Irish international and Aviva Rugby Ambassador, Robbie Henshaw, took time out of his training today to help launch the 2016 / 2017 season of Aviva Mini Rugby Festivals.  Henshaw was joined at the Aviva Stadium by fellow Irish international Sophie Spence as they passed on some of their tips to the next generation of Aviva Mini Rugby players on the day.
 
The Aviva Mini Rugby Festivals are taking place throughout the country during the month of October. Festivals are being held in each of the four provinces, giving Mini Rugby players the opportunity to play against each other.  As part of Aviva’s sponsorship, the Aviva National Mini Rugby Festival will take place at the Aviva Stadium in May 2017.
 
Robbie Henshaw, Aviva’s Rugby Ambassador & former Mini Rugby player, said; “Mini Rugby plays a crucial role in the development of rugby skills and is the perfect gateway for children to get involved in the sport.  Aviva’s Mini Rugby Festivals give players from clubs all over the country the chance to learn and play against each other with the ultimate prize of a chance to play at the Aviva Stadium next spring. My experience of playing Mini Rugby really helped develop my skills at a key age and helped me foster a real enjoyment in playing the game.”
 
Henshaw also filmed a series of three skills videos with fellow Irish International Jenny Murphy focusing on the three core skills of pass, tackling and evasion to help players and coaches grow their skills this season.  The videos can be viewed on www.facebook.com/avivaireland

Mark Russell, Sponsorship Manager, Aviva Ireland, said; “This will be an even better Mini Rugby season for Aviva with the IRFU.  We have launched online content for players and coaches with expert tips from Robbie Henshaw and Jenny Murphy.  We will also be giving one Mini Rugby team that opportunity of a lifetime: to host an IRFU Mini Rugby Coaching session.  And, of course the fact that every team participating in the Festivals will have the chance to play at the Aviva Stadium for the National Festival next May, means it will be the best Mini Rugby season to date.”
 
As part of this season’s Mini Rugby Festivals, sponsors Aviva will be running a nationwide competition, open to every club in the country with a Mini Rugby team.  The prize will be an Aviva / IRFU Mini Rugby Training Session at the winning teams ground along with €1,000 worth of training equipment for the team. ​

Oscar-winning film director and Ireland’s Digital Ambassador Lord David Puttnam today (Friday October 7th) launches an Irish online initiative that is a global first.
 
Lord Puttnam is launching eStreet in Skibbereen, Co Cork. eStreet is a website that brings small Irish retailers together on one platform to a global audience.
 
eStreet.ie is a unique, ground-breaking project, which for the first time will enable towns to trade online by pooling their resources and expertise.
 
In the first phase, eStreet will enable 11 businesses in Skibbereen to trade online using a single platform while retaining the individual identity of each store.
 
eStreet is a project from The Ludgate Hub, a technological hub located in Skibbereen that is dedicated to creating jobs and innovation in rural West Cork. Ludgate offers broadband connections of 1000MB and has turned Skibbereen into a ‘1GB town’.
 
eStreet is in partnership with An Post; other supporters include the Granite Digital,  Department of Communications, Climate Action & Environment and West Cork Local Enterprise Office.
 
Speaking at the launch in the Ludgate Hub, in Skibbereen today (Friday October 7th) Lord David Puttnam - Board Member of Ludgate Operations, said: “The world of retail, like every part of the economy and of society, is being fundamentally transformed by the changes in consumer behavior driven by digital technology.
 
“We are really only at the beginning of this transformation as the advent of 5G mobile connections will unquestionably accelerate change on every front. 
 
“The Ludgate Hub is ideally positioned to help the community it serves reinvent itself for the digital age, by opening up world markets to our local businesses and providing fresh opportunities for jobs and investment.
The eStreet project is an essential component of this ambitious wider initiative.”
 
Lord Puttnam is also Ireland’s Digital Champion.
 
Triona McCarthy from TV3 said: "I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of this launch. I am proud that I was made in West Cork and I am proud of the things we make in West Cork!
 
“When I was a child, Skibbereen was like a metropolis to me! It didn’t seem like a small town at all. Now many years later, Skibbereen is still bigger than it seems with the launch of Ludgate's eStreet connecting it to the global marketplace.
 
“Places change and evolve and must move with the times and I couldn’t be more proud of how this small town thinks big, modernises, and renews all the while preserving what makes it so special, the people."
 
Barney Whelan from An Post said: “An Post is an integral part of modern e-commerce in Ireland. No other delivery company has the reach and local knowledge to deliver to every premises every working day. We have also developed a suite of products such as Delivery Box, AddressPal and ReturnMyShopping.ie to facilitate internet trade.
 
“Of equal importance to us is the need for significant investment of this type to contribute to the development of rural Ireland. It is very important and should be supported.”
 
