Mayo club's billboard brings GAA to NYC's Times Square

Kilmaine GAA/LGFA's ongoing "Win a McHale Fusion 4 Baler" campaign was displayed on a video billboard in Times Square throughout the day on Saturday, April 6 ahead of Mayo's Connacht SFC quarter-final clash with New York in Gaelic Park on Sunday. 

Tickets for the Mayo GAA club's fundraiser cost €50 or €100 for three, with the lucky winner taking home a brand-new McHale Fusion 4 Plus baler, which can be shipped to dozens of countries around the world. Alternatively, the raffle winner can select a cash prize of €75,000. 

The campaign will raise vital funds to develop a new pitch for the Mayo club, providing a huge boost for the local community. 

Kilmaine's billboard - the club's final push to sell tickets before the draw on April 19 - ran the same day that thousands of Mayo GAA fans descended upon Times Square for a "takeover" of the iconic New York location.

Kilmaine Treasurer Alan Burke told IrishCentral that club sponsor McHale put forward the idea of renting a billboard on Times Square ahead of Mayo's Connacht SFC quarter-final clash with New York. 

"We've got a company that has been supporting us for the last 30 years," Burke said.

"We're just a small club, but they still put their hand in their pocket to keep the local community going.

Saturday's advertisement featured video footage of several junior members of Kilmaine at Croke Park, with each child sporting Kilmaine colors.

"How many advertisements around here have a video of a baler outside Croke Park or in a field in Mayo?" Burke said.

"You don't see that in Times Square."

Donal Walsh, Kilmaine Vice-Chairman, said he was "incredibly proud" to see the club represented on the international stage. 

"It's awareness for all the underage teams at the club as well. We have kids that are four or five years of age and to have them on that screen, it's just phenomenal," Walsh said.

The billboard also served as an advertisement for the GAA, with Ireland's national sport receiving attention alongside a range of household brands. 

"It's a beautiful thing to have. It's awareness for the whole sport." 

Burke said the campaign will have a huge benefit for the local community, particularly young members of the club. 

However, he said the development will cost close to €1 million and added that the club could use "as much help as we can."

He said clubs around Ireland and the world have been supporting the club because the campaign resonates with them. 

"People around the world have been supporting us because they know it's going towards an actual development for the kids of Kilmaine. That's brilliant." 

Both Burke and Walsh said they had sold tickets to Mayo fans with no connection to Kilmaine during their trip to the US, stating that GAA fans just wanted to help out. 

You can learn more about Kilmaine GAA's "Win a New Fusion 4 Plus or Take €75,000 Cash" raffle here.