Chris Hadfield sprang to fame over and around the world when he sang ‘Space Oddity’ from the International Space Station and becoming as big a you tube sensation as Justin Bieber. Now that he is back on earth he is bringing his brand of humour and education on a world tour and last week while in Dublin he commenced his role as a cultural ambassador for the country.
Space is an important concept in the tactics of hurling but it took on a new dimension when he took time out from his appearance at the BT Young Scientist exhibition to try his hand at hurling, alongside Minister Leo Varadkar and Tourism Ireland chief Niall Gibbons.
During his visit to Glasnevin, Hadfield was filmed by Tourism Ireland who will shortly be producing a series of videos for online promotion on You Tube, Facebook and Twitter.
It was not left to chance how he would find the game either as he was in the capable hands of Cormac Ó Donnchú and the Experience Gaelic Games team.
Throughout 2013 they were ranked as the number one activity for visitors to Ireland on Trip Advisor and bookings already look strong for 2014.
“Active rather than passive holidays are what the culturally curious tourists of today are looking,” said O’Donnchú. We are officially licensed by the GAA to provide a ‘ball in hand’ experience of what it is to play our games.”
“We can sometimes take the things we know for granted but for people visiting Ireland for the first time, whether or not they have an Irish heritage, the ability to get close to the sports is a huge attraction.”
Experience Gaelic Games has featured in international media across the world and will shortly do so again in the MTV series The Valleys.
We provide a service for corporate groups, for teams from other sports that are coming to Ireland, to students and individual travellers,” added O’Donnchú. “We know since childhood that it is more fun to play than to watch and that’s what we bring.”
They weren’t able to tempt Minister Leo Varadkar who said he would stick to Triathlons and may have been imagining a front cover of the Phoenix if he was seen swinging a camán.
“I don’t think I would have matched Chris’s natural skill anyway,” said Varadkar. “His enthusiasm and energy make him a great ambassador for Irish tourism and will help persuade many more to come here and see Ireland close up in 2014.”
Lesson for Sport: Capturing the wave of what the public is interested in broadens your horizons.
Lesson for Business: When bringing conferences or meetings to Ireland look beyond the obvious and engage in activities that create memories which last.