Instead of retailers spending between €3,000 and €4,000 individually on website management, graphic design and other costs, the businesses who take part in the eStreet project only pay a modest yearly participants fee, about 25% of a traditional, individual website’s costs.
 
This contributes to a collective fund, half of which is reimbursed by the Local Enterprise Office Trading Online Voucher Scheme.
 
eStreet allows retailers in Skibbereen - and in the future other towns -  to embrace modern technology and ship all orders made by one customer on the website together.
 
Ludgate hopes that the website will allow retailers – as well as the Skibbereen community - to help reinvent themselves. In so, doing Ludgate hopes that eStreet will gain national and EU recognition for its solution in helping combat rural disadvantage and economic decline.
 
By offering retailers a shared collaborative template that reduces overall costs, eStreet is contributing to a more sustainable and shared economy.
 
Gillean Guy, eStreet Initiative Manager, at The Ludgate Hub said: “eStreet.ie is paving the digital path for other towns and areas to follow a collaborative e-Commerce model. It is set to become Ireland's first fully, inclusive e-Commerce community portal. It is the future of shopping for all rural areas and towns and the key to sustainability.”
 
“It can be easily rolled out in other towns and villages and the final product will be a ready-to-go solution for towns, community groups and chambers of commerce” Ms Guy added.
 
Irish consumers spend 3.7 billion euro online annually and online marketplaces are proving to be an area that rural regions can capitalise on.
 
Ms Guy said that the second phase of the eStreet initiative would present opportunities to enable other towns nationally to trade online in 2017.
 
The eStreet project will be used as part of a European project on rural rejuvenation and will be included in a report for the South West Action Plan for Jobs 2015-2017.
 ​

Aviva’s FAI Junior Cup Ambassador and former Irish international Kevin Kilbane was joined by Dundalk FC’s Brian Gartland and FAI Junior Cup holder, Sheriff YC’s, Adam McGuirk to launch Aviva’s sponsorship of this season’s competition today at the Aviva Stadium.
 
The FAI Junior Cup, which begins fully this weekend with Round Two following the preliminary Round One, sees over 600 teams competing on the #RoadToAviva in the hope of walking out in the Aviva Stadium for the Final in May 2017. 
 
Kevin Kilbane, Aviva’s FAI Junior Cup Ambassador, said; “This promises to be the most exciting season yet for the FAI Junior Cup, particularly with the new elements that Aviva are adding in for teams and it should see the competition get even more exposure right from the start through to the Final in the Aviva Stadium.  Every team playing this weekend can dare to dream about walking out here next May and that’s something  
 
Mark Russell, Sponsorship Manager, Aviva Ireland, said; “We are delighted to be sponsoring the FAI Junior Cup for the fifth year.  Year on year this competition has gotten bigger and better and to be able to continue to provide the Aviva Stadium as a venue to host the Final is something we are honoured to be able to do to give these 600 clubs the dream of playing in the home of Irish football.  We are also bringing in a range of new prizes and incentives for clubs to Put Their Name On It and make their mark on this year’s tournament and increasing our TV coverage to heighten the exposure that these clubs deserve.”      
 
Paddy McGrath, FAI Junior Council, said; “The Road to Aviva starts here and let’s hope it will be another great season of FAI Junior Cup football.  The additional coverage that Aviva are going to provide this year is a huge boost to the competition that has gone from strength to strength since they came on board five years ago.  Lets hope for some great games along the way to the Final in the Aviva Stadium and that the clubs enjoy every moment of this year’s competition.” 
 
This season promises to be even better for every club involved with Aviva increasing their commitment to the competition.  Aviva want each club to leave their mark on this season’s competition by launching the “Put Your Name On It” campaign. 
 
This allows every club that has entered the FAI Junior Cup the chance to be awarded unique prizes such as High Performance Training Sessions, Training Equipment, Training & Match Video Analysis and New Team Kits.
 
It will also encourage teams to Put Their Name on the competition with their performances, as an Aviva Performance of the Round award is being introduced given to the best performance from Round Three onwards.    
 
Following the preliminary first round two weeks ago the FAI Junior Cup will continue outright this weekend with over 600 teams in action including holders and favourites to retain the trophy, Sheriff YC, who host Larkview Boys.
 
For more information on Aviva’s sponsorship of the FAI Junior Cup and the “Put Your Name on It” campaign, log on to www.aviva.ie/faijuniorcup and keep an eye out for Aviva’s new Put Your Name On It campaign video launching this week online.
 
