Shane Lowry has ended his partnership with Irish insulation company Kingspan.

The company was heavily criticised in last week’s final report on the Grenfell Tower disaster in London.

Some 72 people died in the 2017 tower blaze.

File photo dated 21-07-2019 of Republic Of Ireland's Shane Lowry celebrating winning the Claret Jug during day four of The Open Championship 2019 at Royal Portrush Golf Club.

In a short statement today, Lowry confirmed the end of his sponsorship with the company.

“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,” he said.

“Neither party will be commenting further.”

Kingspan

The report found that Irish company Kingspan "knowingly created a false market in insulation” in buildings over 18 metres in height.

It noted that the company made a "false claim" that its K15 insulation product had been “part of a system successfully tested under BS 8414 and could therefore be used in the external wall of any building over 18 metres in height regardless of its design or other components".

The inquiry found that the Kingspan product was not the reason for the fire – but noted that the company showed "complete disregard for fire safety" in marketing it.

Sponsorship

The 2019 British Open champion has been sponsored by Kingspan since May 2017.

Kingspan is one of Ireland’s largest businesses and currently sponsors Ulster Rugby and Cavan GAA.

In a statement following the Grenfell report, Kingspan said it had “long acknowledged the wholly unacceptable historical failings that occurred in part of our UK insulation business”.

It noted that its actions “while deeply regrettable, were not found to be causative of the tragedy”.

Main Image shows Shane Lowry. Image: Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile