THE Mid West is tipped to attract over €4million in sports tourism revenue in 2025 and 2026.
Eight major international events taking place at the University of Limerick over the next two years are predicted to bring thousands of overseas visitors and deliver a multi-million euro boost to the regional economy.
The Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau presented awards to 15 sports ambassadors to acknowledge their efforts in securing valuable international sporting events for the region.
University of Limerick, one of the region’s flagship venues, alone welcomed over 7,750 participants in the last two years for international events including the European School Chess Championships, European Ultimate Frisbee Championships, Tag World Cup, Flag Football, World Archery, and many more, delivering an economic boost of almost €5.5million.
Ian Costello, head of operations at Munster Rugby, spoke at the Annual Sports Tourism in Ireland conference about how the All Blacks match at Thomond Park last November alone was worth €3.6m to the local economy.
Speaking at the awards ceremony during the Conference in Limerick, Danielle Devaney, of the Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau, said: “Our ambassadors work tirelessly with us and Fáilte Ireland to bid for and win international events for the Shannon Region.”
“Each sports delegate is worth over €700 to the local economy — that’s how valuable this segment of tourism is for the region. Without these ambassadors, we simply couldn’t compete internationally, never mind achieve the success we have”, Danielle added.
Many of the ambassadors carry out this work on a voluntary basis within their local sporting organisations alongside full-time employment.
Among the Ambassadors recognised at the Sports Tourism in Ireland Conference were: Christy McElligott, EAFF Amputee Football National League 2025/ EAFF European Amputee Football Championships 2024; Pat Hickey, DTL European Championships 2023; Adam Taylor, Emerald Isle Cup 2022; Alice Sherratt and Gary McIlroy, Eurocycles Eurobaby Junior Tour of Ireland 2024; Sergej Dikun, EOSF European OCR Championship 400m 2025; Kevin Devaney, European Youth Darts Championships 2026 / Six Nations of Darts 2024; Michelle Mulcahy, FIT Atlantic Youth Touch Cup 2025; Aidan Maguire, IFAF European Flag Football Championships 2023; Desmond Beatty, The European School Chess Championship 2024; Barry Walsh and Liam Grant, WFDF World Ultimate Masters Championships 2022; Mike O’Connor, World Wall Ball Championships 2024; Pat Quigley and Daniel McCarthy, TAFISA – European Sport for All Games 2026; and Tamas Heitzmann, European Foam Dodgeball Championships 2025 / Dodgeball European Championships 2025.
