Councillors query if GAA athletes are eligible for Mary Peters Trust funding

The £1,000 contribution request is only a small fraction of the £10,125 financial assistance provided in 2023/24 to support those 18 local athletes.

Councillor Keith Haughian (Sinn Féin, Lurgan DEA) was supportive of the request for financial assistance, however he said he wanted clarification regarding eligibility for GAA athletes.

“I’m more than happy to propose this. Without sounding like a broken record, I would ask for some clarification just on whether there’s some method or way for the Mary Peters Trust to potentially help people from the GAA community, because it seems like a lot of other trusts and sporting organisations [have] criteria based on representing Ireland, GB or Ulster, which doesn’t fit in any way really for the GAA community, and I feel they’re potentially missing out,” he said.

“That being said, you can see from the report, 18 local athletes it’s fantastic, and it’s a small contribution for us to make as a council, so I’m more than happy to propose it.”

Addressing ABC Sports Development manager, Gillian Dewart, at the recent Leisure & Community Services committee, Cllr Haughian added: “I would ask Gillian if she could come back to me, to see whether anybody from a GAA background was able to access any kind of financial support from Mary Peters, and if not, maybe it’s something we could ask them for clarity on, if they have any plans to try and make that more accessible.”

The senior council officer replied: “I have reviewed the criteria and I would agree that it seems a wee bit unclear as to whether the GAA are able to apply to the Mary Peters Trust or not.

“I noted on the list that they sent us through of the athletes that they had supported from our borough, that there wasn’t any GAA athletes included in that. So I’m happy to go back to the Mary Peters Trust and try to clarify that for you.”

The recommendation to allocate £1,000 to the Mary Peters Trust was seconded by councillor Peter Haire (DUP, Lurgan DEA).