GAA split season 'to cost O’Neill’s 15% of its jersey sales'

Co-owner Paul Towell said completing the All-Ireland championships in July was "not good for business” because sports shops were selling much fewer GAA jerseys, with the shorter season hitting late summer sales. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

The boss of sports firm O’Neill's has warned that the split GAA season will lead to a drop of up to 15% in sales of its jerseys this year.

Co-owner Paul Towell said completing the All-Ireland championships in July was "not good for business” because sports shops were selling much fewer GAA jerseys, with the shorter season hitting late summer sales.

The move by the GAA Congress to the new format has recently been criticised by pundits Pat Spillane and Dónal Óg Cusack.

"While the hurling and football championships had some very entertaining games, from a business point of view, it is very difficult to produce and distribute enough jerseys in less than two weeks to meet demand for semi-finals and finals,” Mr Towell said.

He said there was now very little time to build excitement before big matches and that sales of its jerseys will fall between 12% and 15% this year because club jerseys don’t make up for lost sales. The All-Ireland football and hurling finals should be staged in late August or early September, he said.

The sale of county jerseys was “a very important part" of the O'Neill's business, Mr Towell said, although he wouldn't disclose the share of sales.

He warned that GAA was effectively surrendering a great part of the summer to rival sports.

"The GAA is withdrawing from the high-profile sporting sphere during that time, where traditionally it held sway in all the media outlets,” he said.

Derry's progress through Ulster to the All-Ireland football semi-final meant its jerseys were among the best sellers this year, Mr Towell said.

The O’Neills brand has long been synonymous with the GAA and employs around 1,000 people across Ireland.

O'Neills in recent times had been boosted by the celebrity of actor Paul Mescal wearing GAA jerseys and shorts in TV adaption of "Normal People".

“The shorts are seen as very trendy now,” Mr Towell said.

The most recent accounts filed by O’Neill's main firm in the Republic, Balbriggan Textiles Ltd, show it had at pre-tax profit of €1.1m in 2020. It has a separate company that includes its manufacturing operations in the North.