Shane Lowry and Kingspan have ended their sponsorship relationship after the fallout from the inquiry into the Grenfell fire tragedy.
Lowry had come under pressure to respond to the controversy in recent days following widespread criticism of the Irish building materials company who also sponsor Leona Maguire.
The Offaly man who is due to do a press conference on Wednesday as part of the Amgen Irish Open build up in Royal County Down released a statement.
“Kingspan and I have mutually agreed to discontinue our sponsorship relationship, which we believe to be the right decision for all concerned at this time.
“Neither party will be commenting further.”
Cavan based company Kingspan and Lowry struck a deal in 2017 just one month before the fire in the London tower where 72 people died and Lowry has since come under pressure from families of victims and survivors to cut ties with the company.
Ed Daffarn, a committee member of the Grenfell United (GU) group of families, told The Guardian last week that it has been writing to Mr Lowry for years “saying ‘get this sponsorship off your arm’. It’s deeply upsetting and deeply offensive, and he doesn’t reply to us.”
The Irish company has long said its K15 insulation product made up 5 per cent of the insulation in the Grenfell tower block and was used without its knowledge.
But the recent report found that Kingspan “knowingly” created a “false market in insulation” from 2005 onwards for use on buildings over 18 metres tall by claiming its K15 product had been part of a system that had been successfully tested under the BS 8414 cladding fire safety test, meaning it could be used in the wall of any building of that height regardless of its design or other components.
Lowry wore the Kingspan logo on his sleeve as part of his sponsorship deal and they have been prominent figures across Irish sport with their logo on show on Cavan GAA jerseys at Kingspan Breffni Park while Ulster Rugby renamed their Ravenhill stadium the Kingspan Stadium in 2014 although that naming rights deal is due to expire in June 2025.
Lowry’s website also made strong reference to Kingspan during their partnership: “I am thrilled to be getting the backing of one of Ireland’s most successful global companies.
“Kingspan has a great tradition of supporting Irish sports, of which I am an avid fan, through their sponsorship of rugby and GAA, and I am proud to represent the Kingspan brand as I compete across the world.”
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