IRISH TV CEO Pierce O’Reilly is thrilled that the channel has agreed a five year ‘naming rights sponsorship’ of Ruislip with London GAA.
Speaking at Monday evening’s launch O’Reilly outlined the importance of this deal as Irish TV continues to make a positive impact.
“The key element in our success to date is that we care about family,” O’Reilly said. “We care about community; we care about clubs. We certainly care about county, be that county Mayo, Cavan or London.
“I come into this partnership with my heart and with my head. I played inter county football and hurling for Mayo. I played football and hurling for New York.
“I spent three years living in New York and I saw the effort, passion, determination, and drive of players and managers. I saw what the players and supporters were doing at Gaelic Park to keep our culture, to keep our sport, to keep our heritage alive.
“They never got any recognition bar from the GAA themselves. When they’d ask other broadcasters to cover their games nobody would be interested. We saw a niche in the market. Everywhere we went in Ireland and everywhere we went around the world we saw ordinary Irish people doing something extraordinary.”
O’Reilly is hopeful that Irish TV can develop further links with the GAA highlighting president Aogan O’Fearghail’s support. “This is our plan, this is only step one. We know the work and the legacy that has taken place in Ruislip down through the years.
“This was a safe place to come. It was a place where you met friends. It was a place where you got work. It was a place where you could keep your culture and keep your sport alive. That is exactly what we want Irish TV to be. We want it to be a home away from home.
“The former president of the GAA Liam O’Neill was a fantastic supporter of what we are trying to do. We met him in clubs up and down the country. Aogan has carried on that legacy.
“Recently working with Croke Park we covered the Scor na n-Og. He has been brilliant to us in just believing in what we are trying to do.
“We are the small boys at the moment, but we are coming into it with our heart and the correct ethos. Similar to the GAA it is built on a county structure. I hope Aogan will be able to help us grow Irish TV in the months and years to come.”
