Harps get lifeline from council

Finn Harps chairman Joey O'Leary has expressed his delight after the future of the club was effectively secured this evening - after Donegal County Council passed a motion to give the First Division club €20,000.
 

The council gave unanimous backing to a motion tabled by Cllr Martin Harley and seconded by Barry O'Neill for the local authority to sanction the funding to the cash-strapped club.
 

Harps have until December 21st to raise €48,000 or they face the prospect of going out of business and the announcement last night that the council had given their blessing to the allocation of €20,000 is a major shot in the arm for the Ballybofey club.
 

Over the weekend, club officials confirmed that they had taken in €12,000 and with their Monster Draw event - which will be attended by former Liverpool and Ireland star Ronnie Whelan - on the way this weekend the future of the club will be safeguarded.
 

Tonight's news will enable them to apply for their licence from the FAI by the December deadline.
 

"We are absolutely delighted that the Donegal County Council has given their backing to Finn Harps and have decided to get behind maintaining senior football in the county," said club chairman Joey O'Leary.
 

"We would like to thank all the councillors in Donegal for their support at this difficult time. We wrote to each individual councillor and we have had nothing but positive responses from them all which has been very heartening."
 

Club officials met with Cllrs Harley and O'Neill last week, outlined their perilous financial state and issued a plea for assistance. Ballybofey-based Cllr Harley last night said that Finn Harps had a lot
to offer to Donegal and stressed that the club had to be saved with work underway on a new 6,600-seater stadium in Stranorlar.
 

He said: "Finn Harps is the only senior team in Donegal and in a football-mad county like this, young players need something to aim to, they need a senior club that they should want to play for.
 

"Donegal has always produced great footballers and Finn Harps can be a fine outlet for young players in the county. It is very important that Finn Harps is kept alive."
 

With the club now considerably further away from danger than it had been following a season in which gate receipts at Finn Park dropped dramatically by some €50,000 the task now is to get the club back on its feet again.
 

Prior to a club committee meeting tonight, Mr O'Leary added: "The work doesn't stop here. This is a scenario that cannot be allowed to arise again. We need to lay the foundations for the club as a business."
 

His comments were echoed by Cllr Harley. He said: "Finn Harps must work with what they have and they need good, level-headed people now to be realistic in their approach."