O’Donoghue in sports grants bonanza

SPORTS Minister John O’Donoghue awarded National Lottery sports grants to 103 projects that were not initially approved by his department in 2004, the Irish Examiner has learned.

An additional €9 million was made available for these clubs, on top of the €52m allocated to 635 clubs which Department of Arts Sports and Tourism (DAST) officials had recommended for approval in initial assessments.

Out of the additional funding, €1.7m (or 19%) was awarded to clubs in Co Kildare, the home county of former Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy.