Is the Irish Government spending €10 million of taxpayers’ money on the NFL good value for money?
This weekend, tens of thousands of NFL fans will descend on Dublin to see the Steelers and Vikings clash at Croke Park this Sunday.
Yesterday, People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger asked the Government whether the NFL needs the cash and whether the Irish people should be giving it such a warm welcome.
“This is the most jingoistic league in America,” she told the Dáil.
“It celebrates the military at its games, has men and women marching in uniform, it prays for the Israeli army and it sends players over to the IDF while a genocide is taking place. It has received money from the US army to do so.
“The Government will say that this will generate a huge amount of income in the future but at what cost?”
The @NFL has arrived in Dublin! 🇮🇪🤩 pic.twitter.com/NiuBUBmPZo
— NFL UK & Ireland (@NFLUKIRE) September 26, 2025
In response, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said that “sport brings people together”.
“It will lead to extensive economic benefits for Ireland, that will happen, but for me there is a broader reason we do it,” he said.
“With all the causes we have at the moment that are pulling us apart and all the tensions there at the moment, sport and art offer the ability to bring people together.
“The money that is being used by the Government to support this is money that will be well spent.”
On Lunchtime Live, Off The Ball journalist Cian Fahey, reflecting on the question of whether the NFL is the ‘most jingoistic sport in America’, said that it is “100% true”.
“At Thanksgiving, for example, they’ll bring out a military member in full military gear and say, ‘This is bladebahdeblah, let’s give him a round of applause,’” he explained.
“That happens at every game but at Thanksgiving, they do it for every game and put it on TV.
“Sometimes you have a stealth bomber going over a stadium; that to me visually has always been crazy - because what does that stealth bomber do when it’s flying over places it’s attacking?”
Lunchtime Live texters had a number of differing views on the NFL.
“As an ex-member of the Defence Forces, I actually think it’s commendable that the people of America are so proud of the people who serve their country,” one said.
While another said they were disappointed that so many Irish people were excited by the game.
“Everything America, absolutely everything American, USA, needs to be boycotted in Ireland,” they suggested.
Main image: Soldiers with US flags at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Picture by Andrew SURMA/ Sipa USA/Alamy Live News.
