New look in deal with Cancer Care West

By JACQUELINE HOGGE A UNIQUE partnership between Galway Football Board and Cancer Care West has been unveiled this week that will see the county's team jerseys sport the charity's name as well as the two organisations develop joint fundraising initiatives over the coming two years. The initiative, which is believed to be the first of its kind in the country, will see the charity foster links with the GAA throughout the county, with every parish and club involved in promoting greater awareness of the disease. Galway Football Board chairman John Joe Holleran said the idea developed from initial discussions with the charity that was seeking to spread greater awareness of cancer, among young men in particular. 'Cancer Care West approached us last September with a presentation that aimed to promote greater awareness of the disease among our members,' he said. 'Since then we've been in discussions with them as to how we can best support the charity and when the jersey became available we decided to put the Cancer Care West name on it.' Barcelona FC The only other mainstream sporting club to publicise a charity on its kit is Barcelona Football Club, whose jerseys are emblazoned with the UNICEF logo. The county's Under 21 players will be the first to wear the new Galway jerseys at the weekend when they take on Cavan in the Cadbury All-Ireland U21FC final at Croke Park on Sunday. Previous sponsor Aer Arann withdrew from its deal with the board last December and since then it has proved difficult to find a replacement sponsor. The county board had previously enjoyed a long and successful relationship with Tommy Varden, under whose sponsorship the senior footballers captured two All Ireland titles in 1998 and 2001. 'We're delighted to have the Cancer Care West name on our jerseys, which is only part of this partnership arrangement we have in place,' said John Joe. 'We're also working on a fundraising venture throughout the county that will involve every single club and parish later in the summer, the proceeds from which will be split 50/50. We will also have notices and specific cancer messages in all our programmes and will do whatever we can to promote the charity. 'I have seen so many of our players, past and present, affected by the trauma of cancer and I had personal experience of it in recent years when my youngest brother lost his battle with it, so it is something that is very close to my heart. Cancer Care West offer amazing help to people who are battling cancer, as do all the other support agencies out there, but when my son Walter suggested a charity logo for the jersey, as they do in Barcelona, we decided to do just that. Enthusiastic 'I'm very enthusiastic about this venture and I hope that every member of every club throughout the county will come on board, which I'm sure they will. No one escapes the trauma of cancer and this is a great way to give something back to the people who do such wonderful work to help people and their families deal with this horrific disease.' Richard Flaherty, Chief Executive of Cancer Care West, said the organisation was delighted to have the Galway Football Board's support with the venture. 'Cancer affects every family in Ireland in some form or other and the GAA has such a strong presence in every parish in the country so we are delighted that we are able to tap into such valuable resources on the ground to get our message across,' he said. 'It's not just about promoting the work we do and the services that are available to those affected by cancer, it's also about getting young men in particular to address their health. 'Both the GAA and ourselves are voluntary, community organisations and this partnership brings us together very well.' Professor Frank Sullivan, Medical Director of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Galway University Hospital and Director of Cancer Care West welcomed the partnership. 'This partnership between Cancer Care West and the GAA's Galway County Football community is a tremendous development,' he said. 'The connection between health and sport is an obvious one. Men's health in particular stands to benefit in a real way. Linking good cancer health practice such as early detection, to our sporting community has been shown internationally to lead to better outcomes. Who better to bring these positive health benefits directly to our community than the GAA.' GAA President Christy Cooney launched the partnership yesterday (Tuesday) at Cancer Care West headquarters in Galway city.