The impact of JP McManus on Limerick hurling in recent years cannot be overstated, with the businessman having been a sponsor of the county since the mid-2010s - a period which has seen unprecedented success for the county's hurling team.
Since 2018, Limerick have won five of six All-Ireland titles, and now stand on the verge of becoming the first hurling team in history to win five Liam MacCarthy cups in a row.
It has been revealed this week that McManus' funding will reach even further for 2024, with the racehorse owner set to make a substantial donation to every county board in the country.
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€32 million JP McManus donation to be shared between all GAA county boards
9 April 2023; Businessman JP McManus,left, and former Limerick hurler Joe McKenna, right, before the Allianz Hurling League Final match between Kilkenny and Limerick at Páirc Ui Chaoimh in Cork. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile
Extra.ie reported on Thursday that JP McManus is set to donate €1 million in funding to every GAA county board in Ireland, with funds coming from the JP McManus Charitable Foundation.
The €32 million total donation is intended to be split evenly not only among every county board, but to equally amplify all codes across football, hurling and camogie.
It is not the first time the businessman has made a sizeable donation across the nation. In 2018, he made a donation totalling €3.2 million, again to be split evenly between all 32 county boards - a donation now dwarfed in size by the substantial offering of 2023.
That 2018 donation came with a letter to each county board secretary, insisting that the funds be split evenly between all clubs in the county - though there was some controversy after clubs in Mayo claimed that they had not received their allocation of the funding.
McManus is understood to have given the same instructions on this occasion, that funds be split evenly between all GAA, ladies' football, and camogie clubs within each county.
Limerick GAA responded to the donation on Thursday afternoon in a statement on their website. They confirmed that the funds would be distributed to clubs before Christmas, and county chairperson Seamus McNamara said:
We are delighted with the news today from the JP & Noreen McManus and family and their exceptionally generous donation. The clubs are the bedrock of the GAA and this will help in a time when costs are increasing for clubs to manage their funds. We are exceptionally grateful to JP, Noreen & all the Mc Manus family for this fantastic donation.
It's an enormous sum of money, and no doubt it will go a long way to aiding the developments of football and hurling at grassroots level.
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