From Alan Brogan and Paul Galvin's smarts to Kilkenny WAG Niamh de Brún-Reid's irresistible online allure - and Limerick badboy Kyle Hayes's debt-ducking dealings, how GAA influencers are using their skills on the pitch to get RICH

Published: 22:26, 4 August 2026 | Updated: 22:26, 4 August 2026 GAA may be an amateur sport, but off the pitch, the business dealings of some of its biggest stars make for a very professional game indeed. And it’s not just the county players who are capitalising on their sporting prowess: the wives and girlfriends are getting in on the social media game too, forging pretty successful careers of their own and carving out names for themselves in the fiercely competitive influencer arena. Kerry football legend Paul Galvin, 41, who retired from inter-county football years ago, is arguably one of the most successful GAA players to have turned his playing fame into hard financial gain. Since 2015 he has designed more than 15 seasonal menswear collections for Dunnes Stores, the nation’s biggest supermarket and department store chain, turning out seasonal ranges that could reasonably be termed ‘high-street couture’- high-street clobber with a tangental designer tag. Galvin’s collections are largely inspired by his sporting days, with his latest offering, the ‘FUINSEOIG’collection, inspired by the Irish craft of hurley-making. Galvin’s style shtick seems to be a resounding hit, with the profits pouring in, In 2014 Galvin set up Go Dare Creative Limited, alongside his wife, RTÉ Radio 1 broadcaster Louise Duffy, 40, as their main financial vehicle. The firm’s most recent accounts, for the year ended 31 December 2024, show a profit of €23,522, with cash in the company’s bank account of almost €235,000 and shareholders’ funds totalling €201,255. Not bad earnings for a sideline built on designer clobber. But not every sideline business venture has been as successful. Limerick hurler Kyle Hayes, one of the county’s most talked-about, and at times controversial, young stars, is a five-time All-Ireland winner who in recent times has become almost as well known for his off-pitch troubles as for his sporting prowess. In 2023, Hayes stood trial at Limerick Circuit Court over a nightclub incident from 2019.  He was acquitted of assault causing harm but convicted on two counts of violent disorder relating to a brawl at the Icon nightclub in Limerick city, and was later ordered to pay €10,000 in compensation to the injured party rather than serve an immediate custodial sentence. But beyond the dock, Hayes appears to be trying his hand at business. In 2024, the Limerick All-Star co-founded catering firm KDC Catering Limited, trading as Bunda Brothers, alongside Limerick team-mate Darragh O’Donovan.  Beyond the dock, Hayes appears to be trying his hand at business Aishling Moloney of the Cats is congratulated by team mates after kicking a goal during the round two AFLW match between North Melbourne Kangaroos and Geelong Cats at Arden Street Ground, on September 08, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia It’s fair to say the venture isn’t exactly setting the world alight: the company’s first set of accounts, to 30 April 2025, show a modest profit before tax of €8,278, but almost €91,000 spent kitting the business out has left it with creditors of over €80,000 due within the year and net current liabilities of €71,771.  Hayes has also recently been appointed a director of a second company, Hayes Farm Supplies Limited, suggesting he has his eye on a career in agribusiness too. Galvin and Hayes aren’t the only players who’ve worked out that a big name on the pitch can translate into hard cash off it.  Wexford hurler Lee Chin has spoken publicly about sponsorship being his main source of income these days.  Retired Dublin footballer Dean Rock built a personal following of around 37,000 and could once command roughly €1,300 for a single sponsored post. Galway footballer Damien Comer has commanded fees closer to €665 a post.  Tipperary’s Orla O’Dwyer, now playing AFLW in Australia, built a following of some 24,000 and a going rate of around €830 per post before she made the switch to Aussie Rules. Retired Dublin great Bernard Brogan has taken a post-play business ventures to premier league levels. Bernard, a two-time All-Ireland winner and Footballer has built a multimillion-euro hotel and pub family business that has gone from strength-to-strength. Retired Dublin great Bernard Brogan has taken a post-play business ventures to premier league levels Wexford hurler Lee Chin has spoken publicly about sponsorship being his main source of income these days Limerick hurler Seán Finn with Karen Kinnerk upon arrival at the PwC All Stars 2018 Along with brother Alan father, Bernard Brogan Snr, the trio’s most recent acquisition was a major stake in the Pillo Hotel in Ashbourne, Co Meath, back in 2016, in a deal reported at close to €8 million.  