Shane Lowry 'mutually' ends sponsorship after damning findings in Grenfell fire inquiry

Shane Lowry and Irish company Kingspan have decided to part ways in their sponsorship deal following the damning conclusions of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.

The inquiry into the 2017 disaster found that while the Co Cavan-based insulation company was not directly responsible for the fire that claimed 72 lives, however, it showed a "complete disregard for fire safety" in its marketing of one of its products.

In a brief statement, Lowry said: "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."

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He added: "Neither party will be commenting further." Lowry, who won the Open Championship in 2019, had been sponsored by Kingspan since May 2017, just a month before the Grenfell Tower fire. A small amount of Kingspan's insulation product, Kooltherm K15, was used on the Grenfell Tower building.

Although it wasn't the cause of the fire, the inquiry found that from 2005 onwards, the company "knowingly created a false market in insulation" for use on buildings over 18 meters tall. It was highlighted that despite "disastrous" test results and the company's "own concerns about its fire performance," Kingspan did not withdraw this particular product from the market, reports the Irish Mirror .

The inquiry also noted that the lack of knowledge within the industry about insulation and cladding fire safety testing had been "cynically exploited."

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