​The Browne family confirms that it has agreed with the estate’s administrators on the sale of the historic house and estate to Hotel Westport. In February 2016, the family had reluctantly agreed to the sale of Westport House and Estate.
 
They impressed upon their advisers that the best way to secure the future of this jewel in the crown of Mayo tourism was to attract an investor who would purchase the historic property and fulfill the plans and ambitions of the late Lord Altamont Jeremy Browne, the 11th Marquess of Sligo, to develop the estate as an integrated tourist attraction.
 
Robert Ganly of Ganly Walters extensively marketed the estate at home and abroad and it attracted significant interest. A preferred bidder was chosen after an exhaustive process and an agreement was signed in recent days.
 
Ms Sheelyn Browne stated: “This is an emotional day for our family. On the one hand, we are handing over custody of our ancestral family home after hundreds of years but we are doing so in the knowledge that the new owners are committed to bringing to fruition the ambitions and dreams of our late and much loved father Jeremy Browne. We are indebted to the estate administrators Con Casey and Dermot Furey for their unrelenting efforts to secure the future of the estate.
 
“We also want to thank all those who supported our efforts from our local TDs to the community of Westport. In particular we would like to thank Minister Michael Ring, Peter Hynes, Chief Executive of Mayo County Council and his team and NAMA for working constructively and collaboratively with our advisers.
 
“There is one group that deserves special mention. That is our hard-working and dedicated small team at Westport House. We would not have been able to survive the last three difficult years without their unwavering support and loyalty. They know who they are and we as a family owe them a great debt of gratitude.
 
“We have been touched very deeply by the wonderful support of the people of Westport over the last few difficult years. We are confident that Westport House will continue to be the anchor of tourism in the region and we have agreed to collaborate with the new owners.
 
“Our fervent hope and wish was that someone would buy the house and estate, invest in it to secure its future and to keep it open to the public so that it can continue to be the cornerstone of the tourist offering in our beloved Westport. We are delighted that today these hopes have been realised. The entire family wishes the new owners, the Hughes family every success as the custodians of this wonderful and magical place. We are sure that everyone in Westport will wish them well with this new venture.”
 
Mr. Cathal Hughes, Chairman of the Hotel Westport said: “I want to acknowledge all the efforts of the Browne family over the years to maintain this beautiful house and estate and we look forward to continuing this great work which was very much the vision of the late Lord Altamont. We plan to invest up to €50m in new facilities which will lead to the creation of 200 new jobs over the next five years. On behalf of the Hughes family I want to wish the Browne family every success in the future and I look forward to liasing with them as we develop our plans over the next few years. I want to assure all the existing staff, suppliers and customers that we will continue to operate as normal under the new ownership.
 
“As a local business family, we are delighted to be able to make this investment in our home town. We realise the importance of Westport house as a tourist amenity to the whole of Mayo and we will work very closely with the planners in Mayo County Council to ensure that the integrity of Westport House and estate is maintained whilst at the same time creating a viable sustainable business model that is in everybody’s interest long-term.
 
“Finally, I want to acknowledge the role of both Minister Ring and the Mayo Chief Executive Mr. Peter Hynes and his team in making it possible to conclude this deal. Without their support this project could not go ahead. Our ambition is to make Westport House one of the finest tourist attractions in the whole of Ireland and one that the people of Westport can be justifiably proud of.”
 
Peter Hynes, Chief Executive, Mayo County Council, stated: “Mayo County Council has always been very keen to ensure the future of Westport House. A study commissioned by this council in 2015 found that in an on-site survey, 60.9% of respondents cited Westport House as their principal motivation for travelling to Mayo. In terms of economic value generated by Westport House, some €50 million was spent in Mayo and the wider region by visitors to the house throughout the year.
 
“We’re incredibly lucky to have this national treasure as part of our County. We wanted to secure future viability and expansion of Westport House as an integrated tourism resort and we are delighted to have been centrally involved in bringing this complex undertaking to a successful conclusion. Today marks the start of a new life for the estate and we look forward to working with the new owners to enhance Westport House as a tourist destination and to ensure its success.”
 
 
Minister of State for Regional Economic Development Michael Ring stated: “I am delighted with the announcement that the future of Westport House and Estate has been secured and that there is a purchaser who is going to invest further in what is the jewel of the tourism offering in the West of Ireland. I am particularly pleased that it is a local family that has the courage and the vision to invest €50m and thereby create 200 sustainable local jobs over the next five years. I would like to say “Well done and good luck” to the Hughes family.
 
“I want to thank all of those involved, particularly the estate administrators Con Casey and Dermot Furey, Peter Hynes Chief Executive and Mayo County Council and NAMA for the very constructive approach they took to resolving this matter.
 
