Diaspora Issues Dail Éireann — 2026-03-26 ============================================================ Neale Richmond (FG), Dublin Rathdown Regarding the references to sport more generally, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, launched the latest iteration of the sport diplomacy strategy in Boston at the famous Fenway Park. This is a key policy provision not just for the Department of sport, but also for the Department of foreign affairs, because sport brings people together here and abroad. We often see the real economic opportunities associated with the College Football Classic and the NFL coming to Ireland, but we also see where that ties in with tourism and higher education opportunities. There are great opportunities for Irish third level institutions to partner with American institutions for investment and research. At the heart of our sports diplomacy policy is, of course, the global games development programme, which we support with a direct grant, parallel to the emigrant support programme, of about €7 million per annum to the GAA. That money supports staff, training and governance in GAA clubs around the world. In February, I met the Simba Wolfhounds GAA Club in Uganda, which was set up by a Galway man who works with young children in very deprived areas. I have met GAA clubs in Coventry, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, New York and Pittsburgh, but there are also other sports as well. I would have played for the Toronto Irish rugby club and the Brussels Celtic rugby club. These are all a part of this as well. GAA is very much at the heart and soul of this. When we look at both participatory and elite level sports, we see Irish people who have had to go abroad, perhaps to play Premier League football, like those currently in Prague, while others are at the highest level of collegiate athletics in the United States. Eamonn Coghlan, a former colleague of ours in these Houses, made his name in the United States and was able to represent the Irish abroad multi-generationally at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships. To conclude, any visit to Midleton is a good visit. I would be more than happy to join Deputy McCarthy and Councillor Cocking. The tie between the people of Ireland and the Choctaw Nation is something we cannot stop reminding people about. It is very important and historic. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-26/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-03-26