#RoadToAviva
Aviva’s Sponsorship Commitments – FAI Junior Cup 2016 / 2017

• Final to be held in the Aviva Stadium for the 5th consecutive year.
• Matches from Round 3 onwards to be filmed for national TV / Online broadcast.
• Every game from the Quarter Finals onwards to be filmed for national TV & Online broadcast.
• Aviva Performance of the Round Award for the best performance of a team in every round from Round 3 onwards.
• Aviva’s “Put Your Name On It” campaign open to all clubs with the opportunity to get awarded Junior Cup improvement incentives including High Performance Training Sessions, Training and Match Video Analysis, new training equipment and first team kit.

​Former Irish International Keith Andrews was in attendance at Aviva’s Showcase Day to celebrate this year’s Aviva FAI Club of the Year, Shiven Rovers.
 
Shiven Rovers, located in Newbridge, Galway, were named the Aviva FAI Club of the Year for 2016 in July at the FAI Festival of Football in Tipperary and become the first club from Galway, or from the Rosommon league, to win the prestigious title.
 
Former Ireland International, Keith Andrews, said; “To be down here in Shiven Rovers for Aviva and see the great work this club has done is fantastic and it’s no surprise that they are being highlighted as the Aviva Club of the Year.  The level of facilities is top class and this has all been achieved by a consistent push on fundraising by a dedicated group of people who just want to see the club succeed.  Without the voluntary hard work of these types of people all over the country, football in Ireland would not survive and it’s great to see them being celebrated today on what is a very proud day for the club.”
 
Shiven Rovers were nominated and shortlisted in the Club Facilities and Development category before securing the overall award following a presentation to the Club of the Year Judging Panel.  The club has over 400 members and 19 teams competing, which has included the addition of a womens team and three underage girls teams in recent years. 
 
The club has spent over €1million on their facilities since they were established in 1995.  This has included in excess of €600,000 of Sports Capital Grants alongside over €483,000 being raised by the club itself.  This has helped build 3 full size pitches, 1 floodlit astro turf pitch, 6 dressing rooms, a gym, physio room, function room and 4 car parking areas. 
 
Mark Russell, Sponsorship Manager, Aviva Ireland, said; “Shiven Rovers are the perfect example of a club working together with their community to help benefit everyone.  Their commitment to delivering excellent facilities for their players, members and the wider community is second to none and is exactly what the Aviva Club of the Year is all about.  They have managed to balance success both on and off the pitch, which is the ideal model of a club.  To be able to hold them up as the club for other clubs to follow is the aim of the award and Shiven Rovers are the blueprint for clubs across the country to follow.”  
 
Noel Dervan, Shiven Rovers, said; “This is a reward for the hard work, long hours and community involvement over the last 20 years.  It’s justification for the vision and foresight of a few, which has benefitted the many on the community.  The award allows us to showcase our club and our facilities to a wider audience.  It will encourage us to continue on our path and our 5 year plan has now become a 3 year plan because of this award.  It will also hopefully attract more sponsors to the club and raise our profile and membership levels to continue the growth we have enabled here.”       
 
The Aviva Showcase Day for Shiven Rovers, which was also attended by Minster for Communications, Climate Action & Environment, Denis Naughten, T.D., saw Keith Andrews coaching several of the sides while also getting involved in judging some of the skills competitions with the younger teams.  The day also included obstacle courses, face painting, bouncy castles, bubble soccer and a BBQ.  Aviva also presented the club with €1,000 worth of Umbro training kit on the day along with facilitating the showcase for the club.    
 
The Aviva FAI Club of the Year, which is free for all clubs to enter, has been running for 11 years and in this time has seen over €170,000 awarded to clubs to aid their development.  Each of the 8 Finalists receive €1,500 for their club with the winning club receiving an additional €5,000 along with the prestigious title of the Aviva FAI Club of the Year.
 
Last year’s winners Achill Rovers from Mayo were nominated in the participation category but it was there overall work in the Achill community that saw them secure the award.  They integrated every part of the island, young and old, into the club and even attracted Cameroon World Cup star Joseph Ndo as a coach to Achill Rovers, such was the draw of the spirit around the club. 
 
#AvivaCOTY
 
Aviva FAI Club of the Year Winners
2015 / 2016 – Shiven Rovers (Galway)
2014 / 2015 – Achill Rovers (Mayo)
2013 / 2014 – Trim Celtic FC (Meath)
2012 / 2013 – Esker Celtic FC (Dublin)
2011 / 2012 – Midleton FC (Cork)
2010 / 2011 – Tramore FC (Waterford)
2009 / 2010 – Kingscourt Harps (Cavan)
2008 / 2009 – Dunboyne AFC (Meath)
2007 / 2008 – St. Joseph’s Boys AFC (Dublin)
2006 / 2007 – Manulla FC (Mayo)
2005 / 2006 – Mullingar Athletic FC (Westmeath)