New chamber campaign to target GAA

BUSINESSES in Gort are hoping to cash in on some of the thousands of cars and buses passing the town daily. Gort Chamber of Commerce is working with local companies on a new campaign to attract groups into the town to eat, shop or stay.
“Recently, during the GAA league, a number of stars stopped off in Gort. On one Saturday recently the Cork football panel stopped off for refreshments on their way to Castlebar to play Mayo.
“On the same weekend, Waterford hurling star John Mullane was spotted walking about Gort before he made a successful return against Galway. The chamber is now working with businesses within the town to see if there is potential to attract similar business,” explained the chamber’s newly-elected secretary, Pauline Scully.
According to Ms Scully, the chamber would welcome ideas from people in the area, local businesses and organisations that would bring sports teams and other groups into the town.
“We are hoping to take this further. We will be speaking to the local GAA club about ways to attract more GAA clubs and teams to the town in an effort to generate more business.
“We are also considering putting together packages with local businesses and sending these on to GAA clubs and county boards. There are so many people that have to pass here going north and south and it is so close to the motorway that Gort is a great location really for this type of thing,” Ms Scully outlined.
Local councillor Gerry Finnerty is the chamber’s PRO. He believes sport, and particularly GAA, holds huge potential for attracting people to the town.
“The championship is coming up in football and hurling and it is more or less an open draw, once a team loses at provincial level. For example, you could have Donegal playing Cork in Ennis and the Donegal team would be passing by you.
“We want to let them know we are here, we are open for business and we have a lot to offer. There is a lot of choice because of the number of places to eat and get refreshment,” he explained.
“We want to set this up with the GAA first. We are getting in touch with the county boards and our members to put a team package in place. We want them to say ‘we can cater to 30 people for example, this is the set menu, this is the cost and we can get them in and out of here in 30-40 minutes’.
“I think the demand is there. If you are going from A to B, especially if you are going with a group, you are looking for a reliable service and you have to plan where you are going to stop to eat.
“From a convenience point of view, people want to avoid traffic and they will stop at the quieter destinations if you provide the service,” Mr Finnerty continued.
The chamber hopes its efforts will pay off for businesses in Gort and that the GAA will be the first step for the town in becoming a place for groups to stop when travelling along the west coast.
“This is not just about restaurants. Younger teams and groups, as well as schools, may lean towards the takeaways but we have a number of those here too so there is something for everyone. There is also the potential for shops and filling stations to benefit from the spin-off.
“We are trying to make it easy for people. Any time anyone wants to do anything in Ireland, it feels like you always have to go out and do the leg work.
“We are trying to make it easy for organisations and say ‘look, stop in Gort, here is what we can offer, just ring the business directly and they will look after the rest’,” Mr Finnerty concluded.