Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are giving €150,000 (£129,000) to three Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) clubs in County Waterford, close to the Irish castle the billionaire bought in August. Shamrocks GAA, Tallow GAA and Lismore GAA will each receive €50,000 (£43,000), paid over two years, the BBC reported.
The three clubs are the nearest to Strancally Castle, Zuckerberg’s new Irish property, and the gift is the couple’s first philanthropic donation in Ireland since the purchase. A spokesman said the couple recognised the large part the GAA plays in local communities across Ireland and, as new members of the community, wanted to back the clubs.
Tallow GAA, the oldest of the three, was founded in 1887. Club treasurer Kieran Geary said he emailed anyone he could reach about possible sponsorship after the castle sale. A couple of weeks later, club secretary Lyndsey Murphy took a call from Zuckerberg’s team, which led to a video call about how the couple could support the club. Geary said the club was unsure at first whether the approach was genuine, but found the team relaxed and easy to deal with. Tallow plans to spend the money on its underage teams first, followed by its adult sides, its coaching set-up and a community walkway.
Shamrocks GAA, founded in 1953, has just over 200 members drawn from the parishes of Knockanore, Glendine and Kilwatermoy. Secretary Tim Lenehan admitted he first suspected a prank. “I honestly thought initially it was someone pulling my leg,” he said. The club will put its share towards upgrading facilities such as changing rooms and developing its youth section. Lenehan said small clubs find fundraising hard because they keep asking the same people for money.
Lismore GAA Club, established in 1897, has known about the gift for around six weeks, according to secretary Emer Barry, who described the reaction as shock and disbelief. The club plans to spend the money on projects including proposed floodlights, new pitch-side fencing and a community walkway. Barry said she did not yet know whether the couple would become regular spectators at matches.
