AS OLYMPIC BOXING silver medallist John Joe Nevin enjoys his homecoming celebrations in Mullingar town this evening, it has been revealed that he is replacing James Joyce as the face of the local currency, the ‘Gar’.
Mullingar Chamber of Commerce says that 25,000 of the notes are being put into local distribution.
Gars is a local tourist currency which is accepted at over 100 retail outlets and hotels throughout Mullingar town.
“We are all very proud of John Joe in Mullingar, he really shone through in London and has been a credit to us all, and with the new ‘Gar’ being distributed it will be a real attraction to tourists and a boost to the local economy,” Mullingar Chamber of Commerce president Pat Whelan said in a statement.
The Chamber says it contacted Nevin last week with its proposal to put his face on the currency and that he was “absolutely delighted at the prospect”.
Meanwhile, almost 1.2 million viewers tuned in to John Joe Nevin’s Olympic final bout on Saturday, according to new figures from RTÉ.
The broadcaster says that an average of 1.18 million viewers followed the silver medal winner’s whole 18-minute bout on RTÉ Two – and this figure doesn’t include those who watched RTÉ’s coverage online, at work or in a pub.
Three out of every four people in Ireland watched at least 15 minutes of the London 2012 Olympics on RTÉ throughout the 17-day tournament.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say