“I am very pleased that, through the co-operation of all parties involved, we have arrived at this point. I want to wish the new owners every success and stress that I will assist them with their own ambitious plans for this treasure.
 
An Taoiseach Enda Kenny commented, “ I am delighted that this issue has been resolved. Westport House has been a very important amenity for generations of Mayo people and an important asset for tourism in the West of Ireland. I hope that the new arrangement will allow this to continue for generations to come.”
 
 
The property was successfully marketed nationally and internationally by Ganly Walters estate agents and managed by Mr. Robert Ganly, Managing Director.
 
 
Background on Westport House:
The 18th century house and 183.8ha (455 acre) estate was put on the market as a tourist concern. The house is set in a magnificent landscape with views of Clew Bay and Croagh Patrick. The Carrowbeg River flows through the extensive parklands of Westport House.
 
The estate is one of the oldest in Ireland and comprises a range of buildings and facilities. The façade of the present house dates to 1778 and has been in the ownership of the Browne family from before this time. The family traces its lineage back to the 16th Century Pirate Queen Grace O’Malley.
 
A report commissioned by Mayo Council by CHL Consulting in 2015 concluded that Westport House Estate directly creates 47 jobs and accounts for €50.7 million of indirect expenditure for the region. The Browne family has owned the house for almost 400 years. It has been open to the public since 1960. Westport House Estate has also shown significant growth in recent years with over 162,000 paying customers in 2014 – up 82% on the 89,000 visitors in 2009.
 

Leinster and Irish Rugby International, Sean Cronin, officially launched the inaugural Irish Minigolf Open today at Rainforest Adventure Golf in Dundrum. The Irish Minigolf Open is set to take place on Saturday February 18th and Sunday February 19th in Rainforest Adventure Golf.
 
Sean Cronin and both his Leinster and Irish teammates are regular visitors to Rainforest Adventure Golf, with Irish International Ian Madigan holding the best record on both the “Aztec” and “Mayan” courses in Rainforest Adventure Golf, followed closely by Leinster and Irish International Dominic Ryan.
 
Sean Cronin, ambassador for the Irish Minigolf Open, commented, “This is a fantastic opportunity for people to discover the sport of minigolf and to learn and compete with some of the best in the world. It’s shaping up to be a very exciting weekend and I’m delighted to be part of it. Rainforest Adventure Golf is a fantastic venue to host the very first Irish Minigolf Open, both my teammates and myself love to compete on both courses during our downtime!”
 
 
This will be Ireland’s first World Minigolf Federation event, with the competition set to attract players from across the U.K. and Europe. Rainforest Adventure Golf have also named Make-A-Wish Ireland as their charity partner for the event, which will see the charity receive a sizable donation from Rainforest following the Irish Open.
 
Rainforest Adventure Golf are currently calling for participants to sign up and take part in the competition, where they will then get the opportunity to compete against some of the best minigolfers in the world and be in with a chance of cashing in on the prize fund which is in excess of €3,500.
 
With two titles up for grabs; Irish Open Champion and Irish National Champion, Rainforest are encouraging players of all levels to compete. International players will compete in the Irish Open while Irish players will compete across both categories.
 
Darrin O’Toole, General Manager of Rainforest Adventure Golf and Chairman of Irish Minigolf Association, said, “We are delighted to host Ireland’s very first Minigolf Open here in Rainforest. This is something we are all very passionate about and we’ve been working on pulling this together for the past number of months.
We want to encourage as many people as possible to enter and take part in the tournament, which is why we decided to have two titles up for grabs, The Irish Open Champion and The Irish National Champion. The title of Irish National Champion is open to players of all levels who would like to compete. We want this competition to be fun and inclusive for everyone, no matter what level they play at.”
 
 
The competition format will be an eight round cumulative strokeplay competition on a single course in Rainforest. Five rounds will be played on Saturday February 18th with the remaining three rounds to be played on Sunday. Only the Top 18 players of the tournament will be eligible to play the final round. Rainforest have also waived practice fees with Free Open Practice available during the week leading into the competition.
 
Interested golfers are encouraged to register online via the Rainforest Adventure Golf Facebook page at www.facebook.com/RainforestAdventureGolf/. Participation for international players is €40 while Rainforest Adventure Golf are subsidising 50% off the fee for local players to encourage participation, bringing the entry fee down to €20. The competition is open to both males and females aged 16 years or older.
 
