Dan and Patricia Rooney never liked to bask in the spotlight.
The things they did in life, whether it was with the Steelers, in Ireland, in the community or through education, they never did it for attention.
They simply did it for the love of others.
But today, what they did in their lives to help others, especially through The Ireland Funds, was honored when the organization announced the establishment of the Dan and Patricia Rooney No Mind Left Behind Scholarship in their memory.
The scholarship was announced during an event in Newry, County Down, where Dan Rooney's family ancestry is deeply rooted and is an area that he always held close to his heart.
The announcement of the scholarship is part of activities the team is doing in Northern Ireland during their time on the island of Ireland.
"Just the connection points are really special with what we will be doing in Northern Ireland," said Dan Rooney, the Steelers Vice President of Business Development and Strategy. "Being able to travel to Newry where the Rooney family is from and support The Ireland Funds initiative that is named after my grandfather, Dan, and my grandmother, Patricia Rooney. It's a scholarship that will go to two Northern Ireland high school students to allow them to continue on with their education. And my grandmother's value for education just makes it even more special to be able to celebrate them like this and carry on their name.
"It's really special to be able to do this, one with The Ireland Funds, which meant so much to my grandparents, and two to do it in Newry, where the Rooney family hails from. It's a very special day and I couldn't be more excited to celebrate these young, talented minds from Newry."
The Ireland Funds was started in 1976 by Dan Rooney and fellow Pittsburgh businessman Tony O'Reilly. The Ireland Funds has a trinity of goals which includes peace, culture, and charity. Dan Rooney helped that grow through fund raising efforts in America, but also through his role as the United States Ambassador to Ireland under President Barack Obama.
"In our exposure to the Rooneys, and we had a lot of exposure to Dan and Patricia," said Caitriona Fottrell, the President and CEO of The Ireland Funds. "We rarely met with Dan in Ireland without Patricia also being there. And the two things that always struck us was Dan was so proud of his Newry roots and went to Newry every single year when he was in Ireland before he became Ambassador. And education was so important to Patricia. She always stressed the importance of education.
"So, when we thought about a good way to celebrate them, this felt like a good fit.
"The vision that Dan and Patricia and Tony had almost 50 years ago is still our North Star. They set out a vision to galvanize Americans who cared about Ireland to do something that makes a difference, and to do it at an ambitious level, to do at a level that has deep impact, to do it at a level that changes lives of people who deserve those changes. That's why we think the scholarship is such a good fit for Dan and Patricia. Everything we do is inspired by what they did, but to actually put their names on something just felt like the right thing to do."
The vision Dan Rooney had for The Ireland Funds was something he balanced during his years with the Steelers, always making both of them a priority in his life.
"He had a passion and ambition to make a difference in Ireland, where the Rooney family has so much of a strong connection to, and he had so much passion," said Dan Rooney. "He started The Ireland Fund with Sir Tony O'Reilly, and since 1976 it's been a staple of support and a testament of U.S.-Irish relations. It just shows how much he cared about Ireland and its people and its culture."
Two students, Tegan McKibbin from St. Mary's High School and Jodie Sterritt from Newry High School, were awarded the first scholarships. McKibbin is starting to work on her degree in English and Politics at Queen's University in Belfast, while Sterritt started working on her degree in Communication, Marketing and Advertising at the University of Ulster.
"If Dan and Patricia were still here today with us, they wouldn't have wanted to pose for pictures or anything," said Fottrell. "They wouldn't want any song and dance about it. But they would have been very keen to meet the students and to give the students a pat on the back and tell them we're behind you all the way."
The No Mind Left Behind Scholarship is one of The Ireland Funds initiatives that provides financial support to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Rooneys always had a desire to help those in Newry who were in need or struggling to take the next step.
"Those of us who were privileged enough to know Dan and Patricia knew how special they were," said Fottrell. "They were the people that everybody always wanted to have in the center of the room, but they were usually in the back of the room talking with everyone else. It wasn't that they were afraid of the spotlight. That just wasn't important to them.
"We talk about this all the time. Dan's last address to our Ireland Funds group was in Killarney. I remember he got up on the stage, which is where everyone wanted him to be, he started the event by saying, 'you are all our friends.' And we always quote that. He was almost mythical at that point. And for people to hear him say that and know that is truly how he felt was amazing.
"He was always the one person in the room at our board meetings that everyone would listen to. He usually said the least, but you really miss Dan's voice.
"We wanted to honor those great memories with Dan and Patricia, and we want the students who receive the scholarships to know how special they were. We wanted to get this right because of how special Dan and Patricia were."
