Bank of Ireland Renews Partnership with the DCU Sports Academy

(Issued Friday, 31st January)Bank of Ireland is delighted to confirm it has extended its partnership with the DCU Sports Academy for a further three years to the end of June 2016. For the first time the partnership includes the university’s athletics team as well as the GAA football team.

During the partnership Bank of Ireland will provide support for the athletes’ wider development through mentoring, work experience and internships. The football and athletics teams playing and training kits will also feature the Bank of Ireland brand.

Bank of Ireland has sponsored the DCU Sports Academy since 2008 and this new agreement consolidates the Bank’s commitment to DCU. Recently the Bank has opened a new campus branch to cater for students and the local community.

Commenting on the partnership extension, Gabriel Bannigan, Dublin Regional Manager at Bank of Ireland said “We are delighted to continue to support the DCU Sports Academy and its players both on and off the pitch. Our new on campus branch and our mentoring programme are in place to meet the needs of the players. We wish all the athletes continued success with their academic and sporting pursuits”.

Michael Kennedy, Director of DCU GAA Academy welcomed the announcement, saying “This partnership with the Bank of Ireland is vital to the success of the DCU Sports Academy as it allows us to provide the best levels of support and development for our community of gifted young sportspeople as they combine the rigours of their sporting and academic disciplines.”

The DCU Sports Academy supports approximately 140 elite athletes each year. DCU GAA elite players hail from 25 of the 26 counties in Ireland and include established inter-county players such as Colm Begley from Laois, James McCarthy and Jonny Cooper, both from Dublin.

The Academy ensures that students achieve both their academic and athletic goals through high-level coaching, state of the art facilities and course flexibility.