 
Gareth Crowe, Make-A-Wish Ireland, said, “Make-A-Wish Ireland is delighted to partner with Rainforest Adventure Golf as they host the Irish Mini Golf Open at their Dundrum headquarters. Make-A-Wish is proud to be associated with this unique sporting event and wish all of the golfers good luck during the competition. This support is vital to our work as we receive no government funding and we are extremely grateful to the golfers and team at Rainforest Adventure Golf as we work to grant more magical wishes to Ireland’s bravest children”
 
 
Pasi Aho, World Minigolf Federation Sport Director, said, “We are delighted to see our new member Irish Minigolf Association getting off to a flying start for their membership by organizing a highly attractive international competition in Dublin at Rainforest Adventure Golf. We hope this competition will encourage a lot of new Irish players to compete at WMF International Championships.”
 
 
Sean Homer, Chairman of the British Minigolf Association, and the Tournament Director of the Irish Open, commented, "I'm delighted to support the newly formed Irish Minigolf Association in their first International competition. The course is part of a brilliant venue and will provide an entertaining challenge for all players who take part over the weekend in February."
 
 
For more information, log onto www.rainforestadventuregolf.ie,
Facebook          - www.facebook.com/RainforestAdventureGolf
Twitter               - @RainforestGolf
 
Ends
 
Notes:
 

• So far there has been nine high-ranked players confirmed from the U.K. and four players confirmed from Czech Republic.
• This is an Irish Minigolf Association event, backed by The World Minigolf Federation.
• The Irish Minigolf Association hope this competition will encourage Irish players to form an Irish Minigolf Team to compete at the European Championships.

 
 
For further information:
Keith McConnon – Insight Consultants – 087 215 6098 / keith@insightconsultants.ie
 

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​The 2016 year in sponsorship kicked off with a bang.  “I’m not angry with #Ladyball, I’m just disappointed”, said Newstalk’s Oisin Langan referring to one of the most divisive Irish sponsorships in recent years.  Following on from their brand activations in other regions, Lidl finally took their first step into Irish sponsorship in 2016 and it came with a tidal wave of controversy. 
 
A teaser video described the launch of a new Ladyball, especially for female use due to its soft touch and it’s pink aesthetic.  The twitter account played along, serving to enrage and entertain Ireland’s online audience.  Even to the uninitiated it was clear there was more to Ladyball, but it would have to be good, really good, to appease those who were baying for their marketeers blood.

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When the reveal came it was in the form of a €1.5million investment by Lidl into the Ladies Gaelic Football Association and would backed by a substantial online, TV, outdoor and print advertising campaign to boost the profile of the sport across the country. 
 
An impressive commitment to ladies football with the tagline #SeriousSupport, although even after the reveal many still questioned using such negative tactics for a package of support so big it should have been well able to stand on its own, without the controversial teaser. 
 
Whatever about the strategy used, Lidl had raised the bar for sponsorship for 2016 and it was only a matter of time before their close rivals Aldi took the plunge into Irish sport.  Their target was rugby.  A four-year commitment by the German retailer focused on getting school children playing rugby was the hook and an ad campaign fronted by Paul O’Connell got their relationship off to an impactful start. 
 
It wasn’t the only significant sponsorship announcement around Irish Rugby in 2016.  Three Ireland had declared they would cease their sponsorship with the IRFU after the Six Nations and all eyes were on what logo would adorn the Irish jerseys on the summer tour in South Africa. 
 
Before a new sponsor was officially revealed, Three had the opportunity to leave their IRFU partnership with some style and they accomplished this by helping to tackle something much bigger than rugby. 
 
The mobile phone company teamed up with Focus Ireland to #TackleHomelessness, producing an impactful three minute promo video based loosely on “Ireland’s Call” calling on fans to stand Shoulder-To-Shoulder to tackle the crisis.  Three also gave up their advertising slots across all media to support the campaign that was awarded the Sponsorship of the Year at the Irish Sponsorship Awards in November.  

​In May it was announced Vodafone would make the move back into Irish sport as part of a €15million 4-year-deal.  Vodafone had cut their relationship with Irish sport when they ended their sponsorship of Dublin GAA in 2013 as the brand moved their sponsorship towards more popular culture such as comedy and music festivals.  However 3 years later and Vodafone could not resist the lure of widespread appeal and exposure opportunities that Irish rugby provides.
 
While Vodafone’s rivals Three are retaining their relationship with the Football Association of Ireland, they are simultaneously moving into the music sphere.  Their inheritance of the Point Depot naming rights following the O2 takeover has seen Three’s sponsorship strategy moving towards music events and festivals.  This is exactly where Vodafone were moving to three years ago, highlighting the cyclical nature of sponsorship as brands try everything to target the younger demographics.
 
The summer of 2016 saw a multitude of brands competing across some of the biggest events in world sport, not to mention the GAA Championships.  Euro 2016 and the Rio Olympics & Paralympics provided brands with the opportunity to engage Irish consumers through innovative activation with plenty of big names jumping on the Green Army bandwagon for the Summer. 
 
