{"id":414676,"date":"2026-04-24T05:28:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T05:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/414676\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T05:28:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T05:28:16","slug":"balbriggan-in-nfl-spotlight-as-town-prepares-to-host-green-bay-packers-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/414676\/","title":{"rendered":"Balbriggan in NFL spotlight as town prepares to host Green Bay Packers draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

The four-time Superbowl champions will be hosted by the Irish Institute of Music and Song (IIMS) as they, along with all 32 NFL teams, select new players from the ranks of college football.<\/p>\n

The selection of an Irish town for the focal point in the league season is not random \u2013 the Packers have committed to broadening their international fan base through the NFL\u2019s Global Markets Programme.<\/p>\n

Also in attendance at the event in Balbriggan will be Irish musician Gavin James who will perform alongside students of the IIMS.<\/p>\n

It is not only in Ireland that the Irish influence will be celebrated. Packers fan Stephen O\u2019Brien from Arklow, Co Wicklow will announce a an additional day three pick in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

Mr O\u2019Brien is the founder of the UK and Ireland Packers fan club and has become a leading voice in the team\u2019s international fan community. The club even commissioned a mural of him in his hometown in recognition of his support.<\/p>\n

\"Green<\/p>\n

Green Bay Packers’ International Fan of the Year 2025 Stephen O’Brien pictured next to his mural at the Arklow Coral Leisure Centre. Photo: Michael Kelly<\/p>\n

The draft at the Balbriggan venue will be broadcast across ABC, ESPN and the NFL Network in the US and Sky Sports and DAZN internationally.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s draft as the second most-watched in the league\u2019s history, garenering an audience of 7.5 million viewers.<\/p>\n

Balbriggan is currently the site of a \u20ac60 million economic, infrastructural and social plan called \u2018Our Balbriggan\u2019 led by Fingal County Council, launched following a community engagement in which 25pc of the town\u2019s population took part – seven years ago.<\/p>\n

CEO of the IIMS educational campus, Michael T Dawson, hailed the \u201cincredible\u201d boost for the town that hosting part of one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a wonderful honour for the Irish Institute of Music Song, The Lark Concert Hall and the town of Balbriggan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe IIMS Harp Ensemble, a group for young harpers aged 9-18, directed by Dr Helen Lawlor and Aoibheann Galvin, which often collaborates with international artists, proved the key factor in capturing the NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cIts appeal was instrumental in attracting the NFL Draft to Balbriggan.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NFL continues to grow its international appeal, especially in Ireland, where the country hosted its first ever NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings.<\/p>\n

Minister for Sport Patrick O’Donovan called it a \u201cphenomenal success\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The four-time Superbowl champions will be hosted by the Irish Institute of Music and Song (IIMS) as they,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414677,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,1286,112],"class_list":{"0":"post-414676","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-keith-kelly","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}