Zuckerberg gifts GAA clubs €150k after castle purchase

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg is taking a step into Irish sports by giving three Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) clubs in County Waterford €150,000 (£129,000).

The clubs are the three closest located to Zuckerberg's newly-purchased Strancally Castle.

Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, plan to give the clubs - Shamrocks GAA, Tallow GAA and Lismore GAA - €50,000 (£43,000) each, with donations to be paid over a two-year period.

A spokesman for Zuckerberg said the couple were "aware of the very significant role that the GAA plays in local communities in Ireland" and as new members of the community, they "wanted to support" the clubs.

It is their first Irish philanthropic donation since they bought the property in August.

BBC News NI spoke to representatives from the clubs to gauge reaction to the donation, with many in their clubs and communities "hugely welcoming" of the gift.

The oldest of the three clubs, Tallow GAA, was founded in 1887.

When Zuckerberg bought Strancally Castle, club treasurer Kieran Geary said he emailed anyone he "could reach out to, in relation to any potential future sponsorship".

Having not heard anything for a couple of weeks, the club secretary, Lyndsey Murphy, then received a phone call from Zuckerberg's team, "just reaching out, discussing" the proposition.

"Initially we were a bit taken a back, was it actually legitimate? And from there things moved fast with Mark's legal team, who were fantastic to deal with," Geary said.

A zoom call was organised with Zuckerberg's team to identify "how Priscilla and Mark might help support us going forward", Geary said.

"His team were so easy going, relaxed, down-to-earth and wanting to support us, wanting to get involved and hopefully visiting the club on the next visit over.

"We also have a few jerseys we are hoping to present to the Zuckerberg/Chan family, due to the donation and how generous they have been," Geary added.

Geary said the aim was to firstly invest the donation in the club's underage teams, before looking to its adult teams and coaching set up.

Then they will invest in the club's community walkway to improve accessibility.

Shamrocks GAA has been operating since 1953, and draws from the combined parishes of Knockanore, Glendine and Kilwatermoy.

The secretary of the club, Tim Lenehan, said at first there was some scepticism about the donation.

"I honestly thought initially it was someone pulling my leg, but we let it evolve and did a bit of checking ourselves and it seemed to be legitimate enough."

The club plans to use the donation to upgrade facilities like changing rooms, as well as develop their underage section.

"We are a very small club, just over 200 members, so obviously fundraising is a hard issue enough because you are usually tapping up the same people all the time for different things, so this is very welcome."

News travels fast in the area, according to Lenehan.

The committee were made aware of the donation on Monday - and everybody in the community "knew by about 8 o'clock this morning," he said.

"The news is very welcome, I think everyone understands the situation with fundraising, it can be difficult you know," he added.

Lismore GAA Club was established in 1897.

Emer Barry, club secretary, said she has known about the donation for about six weeks.

"It's just shock and disbelief. It is hard out figure out at the moment, what's happening and where things are going."

As for a future visit from the couple, Barry said she "doesn't quite know" at the moment if the famous couple will become pitch-side regulars.

The club plans to use the funds to help with projects such as proposed floodlighting, new pitch side fencing and a community walkway.

Regarding Zuckerberg possibly putting on a Lismore jersey, Barry said they were "always open for players, there is no parish rule in Waterford".