The Greatest Show on Earth took place in Rio in 2016 and following on from the huge success of London 2012, they had a hard act to follow.  Unfortunately the Games were overshadowed by a range of controversies both Irish and International, while disappointing results and a difficult time difference made it hard for Irish audiences to connect with the event in the same way they had four years previously.
 
Despite this some brands provided some excellent innovation in the run up to the games with Electric Ireland’s sponsorship of the Irish Olympic team again to the fore.  Their 360 Degree training video with Michael Conlon in the run into the games was one of the main highlights. 
 
The Euro 2016 Championships was a huge success for Ireland on a number of levels.  Success on the pitch thanks to the likes of Robbie Brady and Seamus Colemen, while success off the pitch saw the Irish fans capture the hearts of people across the world with their lullabies and ability to serenade even the sternest of French police officers. 
 
From a brand perspective, a strong advertising campaign from team sponsor Three around fan support was prominent throughout the tournament while Carlsberg were again busy activating at an Irish level ahead of the event.  Spar’s Team of “Gary Breens” campaign was probably one of the most unique activations in the lead in to the Euros and managed to drive footfall to Spar shops for those who always wanted a facemask of Ireland’s 2002 World Cup cult hero.
 
The GAA Championships saw the annual battle in football and hurling across the Association’s tiered sponsorship.  With three sponsors in each code, standing out from the crowd can be a huge challenge for brands.  In 2016 the football championship saw Supervalu, Eir and AIB all competing for the hearts of football fans across the country.
 
This was AIB’s first foray into the inter-county game having excelled in their sponsorship of the club championships in recent years, particularly under with #TheToughest campaign.  Their transition was seamless which made them the stand out brand in the football championship as they successfully merged both sponsorships with some innovative activations highlighting the key elements club teams play in preparing players to excel for their counties.
 
AIB managed to catch the eye of many with their Toughest Trade activation, which saw Aidan O’Shea swap Gaelic Football for American Football, while Brendan Maher traded the ash of a hurl for the willow of the cricket bat.  The activation was supplemented with documentary coverage on TV3 and RTE and helped to further embed the AIB brand in the minds of GAA fans across the country. 
 
While AIB made a big splash, Supervalu aligned their sponsorship to their healthy eating campaign whilst also directing communications around the sponsorship towards clubs at a grassroots level.  Eir, who had invested so heavily in their re-brand and takeover of Setanta, were the quietest of the three sponsors so no doubt they will be planning some eye catching activations for 2017.
 
The Hurling Championship was the more unloved when it came to sponsors activation in 2016.  Centra followed the path of their sister company Supervalu and activated through their “Live Well” healthy eating campaign, however the remaining sponsors Etihad and Liberty Insurance failed to properly push their sponsorships last year. 
 
Not surprising from Etihad’s perspective as they have traditionally under activated one of Ireland’s hottest sponsorship properties but Liberty had made a huge push the previous year, particularly linking the hurling and camogie championships around their Women in Sport initiative.  It became clear why they had been so quiet towards the end of the year as Liberty confirmed they would not be continuing the sponsorship in 2017. 
 
This opened the door for a new face in the Hurling Championship, and online retailer, Littlewoods Ireland, took its place with a glitzy launch at Croke Park featuring Anna Geary, Austin Gleeson and Jackie Tyrrell.  It was clear from the launch that Littlewoods Ireland had allocated a substantial budget to the announcement with a wealth of paid for content appearing online on launch day.  If Littlewoods can allocate that level of budget to guarantee launch publicity it will be intriguing to see what they have lined up for the 2017 Championship.
 
Some of the other big name sponsors were continuing to make their mark in 2016.  Guinness remain activating in sport as their Pro12 sponsorship keeps their foot in the door with rugby, while they continue to use clever activations around the GAA without the cost of a direct sponsorship. 
 
Aviva’s Lansdowne Road sponsorship continues to pay off for the insurer with great success internationally for the rugby and soccer sides in 2016.  However Aviva’s overall focus on grassroots sport continued in 2016 with their FAI Junior Cup sponsorship again a winner at the Irish Sponsorship Awards for the third time in four years. 
 
This looks set to continue into 2017 as they announced their sponsorship of the FAI’s Soccer Sisters programme in November to supplement their already burgeoning portfolio of grassroots partnerships.   
 
2017 promises to be another exciting year in the world of Irish sports sponsorship with VR, social and customer / fan facing activations to be prominent.
 

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Declan Lee is a Client Director for Insight Consultants.  He is a multi award winning PR consultant who has handled sponsorships on behalf of some of the biggest international brands including AVIVA, Powerade, Three, William Hill, the FIA and Coca Cola.