McManus money will be well spent at Dundalk Gaels

It’s probably the same with other clubs – J P McManus’ largesse could not have been spread at a better time for us in the Dundalk Gaels.

As is widely known by now, the Limerick man, whose love of Gaelic games is as strong as it is for horse racing, is giving – or may already have given – a staggering €1m to every county, the money to be spread among clubs.

It’s not the first time McManus has reached for the chequebook in this way. Five years ago his grant to clubs came from the €100,000 he made available to each county. This time it’s ten times more, and that’s phenomenal.

A chart in a mid-week daily showed that the money going to each Louth club could be in the region of €15,000.

If success is made easier for teams by having huge sums of money available for preparations, there seems little doubt McManus has provided it for his county’s hurlers.

The team behind the All-Ireland champions of the past four years has been enormous, numbering as many as the nine-time football champions of recent years, Dublin, could call on.

In ways, that puts pressure on other counties. We’re installing new floodlights at Páirc na nGael at the cost of around €220,000. On Minister for Sport, Thomas Byrne’s recent visit to our clubrooms, we were only too happy to acknowledge the €150,000 grant we had received from the Sports Council.

Making up the deficit between grant and cost is presenting us with a challenge, but it will be eased by the McManus money.

The donor, incidentally, has a strong Cooley connection, his aunt, having lived in Rathcor prior to her death.

He was often a visitor to the area.