and former Armagh Minor footballer, Steven McDonnell, whose involvement in the GAA Minor Championships saw them go on to excel at senior level and in their careers off the field of play.
Over the course of this year’s Electric Ireland GAA Minor Championship season, Electric Ireland will be airing a new online content series called ‘Electric Ireland: Minor Moments Relived’. The video series will feature four former Minor players as well as past Minor teammates, taking a trip down memory lane, looking back at the ‘Minor Moments’ from their Minor playing days which had a profound impact on their lives as they moved into adulthood.
In addition to the ‘Minor Moments Relived’ content series, Electric Ireland will highlight the ‘Minor Moments of the Week’ during this year’s championship. Electric Ireland will identify five moments from the previous week’s Minor action with the winning moment to be announced weekly on the Electric Ireland Twitter page (@electricireland). Following the conclusion of the Minor season, Electric Ireland will celebrate the huge achievements by individuals on the pitch by announcing the recipients of the Electric Ireland GAA Minor Star Awards.
Uachtarán CLG Larry McCarthy said: “The GAA is delighted to see Electric Ireland’s continued support of the Minor Championship as it announces a renewal of our partnership for a further five years. Furthermore, I am thrilled by Electric Ireland’s commitment to up and coming GAA talent through the renewal of its sponsorship of the Higher Education GAA Leagues and Championships and its new title sponsorship of the Celtic Challenge. With their support, the Electric Ireland Minor Championship has produced some exceptional moments and memories and now, we look forward to watching as Electric Ireland spotlight the integral moments that make up these young player’s Minor careers through the Minor Moments Relived series.”
Sarah Sharkey, Brand, PR and Sponsorship Manager at Electric Ireland stated: “We at Electric Ireland are very excited for the new season of the Electric Ireland GAA Minor Championships as Electric Ireland enters the 11th year of its partnership with the GAA. This season Electric Ireland will celebrate the ‘Minor Moments’ which the players and those closest to them will remember long after they have finished playing. Electric Ireland is also delighted to announce that Electric Ireland will be the title sponsor of the Minor Championships, the Higher Education GAA Leagues and Championships and Celtic Challenge for the next five years.
Speaking at the launch, former Galway dual player, Alan Kerins commented: “I am thrilled to be an ambassador for this year’s Electric Ireland GAA Minor Championships. It was an honour to represent Galway at both hurling and football at Minor level and I was lucky enough to win a Minor Championship medal in 1994. There is no doubt that my Minor career helped me develop in terms of leadership and resilience. It was a huge honour at the time and one that instilled seeds of belief that stood to me not just in my transition to a Senior player, but into adulthood as well.”
Former Armagh Minor footballer, Steven McDonnell added: “My first experience of representing Armagh was in the Electric Ireland GAA Minor Championships and since then, the Minor Championships have held a special place in my heart. One of the best moments of my GAA career was finding out that I had made the Minor panel and it is something that I have cherished ever since. Both the confidence and values instilled in me from representing Armagh at minor level, fuelled my ambition not just for my playing career, but also away from the playing field.”
You can follow the campaign on social media @ElectricIreland and via the hashtag #GAAThisIsMajor.