Steelers fans plan to travel abroad for first regular-season NFL game in Ireland
The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to Ireland this fall — and so are a number of their die-hard fans.
Dublin will host the first regular-season NFL game played in Ireland at its Croke Park. The Steelers played a preseason game against the Chicago Bears in 1997, also at Croke Park.
Croke Park is one of the largest stadiums in Europe, with a capacity of 82,300. It’s the largest sporting arena in Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association.
The NFL has announced the Steelers upcoming opponents but will not specify dates until May.
The Steelers will be the home team.
Beginning in 2025, the NFL can schedule up to eight league-operated regular season games internationally.
Pittsburghers will have another opportunity to travel to a football game in Ireland when the Pitt Panthers take on Wisconsin to open the 2027 season.
Booking travel
Fans are already making plans, according to Marita Williams of Lower Burrell, who works for AAA East Central as manager of travel promotions and product development. AAA has a trip organized that leaves Sept. 24 and arrives in Ireland on Sept. 25. Travelers will depart Ireland on Sept. 29.
AAA said it is confident the game is Sept. 28 and deposits will be refunded only if the game date changes.
Pricing starts at $4,959 per person for airfare, double occupancy for four nights, travel to and from the airport to the hotel and to the game, tickets, sightseeing at the Guinness Storehouse, a brewery experience of Guinness beer.
Williams said Ireland is one of the top three international destinations from the Pittsburgh region, along with Iceland and Italy.
“The people I have talked to are very excited,” said Williams, who said limited spots are still available. “We have had a lot of interest. This will sell out. The people on this trip can be part of history.”
Williams said AAA is pretty confident in the date, but the Steelers said via email “specific details for the Dublin game are still being worked out in coordination with the NFL.”
Via email, the Steelers have directed fans interested in purchasing tickets and travel packages to On Location, the NFL’s Official Hospitality Partner. The team said it anticipates there will be other entities offering packages.
KDKA radio host Michael Bartley was on the air when he saw the alert about the Ireland game.
He started receiving text messages and calls right away, because anyone who knows Bartley knows the impact this game would have on him.
“As soon as I heard about it I immediately thought there was no way I am not going to be there,” said Bartley, 63, of Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood. “I have been to Dublin many times with my college (Marquette University) buddy and we will be there for this game.”
Bartley, who has traveled to see the team play, including in three Super Bowls, said he isn’t concerned about getting tickets because he has a connection through the NFL.
“Dublin is a blast,” said Bartley, whose grandparents came from Galway and Tipperary. “I can’t wait for Steelers fans to experience it.”
According to the Steelers, the number of tickets available in a season-ticket holder lottery, as well as how many tickets will be available for the opposing team and overseas for fans living in Ireland, are still being worked out in coordination with the NFL.
Irish connection
The Rooney family, owners of the team, emigrated from the town of Newry in Northern Ireland to the U.S. in the 19th century. The late Dan Rooney was one of the founders of The Ireland Fund, which merged with the American Irish Foundation to create The Ireland Funds, a leading charitable organization that is a global philanthropic network of friends of Ireland to promote and support peace, culture, education and community development across Ireland and among Irish communities around the world.
Rooney also served as United States Ambassador to Ireland as selected by President Barack Obama from 2009-2012.
Jim Lamb, president of the Ireland Institute of Pittsburgh and Honorary Consul of Ireland for Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia, said he is working with the Steelers to buy tickets for people to travel to the game. He said for those who have thought about visiting Ireland and finding their roots, this is the perfect time to do it.
“The stars have aligned,” said Lamb, who attended the preseason matchup in 1997 at Croke Park, the last time the Steelers played in Ireland.
Jim and Debbie Ramsay of Greensburg would like to go back to Ireland again.
“Ireland is such a great place,” said Jim Ramsay, a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish Catholic fraternal organization in the Greensburg and Indiana area that promotes friendship, unity and Christian charity. “There is a lot to see and do. It is such a beautiful country.”
Franco “Dok” Dokmanovich Harris, son of the late Franco Harris, is excited about going to Ireland for the game.
“Dan Rooney connected the city of Pittsburgh to Ireland,” said Harris. “What an experience this is going to be.”
Dressed as St. Patrick at a recent fundraiser for the Pittsburgh St. Patrick’s Day Parade at the Priory on Pittsburgh’s North Side, Michael Moog of Whitehall said he would love to go to the game.
“It is a great event to be a part of and Ireland is phenomenal,” Moog said. “It’s definitely a Steeler thing to have a game in Ireland. Anyone with Irish roots wanting to visit the homeland — this is an excuse to do it.”
A trip to Ireland has been on Gail Paserba’s bucket list. She and her husband, Thomas, had talked about making the trip but he passed away before they could.
When Paserba heard about the lottery for the season ticket holders for this game, she was ecstatic. Her son set up a special mailbox for any Steelers’ correspondence so she doesn’t miss anything. Her grandmother was a sports fan and inspired her love of the game. If she wins the ticket lottery, she said she plans to go with friends Dave Zirnsak and Jared Sullivan, both of Butler County, and build in extra days to explore Ireland.
“I am already thinking about what player jersey I would wear to the game if I am fortunate to get tickets,” said Paserba, who also lives in Butler County. “One of the reasons I am so excited about this is Ireland was on our bucket list and my husband and I never made it. I would want to do this for him. This may never happen again in my lifetime.”
Bartley isn’t going to miss it. He said he is “over the moon that this game is in Ireland.”
“Every ethnicity is proud of where they came from,” said Bartley, who is on the Art Rooney Awards board. “Pittsburgh Irish are just ecstatic over this, especially because the owners are an Irish family with six Super Bowl championships. It’s a huge source of pride. I am a kid who grew up during the 1970s Steelers dynasty. I have been a Steelers fan my whole life. My friend and I are dropping everything and going.”
So is Libby Wilcox, 40, of Las Vegas, whose father is Irish, and who re-arranged her honeymoon when the Steelers played a game in London in 2013 at Wembley Stadium. They lost to the Minnesota Vikings, 27-34.
“We were already overseas and I thought we can’t miss this,” said Wilcox, a U.S. Army veteran.
Wilcox became a Steelers fan through her Reserve Officers’ Training Corps instructor Jim Miller. He always talked about the team and gave his students extra credit if they knew the score of the Steelers game. Wilcox watched the Steelers defeat Arizona 27-23 in Super Bowl LIX, while serving in Tallil, Iraq.
“The Steelers community reaches around the world,” said Wilcox, who is a season ticket holder and member of the Steelers advisory council, which serves to help improve the fan experience. “This would be a wonderful family trip to experience part of the Steelers magic. When this game was announced I could not have been more excited. It will be so much fun to see the sea of black and gold.”
And for this game, add in some green.
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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