Bank Of Ireland Will Not Renew Deal With Padraig Harrington

Bank Of Ireland Will Not Renew Deal With Harrington

Bank of Ireland Wednesday announced that its sponsorship deal with golfer Padraig Harrington "will not be renewed when the contract ends in May," according to Brian Keogh of the IRISHGOLFDESK.com. The bank "entered the sponsorship deal in May 2007 for a three-year term and certainly got value for money as Harrington won three majors in the space of 15 months." But the "credit crunch and the fact that Bank of Ireland is now 15.7[%] directly owned by Irish taxpayers has left some valuable space on Harrington's chest." Harrington reportedly earned at least US$540,000 annually, "plus bonuses, from the deal." In return, he "wore the Bank of Ireland logo on his shirt and did three corporate outings a year -- one each in Ireland, the UK and the United States." Keogh noted Harrington "still has deals" with FTI, Wilson Staff, Titleist, FootJoy, Oceanico, Citizen Eco-Drive, GoS Networks, Marquis Jet, the Marlbrook and White Oak Plantation (IRISHGOLFDESK.com, 2/24).