Glenisk secure naming rights for Offaly's O'Connor Park

DEAL AGREED: A general view of O'Connor Park. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Offaly GAA chiefs have cashed in on the naming rights of their O'Connor Park base again by striking a deal with Glenisk.

The Offaly-based dairy brand has extended an existing sponsorship deal to take in the naming rights of the Tullamore venue which will now be known as Glenisk O'Connor Park.

A similar deal was struck by Offaly back in 2017 with Bord na Mona who, after initially agreeing a 10-year deal, exited after a five-year review.

The fresh Glenisk deal was revealed at Offaly's county board meeting with the proviso that Tullamore GAA club, the owners of the ground, must approve the agreement though this is viewed as a formality.

A separate deal with Tullamore retailer Galvin for Men to have their branding on Offaly jerseys was also struck.

The terms of the naming rights deal were not revealed but, according to the Offaly Express, county board chairman Michael Duignan told delegates that they hope to raise €100,000 per year between the naming rights deal and advertising revenue in the ground.

Meanwhile, Duignan has questioned the 'logic' of Louth's decision not to agree to a deferral of last weekend's O'Byrne Cup semi-final fixture.

Offaly pulled out of the tie citing 'medical and player welfare advice', noting injuries and stating that 'a large number of players' would have had to play three competitive games in eight days.

Duignan said that the Leinster Council was open to a deferral if Offaly and Louth could agree but that Louth manager Mickey Harte rejected the idea.

"I rang the Louth chairman, had a good chat, he went back to Mickey Harte the manager, then came back and said, no, they weren't agreeable," Duignan told Midlands 103 Radio. 

"I just find the logic a bit strange because he said the league was coming up, they didn't want more matches.

"But it's the same thing - if we had played them last Sunday, and if they had won, they were having an extra match before the league. If they had agreed to it, they'd have been playing us this Saturday instead of Longford and the final would have been deferred."

With Longford already through to this Saturday's final, Duignan revealed that Offaly, had they beaten Louth, would have been happy to double up their Leinster SFC clash with Louth as the pre-season decider.

The former Offaly hurling star suggested that in future, to save time, the O'Byrne Cup could be pared back to a straight knock-out format.