The Pillo wasn’t the Brogan Bro’s first foray into hospitality either with the Brogans previously taken control of the Dundrum House resort and golf course in Co. Tipperary in a deal worth around €3 million, while Bernard Brogan Snr has also been part of a separate consortium behind the Setanta House Hotel in Celbridge, Co. Kildare.  On top of the family’s hotel interests, Bernard has also built an admirable media career hosting his own podcast. It isn’t only the players carving out reputations for themselves off the pitch; their partners are also getting in on the social media fame and fortune game. Chief among them is Niamh de Brún-Reid, 33, wife of Kilkenny hurling great TJ Reid, who has become one of the most genuinely popular and well-liked figures in the GAA social media world.  Orla O'Dwyer of Ireland during the warm-up before the Women's International Rules test match between Ireland and Australia at the North Sydney Oval in Sydney, Australia Niamh de Brún-Reid, 33, wife of Kilkenny hurling great TJ Reid, has become one of the most genuinely popular She has built the biggest personal following of any partner in the game, with some 114,000 followers drawn to her warm, relatable take on lifestyle, fashion and motherhood.  De Brún-Reid has also shown herself to be a formidable opponent off-screen, having taken legal action after being targeted by trolls on gossip site Tattle Life, a stance that has only endeared her further to her large and loyal following. Kristin McKenzie Vass, partner of Mayo footballer Aidan O’Shea, has built a following of around 27,000 from her base in Co Mayo, with a PR contact listed in her Instagram bio.  In Dublin, Orla O’Brien, who posts as @orlalorenza, has gone one step further, running her own small business, ItsBeautyCheats, selling beauty and jewellery accessories including magnetic necklace clasps and earlobe protectors, alongside a personal following of around 6,400. Not every partner seeks the spotlight, mind. Broadcaster Louise Cantillon, partner of retired Limerick captain Declan Hannon, has a public profile through her media career but no verified follower figures. Kerry footballers David Clifford and Paudie Clifford’s partners, Shauna O’Connor and Orla Mahony, have kept their profiles private altogether. Elsewhere in Limerick’s celebrated 2025 All-Ireland winning panel, several players’ partners were named in press coverage of the celebrations, though none has so far built a public profile to rival the bigger names in this piece.  Karen Kinnerk is partner to Seán Finn. Aoife Ní Cheallaigh is partner to David Reidy. Niamh McCarthy is partner to Gearóid Hegarty.  Gemma Cowen is partner to William O’Donoghue. Elaine Kennedy is partner to Diarmaid Byrnes. Dayna Slattery is partner to Cian Lynch. And Michaela Arthur is partner to Peter Casey. And then there are the women who built their profiles not by marrying into the GAA, but by starring in it themselves.  Cork camogie legend Anna Geary, a four-time All-Ireland winner, has coached on RTÉ’s Ireland’s Fittest Family since 2015 and fronted her own show, Love in the Country, with a combined social following reported at around 215,000.  Mayo’s Cora Staunton, the most decorated player in ladies’ Gaelic football history with 11 All-Stars, has an Instagram following of roughly 9,500 and previously crossed codes to play AFLW in Australia at the height of her career.  Former Tipperary star Aishling Moloney, now playing AFLW in Australia herself, has built a following of 7,500 alongside ambassador deals with Lidl Ireland and RPM Power.  And content creator Annalivia Hynds, a substitute panel player with Armagh ladies’ football, has a confirmed partnership with BPerfect Cosmetics. None of it amounts to Premier League money.  But for a sport that pays its players nothing to wear the county jersey, the figures show plenty of its biggest names, and their partners, are building financial futures well beyond the final whistle, whether that’s through a supermarket clothing rail, a catering van, a family hotel group, a podcast, or a following built one promotiomnal post at a time. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.