Since opening its doors less than two years ago, Kavanagh's SuperValu in Ballybofey has been one of Donegal GAA's foremost supporters, providing sponsorship to a host of clubs in the area, including Sean MacCumhaills, Glenfin, Red Hughs, Robert Emmets and Setanta.

And the retailer's links with the GAA have been reinforced by the recent announcement of a new three-year All-Ireland football championship sponsorship between SuperValu and the Association.

Speaking at the sponsorship launch in Croke Park which was attended by Kavanagh's SuperValu Ballybofey store manager Charlie Ferry, SuperValu managing director Donal Horgan said: "SuperValu is immensely proud of its Irish heritage, so today it gives me great pleasure to announce the brand's sponsorship of the GAA football Championship. 

"As with the GAA, our retail partners in Donegal and across the country have a long and distinguished history of being at the heart of building thriving and vibrant local communities.  Today is a very proud day for us, as we bring together in true partnership two of Ireland's most community focused organisations.

"The GAA is a natural fit with our brand as our SuperValu partners in Donegal have a proud tradition with the GAA. Our organisations share common values through focusing our approach on relationships, honesty, hard work, achievement and, of course, community identity."

He added: "The GAA football championship is not just about winning games; it is about our heritage, it is what makes us uniquely Irish; gives us our sense of 'pride in place' and pride in our county colours.  In the years ahead, SuperValu and its retail partners look forward to building our partnership and bringing it to life locally in our stores across all 32 counties, including our Donegal stores."

Welcoming the announcement, GAA president Christy Cooney said: "This is a major boost to the Association and we are delighted to officially welcome SuperValu on board as official sponsors of the GAA.  The arrangement is an excellent fit in so many ways. Just as we are proud of our own GAA network, SuperValu and its retail partners are justifiably proud of their presence across Ireland. 

"SuperValu's commitment to Irish produce and the communities it serves across the island is testament to the importance that they place on community life and we are happy to align ourselves with a company that shares so many of our own values. 

"I am sure this alliance will enthuse many members of the company's vast retail network, many of whom are already GAA members and supporters.  We wish them every success with this venture and look forward to a long lasting and fruitful partnership."

Kavanagh's SuperValu Ballybofey is part of the Kavanagh Group which is a family-owned business comprising 15 large supermarkets across Ireland and Britain. Their business partnership with Musgraves, who own the SuperValu/Centra/Budgens brands, gives them the purchasing strength of Ireland's largest retail company and allows them to combine being an independent local retail business with the benefits and enhanced services, such as marketing support, of a multiple business.

There are four Kavanagh's SuperValu stores located in Donegal alone - Ballybofey, Dungloe, Donegal Town and Buncrana. The Group's other outlets in the Irish Republic are Westport, where their head office is located, Castlebar, Kiltimagh, Claremorris (all Mayo) and Clifden, Co. Galway. Kavanagh's operate two SuperValu stores in the North, Strabane and Derry, and a further four - trading under Budgens - in the south of England.

The Kavanagh Group was founded by Sean O'Connor in Westport. Noel Kavanagh, who is married to Sean's daughter Marian, subsequently took control of the business and grew it to the size it is today. Opened in November 2008 at a cost of EUR9 million, the Ballybofey store is the latest and most modern addition to the Kavanagh chain. Located on the Trusk Road, it is the largest of the Group's four Donegal outlets (18,000 sq ft) and employs 60 staff between full-time and part-time.

Kavanagh's main objective is to provide their customers with the best possible service. They do this through their customer service policy and the quality of their fresh food. Kavanagh's provide all the usual supermarket services and so much more.

"As with all SuperValu stores, the big focus here is on fresh food, quality and customer service," Charlie Ferry says.

"All our fresh meat, poultry and eggs are 100 per cent Irish and can be traced back to the farm where they were produced. We place a huge empasis on sourcing locally our fruit and vegetables where possible. We are also committed to the local community in terms of employment. We employ 60 staff which makes us one of Ballybofey's larger employers."

The Letterkenny native, who played for the local St. Eunan's club in his younger days and previously managed Kavanagh's Dungloe store, has reason to welcome the devaluation of the euro against sterling given his store's close proximity to the border.

"When we opened this store, cross-border shopping was all the rage and it was difficult for us to compete.  But thankfully, from our point of view, the euro isn't as strong as it was and business has picked up a lot since the start of the year. People are shopping locally again which is good to see."

As a staunch GAA supporter, Charlie is delighted that SuperValu has become one of the title sponsors of the All-Ireland football championship. He also welcomes sister brand Centra's sponsorship of the All-Ireland hurling championship.

"Many of our customers and staff are involved with the GAA," he explains.

"We have received great support from the GAA community since we opened in Ballybofey and we have endeavoured to repay that support by giving sponsorship to the local clubs. We sponsored fruit juices for the young Setanta hurlers last year and decided to extend that to the Donegal minor footballers this year. Unfortunately, they were knocked out of the Ulster championship early by a very strong Down team, despite the best efforts of their management team of Charlie Mulgrew, Matt Gallagher, John McEniff and Owen Bonner."

The Mourne County also ended Donegal's interests in the Ulster senior football championship after an extra-time win at MacCumhaill Park, but Charlie is optimistic for the future and takes particular encourage-ment from the under 21 side's run to the All-Ireland final earlier this year.

"There is plenty of good up-and-coming talent in Donegal as we saw in this year's under 21 championship. It was heartbreaking to lose the All-Ireland final to Dublin in those circumstances (2009 Young Footballer of the Year Michael Murphy missed the chance to win it when his injury-time penalty came back off the crossbar), but the experience will stand to the players, many of who I expect to see go on to represent Donegal at senior level in the near future," he concludes on a positive note. Tweet

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