GAA jersey selling for eight times its production cost, makers say

GAA fans who wear their county colours are paying on the double.

Manufacturers estimate there is a 60% mark up on GAA shirts sold by retailers. County jerseys that retail at €50 cost only about €20 to make.

Premiership jerseys retail for between €60 and €80, and they are often sold for eight times their production cost.

After a bumper hurling and football championship season, there has been record sales of GAA shirts this year, according to sportswear manufacturer O’Neills.

Retailers estimate that 10,000 more shirts will be sold before the football final between Kerry and Armagh.

Had Dublin made the final, at least 12,000 jerseys would have been snapped up by their fans.

“We won’t reveal numbers but it’s fair to say there has been an increase in sales this year. The success of Dublin was one of the big reason for this,” O’Neills spokesperson Cormac Farrell said.

GAA rules stipulate that jerseys must be manufactured here, which increases production costs.

O’Neills employs 300 people. It has factories in Dublin, Strabane and Donegal.

The mark-up for soccer tops is greater.

Having forked out 50million for Brazilian star Ronaldo, Real Madrid are hoping to sell 200,000 shirts bearing his famous name.

Manchester United sold two million shirts worldwide last year, with one in four bearing the name David Beckham.