Future of AIB's club championships sponsorship will be matter for Ard Chomhairle - GAA

The GAA says any decision to reconsider AIB's sponsorship of the club championships will be a matter for its Ard Chomhairle management committee to look at, amid calls for the partnership to be ended.

That could happen when the committee meets at the end of next month.

It follows an announcement from AIB earlier this week that 70 of its 170 branches would be turned into cashless outlets as a result of what it claimed is declining demand for these services.

The branches are to be repurposed to focus more on account opening, financial planning, mortgages, loans, savings and investments, the bank said.

However, the lender is expanding its existing relationship with An Post in a move that will see customers being able to access more extensive cash and cheque services in 920 post offices.

Speaking in Singapore on the second last day of an official visit to Asia, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said AIB should "reconsider and reflect on" its decision.

Leitrim club Sean O'Heslin's, based in the town of Ballinamore, released a statement on Monday in response to AIB's decision and called on the GAA to revoke the bank's sponsorship of the All-Ireland Club Championships.

"If AIB fails to reverse their decision we call on the GAA Central council to immediately remove AIB from the sponsorship of the GAA Club championships 2022 and to cease all partnerships with an organisation that clearly does not have the best interests of our communities at the forefront of its thinking and goes against the very ethos of the GAA," the club said in a statement.

Sean O'Heslin's cited the impact of the decision on local communities like Ballinamore in their statement.

"This decision from AIB will have a detrimental impact on everyone in our communities including the