The Pittsburgh Steelers continued building their presence in Ireland over the weekend, welcoming hundreds of supporters to Kennedy’s Pub in Dublin for the latest Fáilte Steelers Watch Party.
The event came a little over a year after the Steelers played the NFL’s first regular-season game in Ireland at Croke Park, and it signalled that the franchise sees its Irish involvement as year-round rather than built solely around major games.
Fans at Kennedy’s watched Pittsburgh come from 16-3 down in the fourth quarter to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26-19 in overtime, with Aaron Rodgers leading the decisive drive as the Steelers improved to 4-2 for the season.
Former Steelers tight end and Super Bowl XLIII winner Matt Spaeth travelled to Dublin for the event, meeting supporters and experiencing the growing Steelers Nation Ireland community first-hand.
“It was fantastic to spend the evening with Steelers fans here in Dublin and see first-hand the passion they have for the team,” said Spaeth.
“Steelers Nation reaches far beyond Pittsburgh, and it was special to be part of that atmosphere here in Ireland.”
Aer Lingus, Heinz, Ticketmaster and UPMC presented the Fáilte Steelers Watch Party, with live entertainment, analysis, hospitality and giveaways wrapped around the game coverage.
Kennedy’s became the Steelers’ first official pub in Ireland earlier this year through a partnership with the Mahon Hospitality Group. The venue now includes a dedicated Steelers Station and serves as an official viewing location for games throughout the NFL season.
Sunday’s gathering was the third official Steelers watch party staged in Ireland, following events in 2023 and 2024.
The activity forms part of a much broader programme of investment in the Irish market.
The NFL granted the Steelers rights across both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland through its Global Markets Program in May 2023. Those rights enable the club to develop fan engagement, youth participation initiatives, sponsorship relationships and merchandise activity in the market.
Since then, the franchise has built out its Irish programme through flag football, watch parties, draft events, dedicated digital content, competitions and appearances by former players.
Sport for Business Perspective
The significance of the Steelers’ Irish strategy is increasingly in its continuity.
The Croke Park game in September 2025 will inevitably be the high-profile centrepiece for a while yet, but the commercial value of an international market comes from what happens between major events.
The partnership with Kennedy’s gives the Steelers a permanent physical home in Dublin. Flag football connects with younger participants. Former-player visits add personality to the brand, while partners including Aer Lingus, Heinz, UPMC and Ticketmaster add a commercial layer to the fan experience.
That is the model the NFL’s Global Markets Program is designed to encourage: turning international interest in American football into a sustained relationship between individual franchises, supporters and commercial partners.
Three years after securing its Irish market rights, Pittsburgh is now moving well beyond occasional visits.
Steelers Nation Ireland is becoming an increasingly permanent part of the franchise’s international footprint.
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Image Credit: Pittsburgh Steelers
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