THE launch of an exciting partnership between McDonald’s and Damolly FC was recently celebrated at
an event which took place in the McDonald’s Newry Restaurant, with Damolly’s U13 & U15 Girls
showcasing their new McDonald’s sponsored kits.
“McDonald’s have always prided ourselves in being the biggest supporter of local grassroots football and
we are very happy with the relationship which we have already built up with all at Damolly FC. From our
first meeting, it is clear that Damolly is a club going places and we are proud to support the girls with their new kits.” McDonald’s Newry Business Manager, Gavin Doran.
Joanne Patterson, Girls Development Lead at Damolly FC, fully agrees with Gavin’s sentiment. “We’re
very active in the community and it’s fantastic to see McDonald’s wanting to support the development of
local youth football at that grassroots level. From our club’s point of view, Damolly FC are delighted that
McDonald’s now feature as a key element of our club development plan and, where brand alignment is
concerned, we couldn’t have asked for a more high-profile partner!”
Gavin added, “The girls game is growing massively and we thought it key for us to support
Damolly and, in particular this group of girls. We hope this will only be the start of our relationship and it
is us giving back to the local community that have supported us.”
Paul McCullough, Damolly FC Girls U15 Coach is extremely optimistic about what the future holds as a
result of the club’s new partnership with McDonald’s Newry. “Our young footballers are delighted to be
supported by such a prominent and prestigious local restaurant and look at the McDonald’s Newry logo
with pride on their strips.
“The Damolly girls were so pleased at the launch night to meet with Gavin and
his staff at the Damolly Retail Park and we look forward to sharing our future successes! To have
McDonald’s onboard as a partner strengthens our own brand and profile and we look forward to where
this partnership will take our club and local grassroots football.”
Abbie Magee, Northern Ireland Senior Women’s National Team player, has recently taken up a post with
the Irish FA as Games Development Officer for the Newry, Mourne & Down Area and was delighted to be
invited to the recent partnership launch evening.
“The McDonald’s launch was a fantastic event for the girls of Damolly getting to show off their very own
designed kit sponsored by McDonald’s,” The Cliftonville midfielder added.
“The whole evening was exceptional from McDonald’s and this is a very exiting partnership, given that, in the area of Newry, girls’ football is at a very exciting stage, with the aim of us starting our very own girls small-sided games programme starting early in 2024. This will only help improve the girls and help to grow the game.”
“Abbie is a great role model for the girls to look up to, and for the age group that these girls are in, they can look up to Abbie and see someone who has made a career out of doing what she loves – which was unthinkable 10 years ago,” Gavin remarks.
In terms of the next stage of the recently launched partnership, Gavin sees this as an open-ended
opportunity for both McDonald’s and Damolly FC “It’s a great chance for us to give back to the local
people of Newry and it’s not just a one-off sponsorship, it’s more of a partnership, and they can call on us
for any support that they need.” Gavin is keen to emphasise.
“We’re delighted that McDonald’s, like ourselves, see this as a long-term partnership, which can only
benefit both parties, and we’re excited to see what the future brings.” Joanne gratefully re-iterates.
