How do you surpass auctioning a house in Dublin which raised almost €950,000 for a GAA county board?
Roscommon GAA County Board is to follow up the success of its auction last year for a three-bed room house in Ashtown, Dublin worth €425,000 with a two bed apartment in London worth almost twice that much (£695,000/€850,000).
Club Rossie, the supporters' club which fundraises to support the county team, sold more than 14,000 tickets at €100 each for the previous raffle which was won by Kumar Gangah originally from Mauritius.
The auction netted €943,400 for Roscommon GAA.
The latest raffle will be for a two bedroom apartment in London City Island near Canary Wharf in London’s Docklands.
It is being developed by Ballymore Homes which is run by Sean Mulryan, the long-time main sponsor of Roscommon GAA.
Tickets are again priced at €100 and are available at www.winahomeinlondon.com.
The draw will take place on Sunday, May 10th next year, a week after Roscommon are due to travel to London for their first game of the 2020 GAA Football Championship.
Club Rossie chairman Pat Compton said the success of last year's draw inspired them to be even more ambitious.
“The support we received from Ballymore, the interest generated and the success that it was both locally and internationally just exceeded our wildest imaginations,” he said.
"It put Roscommon GAA finances in a strong position going forward to proceed with our two main projects of the redevelopment of Dr Hyde Park and the proposed Dermot Earley Centre of Excellence."
Roscommon GAA treasurer David O'Connor said the county had the sixth smallest population in Ireland and no major industry.
“Running the finances of a county like Roscommon is challenging, but we have high ambition for Gaelic games in the county. We want all our players to be the best they can be on the field and we need to develop the Dermot Earley Centre of Excellent for all the players, both men and women, in Roscommon. This fundraiser will make a tremendous difference.”
