ST Michael’s Rowing Club (SMRC) will launch an online lotto on Friday June 20 as it attempts to raise €100,000 for a new slipway.
The current slipway was badly damaged by Storm Darwin in February and the club is seeking a “modern, safer and one with greater capacity for our growing membership”.
The club has more than 120 active members, making it one of the largest rowing clubs in Ireland, and is targeting its international diaspora of associates as well as locally based members.
The weekly lotto will be priced at €2 per line and will be easily accessible and playable. The online nature of the fundraiser will also enable it to reach a worldwide audience.
SMRC president Austin Reid hopes that the club’s substantial membership, both past and present, will actively support this significant fundraiser.
He said: “We’re very excited to be launching this new fundraising initiative. St Michael’s has seen thousands of young men and women pass through its doors over the years and given a great service to the city of Limerick in both providing an outlet for young people and keeping Limerick on the sporting map. We truly hope that all our current and past members get behind the lotto and that we can generate the money needed to upgrade our slip.”
Despite the setback of the storms earlier in the year, SMRC has enjoyed plenty of good news in 2014, with David O’Malley representing the Irish J18 men’s squad at the European Championships and Kate O’Brien receiving a rowing scholarship to Yale University in the US.
