Some sponsorships deliver against a set of objectives; others are rare occasions when a sporting moment takes on a life and significance far beyond what anyone could have written into the original plan.
Katie Taylor’s farewell at Croke Park on September 5th was firmly in the latter category.
For Lidl Ireland, becoming Title Event Partner was a natural extension of a relationship with women’s sport that stretches back more than a decade through its partnership with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association.
It was also an opportunity that came together at remarkable speed.
From exclusive Lidl Plus ticket access and a new television campaign to the renaming of the Lidl store in Taylor’s hometown of Bray, the activation was extensive. On the night itself, Lidl was also part of the RTÉ coverage that reached a peak audience of 1.6 million viewers.
And then came the moment nobody could have scripted: Taylor leaving her gloves and world title belts in the centre of the Croke Park ring, directly over the Lidl branding.
In this exclusive Sport for Business interview, Rob Hartnett sat down with Jenny Kelly of Lidl to get an inside-the-ropes perspective on a very special night.
We discussed the planning behind the partnership, the importance of authenticity, what happened when that unforgettable image went around the world, and why Lidl sees the night not as the culmination of its investment in women’s sport, but as another step toward an even bigger ambition.
Sport for Business: When the opportunity first emerged, what did you expect the sponsorship to deliver for Lidl, and how did the reality compare once the event actually happened?
Jenny Kelly: Becoming Title Event Partner was a no-brainer. At our 2026 LGFA Lidl National League launch, over 90% of LGFA players surveyed told us Katie Taylor paved the way for their careers. Being part of her well-deserved, legendary Croke Park send-off became our top priority.
Anyone who knows our work with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association knows we don’t just put a logo on a poster and call it a day. We build real, long-term partnerships rooted in shared values that deliver meaningful results for both Lidl and the LGFA. To successfully show up in the build-up and on fight night meant mobilising a massive cross-functional effort across the entire Lidl business. Our main goal was simple: double down on Lidl’s commitment to women’s sport in Ireland.
We knew a sold-out Croke Park would be special, but the atmosphere and momentum from the moment the fight was announced in June blew past every benchmark. September 5 became something far bigger than a sports sponsorship. It felt like the entire world was tuned in to get behind Katie, and it’s a night none of us will forget anytime soon.
It’s an event we will be watching on Reeling in the Years in years to come!
Sport for Business: The turnaround from announcement to fight night was exceptionally tight. What did the planning process look like behind the scenes?
Jenny Kelly: Behind the scenes, the planning was all about agility. It may have looked like a quick turnaround, but for us, conversations had been happening in the background since January, when Katie joined us as our keynote speaker to launch this year’s Lidl LGFA National Football League.
This is the most anticipated event of the year in our partnership with the LGFA, and we were delighted to work with Katie to raise the visibility of the LGFA and the National League through this event. At the time, we spoke to Katie and her team, Brian Peters and Tomas Rohan, about the possibility of helping her realise her Croke Park fight ambitions. At that stage, they were still just a dream, but we were determined to help her get there.
Months went by with regular catch-ups with her management team and, once the event got the green light, it was all about quick decisions, lots of calls and meetings, and getting totally comfortable with late-stage variables.
Managing high-stakes and fast-moving projects is where Lidl really comes into its own. Our strength as a business is the incredible collaboration and teamwork across so many departments, including Brand, Marketing, Corporate Affairs and Lidl Plus, that made the impossible happen in record time.
Sport for Business: With such a short runway, what did you decide absolutely had to be done well, rather than trying to activate everywhere?
Jenny Kelly: With anything, it all comes down to the strategic objective. Lidl is widely recognised for championing women’s sport in Ireland through our decade-long partnership with the LGFA, so supporting Katie Taylor was a natural extension of our commitment.
As Ireland’s greatest-ever athlete, she deserved this stage and the visibility that comes with it — a level of recognition we continually fight for across all our sports partnerships.
Our core objective was to reinforce Lidl Ireland’s leadership in supporting women’s sport by backing her historic Croke Park fight. We were clear internally about what we were trying to achieve and ensured every team was aligned on this vision. It served as our North Star throughout the planning process, and we evaluated every idea against two simple questions: “Does it meet the objective?” and “Does this idea align with our core message of ‘In Katie’s Corner’?”
