Domino Pizza : #DomiGoals in aid of Barretstown

- Domino's sponsors soccer fundraiser for Barretstown raising €15,000 -

Domino'sIreland, the nation's beloved pizza, today hosted a special one-of-a-kind #DomiGoals match for its official charity partner, Barretstown, at Tallaght Stadium, Dublin.

The friendly kickabout was in aid of the charity, which offers free, specially designed camps and programmes for children and their families living with a serious illness. It featured high profile Irish stars from the worlds of entertainment, media and sport, who all joined forces to battle it out on the pitch in a fun five-a-side style soccer match.

The aptly coloured red and blue teams were led by celebrity captains Richie Sadlier, RTÉ former soccer pro, and Paddy Mollohan, former MMA star. The sporting duo led their teams to play in a high-spirited game, under the keen eye of Steven Cooper from 98FM, in his role as match referee.

RED TEAM:

• Paddy Holohan, Former-MMA star
• Danny O'reilly, The Coronas
• Luke O'Faolain, 98FM
• Soraiya Ryan, RTE
• Stephen Byrne, RTE
• Johnny Ward, Actor

BLUE TEAM:

• Richie Sadlier, Former Soccer pro
• Kerrie Harris, Model
• Orla Hopkins, OhSoFit Blogger
• Jeff Hopkins, Pro-Golfer
• Kerri-Nicole Blanc, Model
• Glenda Gilson, TV3

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

The undisputed highlight of the match saw celebrity blogger, Orla Hopkins, tackling her opponent TV presenter, Stephen Byrne, by the legs. Luckily for the blues, this attempt was missed by the referee and allowed Orla to go on and score. Actor Johnny Ward's celebratory post-goal backflip was greeted by rapturous applause, along with TV3's Glenda Gilson's super skid into the goal. However, unfortunately for Glenda, her attack came just a second too late, with time being called in favour of the red team: 5-4.

HELPING BARRETSTOWN ON ITS MISSION

#DomiGoals was held to raise awareness about Barretstown's mission to bring more children and families living with a serious illness to the camp, and to assist in achieving its 2017 fundraising target of €5million. Barretstown aims for the children attending the camp to leave stronger, more independent and with a renewed sense of confidence. Today's celebrity players will also be signing their specially designed kit, which will be auctioned off at the Barretstown Gala Ball later this year. Anyone interested in supporting Barretstown can donate by visiting www.barretstown.org.

POST MATCH CELEBRATIONS

Following the match, the red and blue team put aside their differences and enjoyed some well-earned slices of the all new Hamrock pizza, which has been developed in recognition of Domino's celebrating its 25-year anniversary this Autumn in Ireland. Made up of traditionally Irish ingredients, the latest addition to the menu includes: freshly pulled ham hock and red onions, drizzled with Irish cider and mustard sauce topped with a sprinkling of Domino's herbs.

Paul Dupuy, a spokesperson for Domino's Ireland said:

'We're very proud of our partnership with Barretstown, as we recognise it provides invaluable support both to children with serious illnesses and their families. Our franchisees and their teams work especially hard to raise funds for the charity and our partnership with Pennies has taken our fundraising to another level. #DomiGoals is our latest initiative to help Barretstown meet its fundraising target of €5million this year.'

Caroline Grace-Cassidy, Best Selling Author and TV Personality commented:

'Domino's #DomiGoals charity football match was a very special event that I was humbled and delighted to be a part of - Barretstown is beyond the word worthy - it's simply magnificent.'

Dee Ahearn CEO of Barretstown commented:

'We're delighted to work with Domino's on this latest campaign. Its ongoing support and dedication to Barretstown has raised a very impressive quarter of €1million, making it possible to serve even more children and families living with a serious illness. We'd also like to thank everyone who took part in the #DomiGoals event as well as the generous customers who choose to donate their loose change via Pennies. This kind support combined will help us to reach our fundraising target of €5million this year.'

DOMINO'S FIVE-A-SIDE IN NUMBERS

• 9 goals scored
• 15 saves made
• 6 penalties given
• €15,000 raised
• 10 specifically designed t-shirts being auctioned
• One bruised ego (Stephen Byrne post tackle)

View match highlights here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiDBuI6tfro&feature=youtu.be

- Ends -

For further info contact the Harris PR team by email: dominos@harrispr.ie

or by phone - Sonia: 087 797 9703 / Alison: 086 214 9884.

About Domino's Pizza Group

Domino's Pizza Group plc is the leading player in the fast-growing pizza market holding the exclusive master franchise to own, operate and franchise Domino's stores in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. Additionally, it owns a strategic stake in the largest pizza delivery business in Germany and a controlling interest in the holders of the Domino's master franchises in Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The first UK store opened in Luton in 1985 and Domino's Ireland is celebrating its 25 birthday this Autumn.

About Barretstown

Barretstown offers free, specially designed camps and programmes for children and their families living with a serious illness - supported behind the scenes by 24-hour on site medical and nursing care. All the children and families come to Barretstown free of charge. Everything, including accommodation, food and medical assistance are provided at no cost to the family. It costs €3,500 to bring a child to camp for eight days allowing them to take part in Barretstown's unique Therapeutic Recreation programmes, designed to help them recover from the emotional trauma of serious illness.