Sport Ireland to invest €7.4m into the FAI, GAA and IRFU to promote participation

The news will come as a boost to the IRFU's Philip Browne, the GAA's Paraic Duffy and John Delaney of the FAI

Cian Tracey

Grass roots development in rugby, soccer and Gaelic games have received a major boost this morning with the news that Sport Ireland will invest €7.4 million towards the three respective major bodies.

The investment is aimed at encouraging and creating more opportunities for young people in the country to participate in field sports.

The FAI will receive the largest investment at €2.7m while the GAA will receive €2.4m and €2.36m for the IRFU.

€142,500 of the investment for the FAI will go towards the women in sport Programme with €114,000 of the IRFU’s going to the same programme.

The announcement follows the €19.1m investment in national governing bodies, €1.8m in direct athlete investment and €5.4m to support the national network of local sports partnerships.

The FAI have revealed an increase of 65% in the number of participants in their summer schools since 2012 with the number of registered players in the women’s game having significantly risen from 12,500 to 22,140 in 2015.

The IRFU have recorded a similar increase with a 54% growth in girls taking part in youth rugby since 2014 and also a general 11.5% increase in youth rugby players.

Kieran Mulvey, Chairperson of Sport Ireland welcomed the announcement and said: “This investment supports Sport Ireland’s strategic aim of increasing participation in sport throughout Ireland.

“These field sports are based on a shared ethos of developing the grass roots of the games, growing participation numbers and targeting communities outside of the traditional base of the sport.”