Many have questioned the rationale, but one things for certain, the cash boost by JP McManus for every GAA club in the country will lead to a major reduction in raffles and church gate collections in the coming months.
The Limerick tycoon has donated €100,000 to each of the country's 32 county boards.
The gift to each county is to be divided equally among clubs.
The €3.2m gesture comes off the back of Limerick’s All-Ireland hurling final win, the county’s first Liam MacCarthy triumph since 1973.
It's in rural Ireland where the money will be most appreciated.
In Roscommon for example each of their 33 clubs can expect to pocket €3,000 as a result of McManus’ donation.
Former Tyrone star Sean Cavanagh was amongst those pointing out the pitfalls!
Amazing from JP. Hope he has thought through. Men, Ladies, Football, Hurling, Camogie, Handball & Rounders- some lobbying around county boards ahead!
— Sean Cavanagh (@SeanCavanagh14) September 24, 2018
Tipp journo Shane Brophy gave a sense of how the news was received on the ground.
A round of applause from Tipperary club delegates as JP McManus donation letter read out.
Tipperary's 72 clubs set to get €1388 each.@NenaghGuardian— Shane Brophy (@BrophShane) September 24, 2018
Other random figures show the benefit to the smaller counties.
For example 24 clubs in Leitrim will get 4,166 while 49 clubs in Waterford will get around 2 grand each.
The trigger for the gesture seems to be the fact that McManus was among 82,000 spectators at last month's All-Ireland Hurling Final Croke Park and visited the Limerick dressing-room after the final whistle to congratulate the players after the dramatic 3-16 to 2-18 win over Galway.
To be fair the businessman's involvement with sport also includes hosting the JP McManus Pro-Am golf which will next take place in July 2020 at the Adare Manor course in county Limerick that he owns. Tiger Woods is among the stars who have previously played in the pro-am event which also attracts leading celebrities.
The reasoning and coverage of the donation has really divided opinion with the issue of tax inevitably raised.
Limerick businessman JP McManus donates €100k to every GAA county board after Limerick’s All-Ireland win
McManus hasn’t been registered for income or capital gains tax in Ireland since 1995, US court filing from his 2015 case against IRS shows pic.twitter.com/kn0cLHDSWt
— Simon Carswell (@SiCarswell) September 24, 2018
There is always room for humour though.
Fair play to JP. Wish I could give my taxes directly to the GAA instead of it going to boring stuff like roads and sewage treatment plants
— Michael Clifford (@Mickcliff) September 24, 2018
But it's clear the Limerick mans donation has resonated with many.
JP McManus with a serous gift to GAA clubs, but you still get the idiots out with the “o it’s a tax write off/it’s a stunt” etc.. we actually can’t have anything nice anymore...
— Colin Nestor (@ColinNestor) September 25, 2018
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