Ireland is in the Steelers' DNA, in a very literal sense; team founder Art Rooney was the great-grandson of Irish immigrants to Canada.
On Friday, Pittsburgh acted accordingly. In a nod to the local culture ahead of their game against the Vikings in Dublin Saturday, the Steelers donned practice jerseys adorned with the Irish-language translations of their players' last names.
"Adam Regan, with our equipment department, had a great idea to celebrate Irish heritage through our players wearing these shirts for practice that have their last names on the back in Gaelic," Pittsburgh executive Dan Rooney (Art's grandson) said via Teresa Varley of the team's website. "So, it's a neat thing for our players to learn more about Irish culture, but also for the Irish American football fans and Irish Steelers fans alike to see (linebacker) T.J. Watt wearing a shirt with his name in Gaelic on the back. I just think it was a really neat idea."
Aedin Ni Bhrianin, an employee of the Munster Gaelic Athletic Association, handled the translations—through which, for instance, quarterback Aaron Rodgers became Aaron Mac Ruairí.
At today’s practice in Ireland, our players wore jerseys with Gaelic translations of their names.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 26, 2025
📝: https://t.co/pTk9RGjhrg pic.twitter.com/D3Q105Uou6
Though English colonialism ravaged its primacy, the Irish language is still spoken in some form or fashion by hundreds of thousands in the country of five million.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Steelers Practice in Irish-Language Jerseys Ahead of Dublin Game Against Vikings.
