Rugby star hopes grant will help Laois golf club grow a local Shane Lowry

Members of The Heath Golf Club are celebrating on winning Laois County award in this year’s Texaco Support for Sport initiative which will help fund upgrades.

A prize of €5,000 was presented to the Club to purchase additional equipment and improve facilities for some 580 players, aged from 8 to over 80, with 103 of these being junior members.

Texaco Support for Sport ambassador, former Irish rugby international and well-known broadcaster, Donncha O’Callaghan oversaw the awards and described the Laois sports club near Portlaoise as ‘a deserved recipient’

“Congratulations to all at The Heath Golf Club. Its success in the Texaco initiative shows how focused the Club is on improving facilities for its members and building on its contribution to community life. Hopefully, we will see the next Leona Maguire or Shane Lowry progressing from Laois,” he said.

He commended the Texaco Support for Sport initiative for giving clubs rare access to funds that are not linked to popularity, membership size, or success. MORE BELOW PHOTO

The presentation to Heath Golf Club chairperson, Joe McNamara; president, Mary Culliton; captain, PJ Mulhall - and fellow club members - was made at The Heath Golf Club. Pictured with them were Texaco dealer Richard Downey (third left) with Valero Area Sales Manager, Sinéad Fox (second right).

James Twohig, Director of Ireland Operations, Valero Energy (Ireland) Limited was particularly praiseworthy of the unstinting work of club officials and volunteers at The Heath GC and other grant recipients around Ireland.

“Since its inception, we are proud to have distributed almost €650,000 to a variety of more than 125 sports clubs under the Texaco Support for Sport initiative.”

Now in its fifth year, the Texaco Support for Sport initiative – organised by Valero Energy (Ireland) Limited, the company that markets fuel in Ireland under the Texaco brand – sees a fund of EUR130,000 set aside annually for allocation in equal amounts of EUR5,000 to successful applicants chosen on a county-by-county basis. Previous Laois winners were Laois Cricket Club (2021), Portlaoise Panthers Basketball Club (2022), Park/Ratheniska GAA Club (2023) and Lions AFC of Durrow (2024).

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Entries for the 2026 Texaco Support for Sport initiative will open again in the New Year for all clubs, including those whose application may have been unsuccessful previously.

Further information may be viewed at www.TexacoSupportforSport.com