Club Tyrone official Mark Conway believes that sticking true to GAA values has benefitted them financially.

Tyrone are the envy of many counties in the country given the fundraising that their supporters clubs has carried out, raising €1.2 million over the past three years. In 2011 alone, Club Tyrone raised an astonishing €420,000, a record in itself, especially given the credit crunch that has gripped both sides of the border.

Conway explained to the Irish Examiner that all their work is the result of the efforts of a number of people throughout the county, who have all pulled together in order to help out with the finances.

"I think Tyrone works and thrives because it sticks true to our GAA values, that you put in, you don't take out," he said. "This whole thing is about 'we' not 'me'. You're involved in it because you want to be involved in it and because you think it's doing good for your community and wider society. That's our selling point.

"Even for our Garvaghey project that all our Club Tyrone people and Garvaghey patrons are digging very, very deep into their own pockets to fund, that whole thing is sold on the whole concept of legacy. The GAA that we have in Tyrone has been gifted to us by the people that went before us.

"We have benefited from their work. There is an obligation on us to leave a legacy behind us for the next generations and Garvaghey is part of that legacy. And people buy into that with significant amounts of personal money to make that happen. It's very simple." Tweet

Most Read Stories