History of the Fellowship

The Rooney Fellowship started in 1993, as the result of a desire by the people of Pittsburgh to reward Mr Daniel Rooney, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, for his great generosity and charitable deeds.

Miceal O'Neill Rooney Fellow 2005 at Luncheon with Dan Rooney and Associates

They wanted something they could do in Mr Rooney’s honour for the people of Newry, so Seamus Mallon, who helped set up the Newry and Pittsburgh link, came to Mr Mullen, Director of Newry and Kilkeel Institute of Further and Higher Education, and asked if there could be an annual scholarship for a student from the institute to have work experience in Pittsburgh. It was Mr Rooney and Seamus Mallon that first established the link between Newry and Pittsburgh. It was set up to help Newry and the surrounding area during the troubles in Northern Ireland.

A delegation from Newry was sent over to Pittsburgh, which included Mr Mullen, Mr Mallon and Feargal McCormick with the idea and it got positive responses. The American Ireland fund agreed to fund the scholarship, and Duquesne University agreed to accommodate the student as well as offering classes from the Palumbo Business School, and Ireland Institute of Pittsburgh’s president Sister Michele O’Leary agreed to manage the program. After the first year the University Of Pittsburgh heard about the scholarship and they asked if they could take the Rooney fellow every other year as well.

The scholarship is supposed to expose the student to a business education and to learn about American culture, but also to gain confidence, personal and interpersonal skills.

The American Ireland Fund sponsors the Rooney Fellowship; The Fund was founded in 1976 to raise funds for projects of peace and reconciliation, arts & culture, education & community development in Northern Ireland and Ireland.

The Rooney Fellowship gives a chance to a student from Newry Institute each year to go to Pittsburgh, and study in either the University of Pittsburgh or the Duquesne University. They also have work experience in Heinz of North America and work with one of the best American Football Teams in the NFL, The Pittsburgh Steelers, in both of these places they get a chance to work with professional business men and women. Getting a real experience of what goes on in a business atmosphere.

The Rooney Fellowship has been going on for the past 13 years many of its applicants have gone on to university and finished their degrees. Many have successful jobs and good quality lives.