Tag: IRFU

Dell Technologies Forum Dublin set to empower Irish organisations to harness AI innovation

Dell Technologies Ireland has today announced the launch of the Dell Technologies Forum 2025 which will take place in the Royal Dublin Society (RDS), Dublin 4 on September 23rd, 2025.

The Dell Technologies Forum 2025 will help businesses accelerate AI-powered innovation and embrace new possibilities in AI-integrated solutions to boost efficiency, propel future growth, and inspire business transformation.

Across the keynote, solutions expo, curated breakout sessions, insightful panels and more, decision makers will hear from a range of exciting experts and speakers on the innovative solutions that can empower them to transform at speed and accelerate their organisation’s growth potential. From AI-powered transformation and the next generation of AI PCs to modern data centers and multicloud, the event will provide practical and impactful insights for leaders on unlocking the power of AI in their organisation.

Former Ireland Rugby Captain and Grand Slam winner, Peter O’Mahony, will take to the stage and join Lynne Cantwell, the most capped Irish Women’s Rugby Player, and Head of Women’s Strategy at the IRFU, as well as David Humphreys, former Ireland player and Performance Director at the IRFU, to discuss achieving peak performance on and off the track. Sports broadcaster and presenter Jacqui Hurley will join speakers for an insightful session exploring how best to build a high-performance and innovative workplace culture that can foster growth and success.

Jason Ward, EMEA North Vice-President and Managing Director of Dell Technologies Ireland said: “AI’s transformative impact is redefining how we work, innovate and do business. In this AI-enabled era, it’s increasingly clear that business leaders have an important responsibility to advance their organisation’s AI journey in order to fully unlock their growth potential.

“The 2025 edition of Dell Technologies Forum in Dublin, will provide Ireland’s business community with practical and impactful insights on accelerating innovation in AI. By leveraging the expertise of our speakers and industry experts at the event, we aim to continue being a trusted technology vendor to our customers and partners across Ireland as they drive their AI transformation agenda forward.”

The Dell Technologies Forum is run in collaboration with Intel, Microsoft, and NVIDIA. For more information and to register for this event, visit: Dell Technologies Forum Ireland 2025.

Will Irish sports tech give Georgia Tech the edge this weekend?

As tens of thousands of Americans fly into Dublin this week for the Georgia Tech V Florida State Aer Lingus College Football Classic, the game presents a dynamic opportunity to promote the strength of the Irish-US business relationship and particularly the success of Irish sports tech companies in the USA.

This week, Enterprise Ireland will host an inward US buyer delegation with representatives from Atlanta Hawks, Pittsburgh Steelers and other US sports tech investors. The delegation will meet with Irish sports tech companies and will focus on the IRFU and Enterprise Ireland’s technology innovation programme, which provides Irish sports tech companies an opportunity to test, trial, and potentially scale their products in a professional rugby environment. Visiting the Sport Ireland Campus, the delegation will also meet with Sport Ireland, who lead the development of sport in Ireland, and who are collaborating with Enterprise Ireland to drive the development of Irish sports technology.

From NFL Teams to NBA Players, Irish sports tech has gained a dominant “behind the scenes” position with elite sports in the USA and globally. Their innovative solutions have been sought out by major global sporting powerhouses from the NFL and NBA to PGA golfers, Olympians, F1 Drivers and English Premier League soccer teams.

Irish sports tech companies Orreco and Output Sports are also working with Georgia Tech University.

  • Output Sports, a leader in elite sports-science technology works with Georgia Tech athletes to optimise their athletes’ training sessions and to achieve specific fitness goals. Output Sports enables coaches, sports scientists, and rehab professionals to fully understand and optimise their athletes’ performance using a single wearable sensor system. The company’s technology is used by sports practitioners across 30+ countries, including in the USA and in multiple sports, with flagship clients in the NFL, NWSL, MLB, NHL, WNBA and NBA.
  • Sports data company Orreco have been working with Georgia Tech Women’s Swim team since 2022, using Orecco’s FitrWoman app and FitrCoach platform. The app and coach platform, part of Orreco’s Te@m platform are also used by USA Swimming, USA Volleyball and global soccer teams including The Lionesses, NSWL teams, Women’s Super League teams and multiple Olympic Medal winners. Orreco’s AI platform helps athletes optimise performance, accelerate recovery and extend playing careers.

Today, Irish sports streaming company, Wiistream announced a collaborative alliance with US Youth Soccer (USYS), the largest youth sports organisation in the United States. The collaboration will see Wiistream explore streaming and content solutions for USYS, to enhance the sports experience for young athletes across the USA. Wiistream are previous participants of the US Techstars accelerator programme and have the backing of Enterprise Ireland and US Venture Capital firm Elevate Ventures. Having started life streaming GAA matches for fans during Covid-19, the company, with its US headquarters in Indianapolis, has since secured significant international breakthrough deals, including contracts with The Big3 and the World Baseball Softball Confederation.

Welcoming Enterprise Ireland’s US sports delegation to Ireland, Minister of State for Sport, Physical Education and the Gaeltacht, Thomas Byrne TD said: “The Aer Lingus College Football Classic provides a valuable opportunity to not only enjoy a great game of American college football play out on Irish soil but also, to deepen the Irish-US business relationship. It is clear that the future of Irish sport is one where digital technology will be embedded across all sports organisations and that is why our National Sports Policy recognises the importance of encouraging innovation in sport. We want to see Ireland’s strong sport tech industry continue to grow and I welcome the work being undertaken by Enterprise Ireland to enhance the Irish-US business relationship in this respect.”

Leo Clancy, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, said: “We are proud to partner with the Aer Lingus College Football Game. It’s more than a game – it presents an important opportunity to promote the strength of the Irish-US business relationship and showcase Ireland’s dynamic business environment and innovators to the US visitors. The USA is the second largest export country for Enterprise Ireland clients, achieving exports of €5.9bn in 2023, up 5% on 2022. Across our 6 offices in the USA, we are focused on supporting Irish companies to achieve even greater scale in this market. On the sports tech front, this sector is achieving phenomenal global success, with major national and international sports leagues, athletes and brands turning to Ireland to drive performance.”

It was also announced today that the IRFU and Enterprise Ireland’s Technology Innovation Programme is set to continue for another season 2024/ 2025. The partnership will be showcased to the visiting US sports delegation, as part of events organised around the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in the Aviva. Through the programme, the IRFU has embraced Enterprise Ireland client technology to advance the game and the partnership has provided an invaluable opportunity for Irish sports tech companies, to test, validate and scale their innovations, working with teams across the organisation, including the national squad. To date five Enterprise Ireland sports tech companies have participated in the programme, including Output Sports, MoveAhead, RugbySmarts, Brace and Wiistream, resulting in commercial deals for three Enterprise Ireland clients, soon to be announced.