One of the biggest winners in the budget was the GAA, which is get £20 million towards the development of Croke Park. The grant, which is to be funded from the National Lottery surplus, will be paid over three years - £7 million in 1998 and 1999, and £6 million in 2000.
It is the second time in four years that a Government including Mr Bertie Ahern - a regular attender at Croke Park as a keen fan of the Dublin football team - has given the stadium a helping hand.
When he was Finance Minister, Mr Ahern allocated £5 million in his 1994 budget to the GAA for the initial development of the new £35 million Cusack Stand.
Other sports bodies did not begrudge the GAA its good fortune.
The FAI chief executive, Mr Bernarnd O'Byrne, last night congratulated the GAA. "We naturally congratulate Croke Park on what it has been allocated and are now looking forward to see what the Government is prepared to allocate to the FAI," he said.
Mr Philip Browne, secretary of the Irish Rugby Football Union, said: "Any steps taken which assist the promotion of sports and the upgrading of sporting facilities in this country are to be welcomed".
Mr O'Byrne said: "Clearly there is now more money available for sport and as we are one of the three major sporting bodies in the country we would hope to receive our fair share of those funds to further develop our activities.
"We are aware that most of the grant given to the GAA will go to the redevelopment of Croke Park. A national stadium for soccer is one of our top priorities and we have had discussions with the Government on that issue in the past.
"We would hope that goodwill will be shown by the Government to all sporting bodies to achieve their major aims."
But the £20 million allocation was strongly criticised by the National Youth Council of Ireland, which said the Minister had neglected the problem of drug abuse among young people.
Funding of £20 million had been promised for a Youth Service Development Fund to reduce the demand for drugs, but only £1.25 million had been spent.
"Organisations like the GAA have access to money and sponsorship on a massive scale. More deserving groups working with young people who scrape for every penny will have a bad taste in their mouths after the Budget," said the NYCI director, Mr Peter Byrne.
"The drugs issue is the biggest social problem facing young people in Ireland today and Mr McCreevy has not given the attention it deserves."
However, the £20 million was greeted with "delight and gratitude" by the president of the GAA, Mr Joe McDonagh, and the director general, Mr Liam Mulvihill.
Mr McDonagh said he was overjoyed. "Like many other organisations we made a submission to the Government, but we are delighted with the response. We are greatly encouraged to realise that our efforts for the young people of the country have been recognised in such a concrete way.
"The work on the second stage of the development of our stadium has already started and we can now press ahead. We are deeply appreciative of the Minister's announcement. We can now achieve our Field of Dreams," he said.
In his Budget speech, Mr McCreevy brought gasps of astonishment from all parts of the House when he announced the grant. "Gaelic games are an integral part of our culture", he said.
"The GAA is the premier sporting organisation in Ireland and, for over 100 years has been a powerful, positive force in fostering Gaelic games.
"The association has indicated that it intends to press ahead with plans for completing the remaining phases of the Croke Park redevelopment project.
"The recently-completed first phase of the project has been widely admired and there is little doubt but that the overall project when completed will provide this country with a `state-of-the-art' sports stadium for the new Millennium which will stand comparison with facilities available anywhere else in the world."
Mr McCreevy also announced that an additional £3 million is being allocated towards the cost of providing and upgrading new and existing sports and recreational facilities.