Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish athletics department chief wants to bring more mega sports events to Ireland.
The famous American university with Irish roots is coming to Dublin as part of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in 2023, where they will play Navy.
This will be the second match in a five match series, starting with Northwestern University vs University of Nebraska next August.
But this could be just the beginning of a lucrative arrangement with the world-famous college.
Notre Dame’s Director of Athletics, Jack Swarbrick, told the Irish Mirror he would like to see Notre Dame bring other sports teams, like their golf squad, to Ireland.
It’s estimated the Notre Dame vs Navy Academy will be worth €147million to the Irish economy next year, with the five year college games series worth close to half a billion.
Mr Swarbrick called Ireland a natural “port” for the college if they plan further international travels across Europe too.
Mr Swarbrick said: “We’ve been in Ireland three times and that’s a pretty good indicator of how well it works there, so just the fondness we feel for the place.
“My last name may be Swarbrick, but my other three family names are Coveney, O’Brien and McGuinness.
“So personally I’m thrilled to be able to go back and contribute to the economic impact with the Swarbrick family.
“But yeah, it’s a special place and it’s not just limited to football.
“There may be opportunities to do other sporting events for us.
“Our golf teams travel over there (Europe) for us, for example, as they are allowed to under NCAA rules every four years.
“And we’re looking for other opportunities because of the great partnerships, the great programmes and the great friends we have there (in Ireland).”
Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, has given his wholehearted support to the Aer Lingus College Football Classic Ireland.
Mr Martin said: “"The movement of this game to Ireland will provide a significant boost to our tourism and hospitality industries.
“We will have a very special welcome ready for the teams and supporters of Notre Dame and Navy when they visit us for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in August 2023.”
Mr Swarbrisk added: “We’re thrilled to be able to provide another opportunity for our team and fans to experience the culture and hospitality of Ireland.
“This trip overseas continues to strengthen our academic and athletic presence around the globe.
“Bringing a Notre Dame football home game atmosphere to Ireland has been a goal of ours and we couldn’t be more excited to partner with the Naval Academy to make it happen.”
