Connacht Rugby are delighted to announce an exciting new partnership with Ireland West Airport Knock. The partnership will see strong brand collaboration between the two organisations and will strengthen the experience of visitors to Ireland West Airport and supporters of Connacht Rugby throughout the province.
Both organisations share a vision to bring to life all that is good about the community of Connacht and both also have a long-standing history and heritage in the West of Ireland. This partnership now demonstrates a formal alignment between the two organisations.
Ireland West Airport is the main international travel hub for people throughout the West and North West of the country with a total of over 800,000 people expected to pass through its doors in 2019. Visitors will be greeted by the newly refreshed Connacht brand identity which will be increasingly visible throughout the airport in the coming months.
Throughout the upcoming season of Champions Cup and PRO14 action in the Sportsground, Ireland West Airport will provide free flights to a host of European destinations to two lucky fans for each home game. The winners of each pair of tickets will have the opportunity to select from routes such as Barcelona, Cologne, Faro, Milan, Liverpool, Bristol, Nottingham and Edinburgh.
Announcing the partnership, Brian Mahony Head of Commercial and Marketing at Connacht Rugby said:
“We are delighted to announce our partnership with Ireland West Airport. Connacht Rugby and Ireland West are two strong West of Ireland based brands that are making an impact on the international stage. Ireland West have opened up an international gateway for the people of the entire region. Similarly, Connacht Rugby has been making an impact on the international stage over the past number of years through our progression both on and off the field. This strategic partnership will benefit the thousands of visitors that pass through the airport and people that support Connacht Rugby”.
Commenting on the partnership, Donal Healy, Head of Marketing, Ireland West Airport added:
“The airport are delighted to announce this exciting new partnership with Connacht Rugby. We have a shared vision on our roles in the Connacht region and the community focus of both organisations means a strategic partnership such as this made complete sense. We will never forget that historic night in 2016 when the Connacht team arrived home into Ireland West Airport as Pro12 champions and were greeted by 5,000 fans, it’s an occasion that will live long in the memory and this partnership will aim to build on the long standing relationship we have had with Connacht Rugby. We are really looking forward to working with the team on a number of initiatives over the coming 12 months in what’s a very exciting time for the Connacht region with the team returning to the Heineken Champions Cup this season”.