Sligo GAA and
AbbVie Unveil New 2016 County Strip at Sponsorship Official Launch
Partnership
forms part of the ongoing commitment of AbbVie and the GAA to improve the
health and wellbeing of local communities
Sligo,
Tuesday January 26th: Sligo GAA
officially unveiled its new 2016 jersey and kit during a special launch event
at AbbVie’s Manorhamilton Road facility in Sligo today. The County Board recently advised club
delegates at the Annual County Convention that the local biopharmaceutical company
would be their main sponsor for the next three years.
The new sponsorship deal will see the
AbbVie logo appear on all Senior, U-21 and Junior Football team jerseys from
the start of the Allianz National Football League season. The new jersey will
make its first competitive appearance in Miltown Malbay when Sligo begin their
Division 3 campaign against Clare on January 31st next at 2pm in
Hennessey Park.
Members of the Sligo senior squad,
including Mark Breheny, Neil Ewing and Niall Murphy, attended the launch event
sporting the distinctive black and white strip, which features the AbbVie logo on
the front with associated sponsor branding from IT Sligo on the back.
AbbVie and Sligo IT work together
across a number of engineering and science-based educational projects so the
presence of the two logos on the Sligo team jerseys reflects close ties between
both entities.
County
Board Treasurer Peter Greene was joined by members
of the Sligo GAA Executive to formally unveil the new strip and thanked AbbVie
for their commitment to help the organisation nurture and enhance the game in
Sligo.
Joe Taaffe,
Chairman of Sligo County Board, gave a
brief outline of the main areas of focus for the County at the sponsorship
launch:
“The completion of our Centre of Excellence now presents Sligo GAA with the
opportunity to prepare its Development Squads and County representative teams
properly given the excellent playing and gym facilities at Scarden.
“In
addition, Sligo GAA will continue to focus on the growth and development of our
games in our clubs, in conjunction with our highly qualified coaching
staff. And in 2016 we will be
making a determined effort to increase the number of referees in the county,
who are critical in the overall delivery of our games.
“The sponsorship provided by AbbVie
enables us to build for the future and to ensure that our Senior County teams
are as well prepared as the teams they face in the Allianz League and the
Championship later in the year.” he added.
AbbVie has two plants in Sligo, one in
Ballytivnan and the other at Manorhamilton Road and many of their 300 plus
staff members, including a number who participated in the launch event today, have
played GAA at various levels.
Marc O’Donoghue, Site Director, AbbVie
Manorhamilton Road, Sligo said: “The GAA plays an incredibly
important role in the lives of many of our employees in Sligo, and indeed employees
at our other sites in Cork and Dublin, so it’s pleasing to be in a position to
help nurture and support the game. We look forward to an exciting season and
wish the team and management the best of luck in the coming months.”
Niall
Kerlin, Operations Manager, AbbVie Ballytivnan, Sligo said: “We are delighted to formally launch the partnership with
Sligo GAA and proud to be supporting an organisation that reflects our own commitment
to the Sligo community and to the betterment of people’s health.”