It all kicked off in June, when we gave our loyal Lidl Plus app customers exclusive pre-sale access to the event, driving over 25,000 ticket sales. Huge thanks to the team at Aiken Promotions for helping us pull that off!
We created a new TV ad celebrating women in sport, renamed our Bray store the “Katie Taylor Lidl Store”, ran citywide billboard takeovers and created limited-edition boxing shorts that sold out fast, with every cent going to our official charity partner, Family Carers Ireland.
Our Ballybough store came alive on fight night with live activations that brought in huge footfall right next to Croke Park.
When RTÉ announced in August that it would broadcast the event, it took everything to the next level. We stepped up as coverage sponsors, helping bring a record peak audience of 1.6 million viewers right into living rooms across Ireland and giving our campaign the perfect stage.
Sport for Business: One of the standout images was the laying down of Katie’s gloves and belts in the centre of the ring. Was that always part of the plan, or was it one of those moments that became much bigger than you could have anticipated?
Jenny Kelly: It was an absolute, organic dream moment. We knew Katie intended to retire in the ring, but laying her gloves and world title belts directly over the centre-ring logo was 100% unscripted and, honestly, when it happened, I couldn’t believe it.
I have worked in the sponsorship industry for over a decade, and I have seen a lot of great moments, but honestly, being involved in this is probably the proudest moment of my career.
The Lidl team WhatsApp group started blowing up, and peers in the industry were sending messages through. I quickly realised the magnitude of what had just happened.
Those involved in boxing will know there was always going to be a brand in the centre of the ring — and why not one of the biggest supporters of women’s sport in Ireland?
The focus was always on honouring Katie and her success. The worldwide media coverage was an unforgettable bonus.
Sport for Business: Authenticity is a buzzword in sponsorship, but this hit differently. How critical was that foundation?
Jenny Kelly: Our support for women in sport isn’t a recent bandwagon we jumped on; we’ve proudly supported the LGFA for more than a decade.
As we said in the TV ad we created for this campaign, ten years ago we set out to support LGFA players across Ireland and, that same year, Katie turned pro. We’ve been in this game for a long time, leading the pack and building real grassroots foundations for over a decade.
That long-term commitment was on full display on fight night. While Katie commanded international exposure at Croke Park, more than 4,000 girls descended on the Passage West Lidl Ladies Football Blitz in Cork, playing football, making friends, and soaking up a vibrant weekend of sport.
From the biggest stage in the country to the local pitches, it proved our dedication to women’s sport reaches every level of the game.
That’s where the real authenticity comes from.
Sport for Business: How did the partnership land with the different audiences that matter to Lidl — customers, suppliers and your own staff?
Jenny Kelly: During the build-up to the fight, you could feel everyone in Lidl was fully invested in giving 100%, and the excitement built internally every week.
On the night, the energy was off the charts. It really did feel like everyone in Croke Park was at the centre of the universe.
Some of the feedback we’re proudest of is from our Lidl colleagues. We ran internal competitions for colleagues to win tickets to the sold-out event and the response was incredible.
So many have come back to me since to say what a fantastic event it was — and who knew we had so many closet Westlife fans!
Sport for Business: What does success look like when you assess a sponsorship like this afterwards?
Jenny Kelly: We can talk about reach and media value numbers that were through the roof, with RTÉ reaching 1.6 million viewers, but the true value of a partnership like this is harder to put into a single figure.
Ultimately, we wanted to provide that massive platform for Ireland’s greatest athlete so we could keep elevating our LGFA players and show what’s truly possible when we break down barriers together.
That’s why our ongoing support of the LGFA remains so critical and why we’re investing €22.5 million into the game, with the ultimate vision of filling Croke Park with 82,000 fans for a Ladies Gaelic Football All-Ireland Final.
Short-term exposure is only one piece of the puzzle.
Katie’s fight in Croke Park was the perfect fairytale ending to her story, but this next chapter belongs to all the young girls across Ireland dreaming of their own “Once Upon a Time” moment.
It’s up to us to help them write it.
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Image Credit: Lidl Ireland
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