He is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame along with his father, Art Rooney, and has two Super Bowl trophies under his belt as president and now chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers. What Dan Rooney has that his father never did is the title of ambassador. The 79-year-old was named U.S. ambassador to Ireland in 2009 by President Barack Obama, of whom he is a big supporter. Known for his negotiating abilities, he is credited with “The Rooney Rule,” which requires NFL teams to interview at least one minority candidate when hiring head coaches or general managers. He and his wife, Pat, have nine children and nearly twice as many grandchildren.

Have you learned anything new about your Irish roots since you’ve been in Ireland?

I’ve learned so much about everything since I’ve been here in Ireland. I did learn much about where we were from, the Rooneys, and my mother was a McNulty and where her people were from. My wife, of course, her mother and father emigrated from here [Ireland], so she has many cousins and aunts and uncles that remained here.

You must be seeing a lot more of those relatives.

Really, to be honest with you, my schedule is such that it’s not easy to get around. If you are here on vacation you actually can go places, but here [as ambassador] you’ve got to go where your next assignment is.

As a young boy growing up on the North Side, did you always know you would be part of the Steelers organization?

I always thought I would be involved with the Steelers. I was about 8 when the thing came up that the Steelers were merging with the Eagles [during World War II]. I got quite concerned. I asked my mother, “What’s going on?” My father had just called and she said, “You better talk to Danny. He’s concerned about the team.” He assured me we were still in the business. When I graduated from college, they had racetracks in the East, my family. He said, “Do you want to go and run one of these racetracks?” I said, “No. I’m in the football business. I want to stay with the football team.” That’s where I remained.

We know a lot about your father. What was your mother like?

My mother was a wonderful lady. She was very sympathetic. She was a stern person. You know, my father was away, not all the time, but she ran the show. Well, all the time whether he was there or not. She was very kind. I remember when I was young it was tough times. It was the Depression, and she took care of people who would come to the door and be looking for something to eat or for money or something like that. She always was very charitable in how she handled it.

So was it understood that you would take over the team and the others would have to do something else?

No, it wasn’t anything like that, and she didn’t get involved in that. We all finished college. When it came up about me with the team, my brothers — if you talk to them, they know that I was always going to be with the team. I went there as a water boy. I was very young. I went with my father when I was about 5 and as I got older in high school. When I was in college, I became the training camp manager. I was always involved with the team, so everybody knew that.

How do your duties as ambassador compare to running a football franchise?

Running a football franchise is different in the fact that you are dealing with players, who are, you know, very high about what they do. I got to know them very well. So did my father. We always treated the players as equals. We always treated the players as more than just players. They were family. They were friends.

When I was young I went on the away trips. I would be with the players. If I had to take my homework with me, they would help me with the homework. I was very close to players, and as far as my other brothers were concerned, they were pretty much the same. Everybody enjoyed the football. When I didn’t go to the racetrack, they did. They spent their time there, as well as doing other things along the way.

Why do you think it has taken so long for the players and owners to come to some agreement?

Well, I don’t know. I don’t want to pick sides or say that this side is right or this side is wrong or anything like that. But they needed to negotiate, and there was not enough negotiating going on — serious negotiation. The lawyers got in the way during these negotiations and sort of held it back a little bit.

As for the state of the U.S. economy, do you think it will be a big hurdle for the president in the upcoming election?

I think President Obama has done extremely well in everything he’s had to manage and everything he’s had to deal with. He’s working on the economy and really the U.S. has turned the corner as far as the economy is concerned. Here in Ireland they are having very serious difficulties. It was a worldwide problem. You still read about Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy. I mean there are serious problems everywhere.

I think President Obama has handled it very well in getting things going. Now unemployment is a problem, and I see it over here. I think it’s a matter of these businesses being willing to hire people. There are a lot of businesses you can see are doing well, but they haven’t brought their staffs back up. They are going to have to do that.

The Irish economy was really booming for a while, but they are lagging behind us in a recovery?

Yes, but of course it’s a smaller country. The Irish have a resiliency. They are not really crying. Sure there are pickets and things like that once in awhile, but it’s nothing like the violence that is going on in other countries over this. They are looking at it intelligently. Not that they are happy or there aren’t many hurting with the economy and the unemployment, but they’re dealing with it.

As ambassador you must see people you otherwise would not have had a chance to meet.

I meet people every day who are fascinating and brilliant. Yesterday I met with a Supreme Court justice. I meet with people from all walks of life, all areas of business, religious and government. I meet with people and situations. I said when I got here I was going to have a very open, period, and visit every county in Ireland. I’ve almost done it. In the republic, I just have two more. I’ve done 24 out of 26. I do that, and I have lunches at the residency and we talk about various subjects.

You are known for your negotiating skills. Would you consider doing more with that and maybe taking another government position?

I don’t know. I’m getting to where it might be time for me to go back to the Steelers, but I don’t know what opportunities are going to develop. That is one of the great things about this, to have the opportunity to be the ambassador and to do the things that you mentioned, meeting people and coming across various challenges.

And have you turned Ireland into one big Steelers Nation?

[Laughing] Some say that I have. But you know they really have their own games here. They are very interested in their own sports, which is great. I’ve been to the matches that they play and I have to say they are very interesting.

So will you be attending Ben Roethlisberger’s wedding?

Ah, if I get out of here I would give it a lot of thought. I would like to. I would like to go. I have to get home first.

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