Steelers executive Dan Rooney III touched down in Dublin, Ireland, late last month, fresh off Aer Lingus’ debut flight from Pittsburgh International and ready to do business.
He spent years working with airport executives on the route, which now provides a direct link between his team and one of its strongest foreign fanbases — as well as his ancestral homeland.
Rooney had plenty of engagements lined up alongside the who’s who of Pittsburgh to help strengthen the region’s economic ties with Ireland. But another of his top priorities was visiting Dublin’s suburbs for the Steelers’ first international youth flag football championship, overseen by two former players: quarterback Charlie Batch and linebacker Arthur Moats.
Rooney was excited to watch the Irish schoolchildren learn about a form of football different from what they knew – American football – and to see Pittsburghers’ love for it.
“One of their main reactions was, ‘When can we travel to Pittsburgh for a trip?’ ” Rooney said.
Irish roots
Aer Lingus became Pittsburgh International’s 16th partner airline on Memorial Day with its newest route, which can fly up to 184 passengers at a time to Dublin four times per week on its state-of-the-art Airbus A321neo planes.
Rooney, the Steelers’ vice president of business development and strategy, is the son of principal team owner Art Rooney II. He was one of the highest-profile members of Pittsburgh’s delegation aboard the inaugural flight.
Approximately 30 local business leaders and politicians joined him, including Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato, state Sen. Devlin Robinson, R-Bridgeville, and representatives from Google, K&L Gates and the city’s tourism department, Visit Pittsburgh.
Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis, who joined the trip, said that the delegation served to demonstrate that the region “is serious about growing business and leisure connections in Ireland and Europe beyond.”
The Pittsburgh delegation toured Google’s Dublin facility and met with members of the Irish Senate, among other engagements, she said.
“Aer Lingus staff, all the way up to their senior leadership, were impressed by our regional commitment and the way our region is positioned for success,” she said.
The flight was particularly meaningful for Rooney, whose family has famously deep ties to Ireland and traces its ancestry back to County Down and County Mayo.
Rooney’s grandfather, the late Steelers owner Dan Rooney, started the philanthropic Ireland Fund in 1976 to support Irish culture. He later served as the United States’ ambassador to Ireland during the Obama administration.
The Steelers competed in the NFL’s first-ever game in Ireland in 1997, a preseason matchup in Dublin’s Croke Park. They would return to the venue last September for the NFL’s first regular season game in Ireland, where they defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 24-21.
Dan Rooney III traveled with the team to Ireland not only for the game, but to help the Airport Authority and local leaders wrap up years of negotiations to secure Aer Lingus as a partner.
The airline notably considered Pittsburgh for a new route in 2018, but passed over it in favor of two larger markets: Minneapolis and Montreal. Negotiations began anew in 2023, and the Airport Authority sealed the deal by paying Aer Lingus $5.25 million in incentives over the next two years. It now has its third European flight, joining Reykjavik via Icelandair and London via British Airways.
After years of stalling out on the goal line, Rooney said it was “just incredible” for Pittsburgh to finally score direct service to Ireland.
“It was emotional seeing the Aer Lingus plane land in Pittsburgh — the pilots were hanging Terrible Towels out the windows as they pulled up onto the tarmac,” Rooney said. “The excitement of everyone waiting at the gate, it was very special.”
Closing deals
Matt Smith joined the Pittsburgh delegation in his dual roles as vice chair of the Allegheny County Airport Authority board and chief growth officer of the Allegheny Conference, which focuses on boosting the local economy.
Smith traveled with Rooney to the Steelers game last year and called the team “incredible partners” throughout the process of landing Aer Lingus.
That visit helped Smith lay groundwork with Irish companies before he returned in May, he said. He added that his affiliation with the Steelers gave him “instant credibility.”
Smith hosted a gala during last month’s trip for Irish businesses he considered strong targets to invest in the Pittsburgh area, like autonomous manufacturing specialist AIMA Opex and capital markets consulting firm First Derivative.
He noted that many of the companies specialized in robotics and artificial intelligence, lining up well with the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University’s biggest strengths.
“Those talent pipelines are directly centered on where the world’s economy is headed, so we think from that perspective, Pittsburgh provides a really compelling argument for investment,” he said.
The Irish companies will also now be able to access Pittsburgh without navigating the uncertainty of connecting flights, Smith said. He is interested in using Dublin as a staging ground to reach businesses all over Europe and promote the Pittsburgh region.
“We want to make sure that they don’t think of Pittsburgh fifth or sixth – we want to make sure they think of Pittsburgh first,” he said.
Right now, though, Smith is focused on closing some deals.
He has invited the companies he met in Ireland to Pittsburgh to introduce them to companies that have already chosen to invest in the city, whom he considers the region’s “best messengers.”
“We think that we made a compelling case in Dublin, and we think we’ll continue to make a compelling case to those companies when we’re able to bring them back into the Pittsburgh market,” he said.
Ireland could become a major tourist destination for Pittsburghers as well. Cassotis said the airport is focused on marketing the new Aer Lingus service through its own channels and travel agents to ensure as many customers as possible plan trips to Europe.
“That’s incredibly important as we continue to grow and support these key trans-Atlantic flights,” she said. “It is also critical that our region, through Visit Pittsburgh, continues to market Pittsburgh as a tourist destination for the European traveler.”