Ireland is home turf for Rooney family as Steelers lead NFL into Dublin game

DUBLIN — No trip to Newry was complete for the late Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Daniel M. Rooney until he stopped by the Whitegates community center that he helped get off the ground in the 1990s.

“Always visited for half an hour for a cup of tea with the people,” recalled local businessman Feargal McCormack. “He loved a cup of tea.”

The kettle will be warm when the Rooneys visit Newry on Thursday before crossing the border — Northern Ireland is part of the U.K. — into the Republic of Ireland for the Steelers’ game against the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park in Dublin.

Indeed, Sunday’s showdown — Ireland’s first time hosting a regular-season NFL game — represents a Rooney homecoming, technically in two countries.

The family traces its roots to Newry, a small town located 5 miles from the border. Steelers President Art Rooney II is scheduled to be there for an event with the Ireland Funds, a philanthropic organization that his father cofounded more than 30 years before becoming U.S. ambassador to Ireland in 2009.

There was little doubt about which team would lead the NFL into the Emerald Isle.

“The Rooney family name carries a tremendous amount of weight, so when they initially expressed an interest in playing a game in Ireland, it meant that a lot of people sat up and took notice,” said Henry Hodgson, general manager of the NFL UK and Ireland.

“Because of the connections and the doors that the Rooney family name opens, because they’ve given so much back to Ireland, they certainly helped make this happen,” Hodgson said.

From the Steel City to building bridges

The Steelers were dominating the NFL in the mid-1970s — winning back-to-back Super Bowls in ‘75 and ‘76 — when Daniel Rooney turned his attention to the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. He cofounded the Ireland Funds, which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to promote peace.

Rooney also cofounded the Newry-Pittsburgh Partnership in 1990 to boost business and educational exchanges.

“The fact that he was coming to Newry and that he was encouraging delegations to come — the confidence he gave in those very early years was very significant to ultimately the success which has followed,” said McCormack, a Rooney family friend and senior partner at accounting firm AAB.

McCormack compiled the Rooney family ancestry: Steelers founder Arthur J. Rooney’s great-grandfather emigrated from Newry around 1846.

As U.S. ambassador to Ireland, Daniel Rooney made it a point to visit “all 32 counties” in Ireland — that’s 26 in the Republic and six in the North.

And of course, have a cup of tea in each.

Belfast to Dublin

Under the NFL’s global markets program, the Steelers hold league-granted rights on the “island of Ireland.” They can sign commercial deals and hold fan events, all part of the league’s aggressive international growth efforts.

Dan Rooney, Steelers vice president of business development and strategy, has been the team’s quarterback for growth in Ireland and Northern Ireland. He’ll be in Belfast on Thursday with Steelers greats Jerome Bettis and Ike Taylor for a flag football clinic.

The Steelers have teamed up with the Gaelic Athletic Association, which owns Croke Park, to help grow its fan base in Ireland.

One regret: Not playing in Dublin sooner

The former ambassador, who died in 2017, had hoped to bring a regular-season game earlier. Croke Park lobbied to get one in 2013 but instead the league added a second London game that year — the Steelers played one of them, losing to the Vikings, 34-27.

Art Rooney noted at the time that his father had been “pushing to have a game in Dublin.” In 1997, the Steelers beat the Chicago Bears, 30-17, in a preseason game at Croke Park.

Croke Park connections

A fan of Gaelic games, Daniel Rooney was a frequent visitor to Croke Park. The GAA says Rooney also played a quiet role in the redevelopment of Ireland’s biggest stadium by encouraging designers to make it more multifunctional.

“He has to be acknowledged on that regard,” GAA head of communications Alan Milton said.

Mike Tomlin has always acknowledged his respect for the late ambassador.

“I certainly will be thinking a lot about him when we’re there,” the Steelers head coach said Tuesday. “You talk about a guy that certainly had a lot of passion for Ireland. … I’m sure he’ll be smiling down at us this weekend.”