County Derry GAA club to give away massive £42k in prizes through fundraising draw

A County Derry GAA club is set to give away a massive £42,000 in prizes next week through a major fundraising draw.

St Canice's GAC in Dungiven launched the 'Thrive in '25' draw earlier this year in an effort to help raise funds to develop their facilities and youth programmes.

This year saw the amalgamation of the ladies and men's clubs, and with numbers at an all time high – 530 players – the club has announced exciting development plans.

The projects which they hope to undertake include new playing fields at Hass Road, a terrace at Páirc na nÓg and a GAA skills wall at Páirc Uí Catháin.

In order to make this happen, the club are selling tickets for a draw which will see three lucky people walk away with some amazing prizes.

The draw, which takes place on Friday, August 8, boasts a top prize of £500 per week for the year for the lucky winner plus two premium tickets to Oasis' upcoming concert at Croke Park, a £5,000 holiday, a weekend in Ashford Castle and two All Ireland tickets of their choice for 2026. In addition, the first prize winner will also receive a weekend away to the Europe Hotel in Killarney and a fine dining experience in Ox, Belfast.

The winner of the second prize will win £100 per week for the year plus a holiday worth £1,000.

The third prize will be £50 per week for the year for one lucky winner and a city break worth £500.

Speaking about the club's development plans, St Canice's GAC chairperson Paddy Mackle said: “We have leased fields in the Hass Road to develop two training pitches and we're hoping to get to get a small bit of ground at Paírc Na nÓg for a terrace so we can have a better experience for our supporters and to allow us to host underage championship matches. We also want to build a ball wall with 4G artificial grass to allow our youngsters to improve their skills through target practice. 

“The club is growing and expanding every year and our amalgamation with the ladies this year has been a major success, we wish this to continue as one big family within our community. 

“Also our summer camp and all our Magpie Ogra girls and boys who got specially designed jerseys with our new crest to celebrate our amalgamation was a major success with close to 200 children taking part. 

“Our main aim is to develop our underage and provide them with the opportunities to be the best they can be along with our dedicated coaches who continue to develop the children's life skills as well as their footballing skills.”

Mr Mackle said the club is also committed to help develop its players off the field.

“We as a club recognise the importance of providing an outlet for the children and our young adults in our community and how important it is to help develop their off field learning as well as their on field skills. We'll be holding workshops in the near future in conjunction with our partner ALPS to offer support and guidance on a range of mental health, substance abuse, respect for our everyone and every day living, in this modern and demanding world we live in. 

“We would like to thank all those you have already purchased tickets and encourage those who haven't to please do so, to help us give our young people the chance to flourish, to expand their awareness of team sport and social interaction with others. We wish everyone the who has purchased tickets the best of luck,” he added.

Tickets, priced £20 for one, £40 for three or £100 for nine, are available to purchase at Win With Dungiven