Club Iarmhí confirms promotional raffle to proceed

A promotional raffle launched by Club Iarmhí in advance of the Westmeath senior footballers' game with Galway in Round 2A of the All-Ireland series will proceed.

Club Iarmhí are offering an overnight stay in the Galway Bay Hotel, two tickets to the Pearse Stadium encounter and €100 spending money to the winner of the raffle.

Tickets for the raffle, priced €5 each, were available for purchase on the Eventbrite website, but confusion reigned when the ticketing platform issued an email to those who purchased tickets on Tuesday evening to state their money had been refunded, stating that the "event did not comply with our community guidelines".

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent, Club Iarmhí secretary Vinny Maguire,said the committee would honour the draw due to the "goodwill of all those who supported the raffle".

The secretary said approximately 2,000 tickets had been purchased for the raffle prior to Eventbrite removing the draw from their website.

He added that the committee "remained unclear" as to why the raffle was removed from the Eventbrite website and has sought further clarity on the matter.

The email issued to raffle entrants by Club Iarmhí stated that Eventbrite had removed the raffle "without prior notice to the committee".

"This action was entirely beyond our control and came as a complete surprise to us," the committee added.

The email confirmed that the draw would take place on Thursday, June 11, at 9pm.

"We want to reassure everyone who brought a ticket that Club Iarmhí will honour the raffle as originally advertised," the committee stated.

Club Iarmhí sincerely apologised for "any confusion and inconvenience" and acknowledged the "great support" shown by everyone who entered the raffle".

The Westmeath Independent has reached out to Eventbrite for comment on the situation.

Club Iarmhí is the official fundraising and supporters' committee for Westmeath GAA.