- Music
- 26 Sep 17
WATCH: Bob Geldof reads W.B. Yeats' 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree' for Ireland's 2023 Rugby World Cup bid
Reciting Yeats' iconic poem about migration, the former Boomtown Rats frontman also uses its backstory to talk about "the Irish diaspora of 70 million people around the world"
The clip was used as part of Ireland's bid for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in London yesterday (September 25th), which also included the Liam Neeson narrated video 'Ireland - Ready for the World', U2 at Croke Park promoting Ireland as the idea location for the event and Niamh Briggs talking about Ireland's enthusiasm to help realise the coveted sporting event.
The delegation in London was led by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and included Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross, Bid Ambassador; former Irish rugby captain, Brian O'Driscoll; and Irish female captain, Niamh Briggs.
Commenting on the bid Varadkar said, "We have the infrastructure, we have fabulous stadiums, we have the best fans. Ireland is a rugby-crazy nation. We've never hosted before... and I think we have the best financial bid."
