May 11, 2023
Global Football is proud to announce that Irish descendant Rear Admiral William Byrne, U.S. Navy (Ret.), will be assisting with this year’s Global Ireland Football Tournament, joining us in Dublin. GIFT will be held at Energia Park on August 25 featuring six teams from the United States, UK and Ireland. Founder and President of Global Football said “It is an honor to welcome Admiral Bill Byrne to Ireland as Honorary Chairman of the GIFT 2023 High School Showcase. His record as a Naval Academy quarterback was outstanding, only overshadowed by his brilliant career as a Naval officer. My goal is to introduce him to the young student athletes who will be competing in Energia Field August 25th, then have him address the competitors and supporters at our Awards Luncheon in Croke Park the day of the Navy-Notre Dame game. When he tosses the coin for the GIFT Tripleheader, he will be following the lead of our initial honoree, Ambassador Dan Rooney, Pittsburgh Steelers owner who at the time was US Ambassador to Ireland.”
Bill played football for the Naval Academy where he still holds several school passing records, but is most proud of having been elected by his teammates as their team captain his senior year. Bill served our nation brilliantly for 35 years as a Surface Warfare Officer and culminated his career in senior positions at the Pentagon. Among his many posts held globally, he was Commandant of Midshipmen at the US Naval Academy from 2013-15. In addition to his many service awards, he was honored by the National Football Foundation in 2015 with their Distinguished American Award. His wife Amy is his Naval Academy classmate and four of their five children are also Naval Academy graduates.
“High school football was the foundation of every success I enjoyed at the Naval Academy and in the Navy. As a proud Irish-American, I’m humbled by this honor and I’m thrilled to help showcase this rich American tradition once again to our friends and family in the Emerald Isle.”
This will truly be a momentous occasion for the young men participating in this year’s GIFT and we are honored to have Bill assisting us with the coin toss and awards luncheon.
