Ballymahon woman wins luxury London apartment

Over €900, 000 has been raised for the development of GAA facilities in Roscommon by the www.winahomeinlondon.com fundraiser.

On December 30, in a socially distanced draw independently observed by PwC, Mary Dinnegan from Ballymahon in Co. Longford won an apartment in London City Island worth £695,000. The other winners are listed below.

The fundraiser, organised by Club Rossie, the voluntary commercial and fundraising arm of Roscommon GAA, was launched in December 2019. It concluded following a particularly challenging year against a backdrop of the global health pandemic brought about by Covid-19.

Roscommon GAA chairman Brian Carroll congratulated Ms Dinnegan on the top prize of a luxury home in London, and thanked all entrants for supporting the draw.

"This is a fantastic result for Roscommon GAA. Delivering over €905,000 profit to Roscommon GAA in the middle of a global pandemic is a massive credit to our Club Rossie team," he said.

"Our previous house draw in 2018 which netted over €943k put our finances in a robust position. This draw is another boost to our balance sheet and will support the development the Dermot Earley Centre of Participation and upgrade of Dr. Hyde Park.

"On behalf of everyone at Roscommon GAA, I would like to sincerely thank everyone who supported this fundraiser, also would like to thank our fundraising team, Club Rossie, for their stellar work. I’d also like to acknowledge the unrelenting support of Sean Mulryan and the Ballymore team, without whom none of this would have been possible.”

A gross €2,161,500 was raised with the following costs: discounted purchase of apartment: €635,000; marketing investment: €246,000; charity partner contributions: €45,000; online payment costs: €39,000; cash prizes for draw: €20,000; GB refunds: €270,000.

When costs are taken into account, Roscommon GAA retains a profit of €906,500.

A contribution from the competition proceeds will be made to the charity partners involved - with €35,000 to be donated to the London Irish Centre in Camden and €10,000 to the Mayo Roscommon Hospice.

Club Rossie has raised €3.5 million over the past seven years.

Draw winners

1st prize, apartment in London City Island: Mary Dinnegan, Longford.

2nd prize, €5,000 cash: Rachael Dooley, Dublin.

3rd prize, €1,000 cash: Paul Young, Kilkenny.

4th prize, €1,000 cash: Sandra Claxton, Mayo.

5th prize, €1,000 cash: David Gannon, Roscommon.

6th prize, €1,000 cash: Hugh Cunniffe, Roscommon.

7th prize, €1,000 cash: Aidan O’Neill, Dublin.

8th prize, €500 cash: Deirdre O’Shaughnessy, Roscommon.

9th prize, €500 cash: Gerry Joyce, Galway.

10th prize, €500 cash: Tom Brady, Roscommon.