Irish economy makes €75m from Six Nations

In spite of Ireland’s lacklustre 6 Nations finish, the Irish economy at least walked away from the tournament with over €75m this year, according to the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

Traditionally, English and French fans come in the greatest numbers with high levels of spending on corporate hospitality.

This year’s three Irish home fixtures - Italy, Scotland, and Wales - are usually the lowest grossing from out-of-state visitors, but the Welsh victory tour through Dublin surpassed traditional forecasts.

"According to our economic assessment, the Six Nations on average contributes €35m per match to the Irish economy from out-of-state visitors," said Gina Quin, Chief Executive, Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

"However, the Italian match only brought a few million and Scotland just under €35m."

"It was Wales playing for the Triple Crown that brought a larger-than-expected number of high value added corporate groups, which offset the absence of the French and English fans this year."

In total, the Dublin Chamber estimates that fans spent €21m on their accommodation during their visits this year. While treating themselves to €20m in food and drink, with another €10m spent on entertainment.

While businesses closest to the city centre reported the greatest increase to their figures during the matches, corporate hospitality businesses in the surrounding counties of Kildare, Wicklow and Meath reported benefits from the Welsh match.

Ms Quin said: "These all make the difference in end-of-year figures for those businesses, which drives not only company revenues but the city’s revenue as well."