Reviving the Fighting Irish: Part III

Reviving the Fighting Irish:

The real significance of the words "Fighting Irish" at Notre Dame

In order to live up to our self-proclaimed title as the “Fighting Irish,” we must attempt to revive the connections between the Notre Dame Nation of today and the legacy of our past. In the pages that follow, I intend to provide material that will spark a sense of responsibility within all members of the Notre Dame Nation in hopes that we can see ourselves as guardians of our own cultural legacy.
 

Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies

May 10, 2010

The direct source of my inspiration for this Irish Studies thesis came from the current president of Notre Dame, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., who was awarded with the Gold Medal Award by the American Irish Historical Society in 2009. During his acceptance speech, Fr. Jenkins spoke about the enduring spirit of Notre Dame in relation to what it means to be Irish. He began by explaining how the university had become “universally linked with the Irish” throughout its history. In doing so, he mentioned that most of those religious who accompanied French missionary Fr. Edward Sorin in the Northern Indiana wilderness as he founded Notre Dame in 1842 were Irish, and that nearly every president after Sorin could claim Irish ancestry. Most importantly, he claimed that a “strong Irish presence” had always persisted throughout the student body. By starting his speech in this way, Fr. Jenkins acknowledged the direct influence that a sense of “Irishness” had on the early development of our cultural identity at Notre Dame. 

Fr. Jenkins went on to speak about the early history of Notre Dame during a time when “stereotypes and ethnic slurs were openly expressed against immigrants, Catholics and the Irish.” He mentioned the first use of the term “Fighting Irish” in reference to Notre Dame, telling his audience how the phrase, which was meant to be a biting insult, was turned around “into an expression of triumph” by the resilient and upbeat student body. Not only did this show how Notre Dame was directly involved in the Irish-American experience at that time, but it also demonstrated one of the ways in which students at the university identified positively with what it meant to be Irish in America. Whether or not Irish blood flowed through their veins, the men of Notre Dame were undoubtedly conscious of their “Irishness.” 

The story of the “Fighting Irish” continued throughout his speech as Fr. Jenkins related to the importance of football at Notre Dame, telling how success under legendary coach Knute Rockne “first put the small private school on the national map.” 

By travelling across the country to take on highly regarded opponents and defeating them, Notre Dame Football earned widespread fame while Rockne used the “Fighting Irish” nickname as a way to promote the “underdog tenacity and never-say-die spirit of his teams.” 

The “Fighting Irish” name eventually came to symbolize a mindset that spread to all aspects of life at the university, and it was officially endorsed as symbol of the ideals that the men of Notre Dame were expected to live by. 

The success story of the “Fighting Irish” at Notre Dame also played out within the broader success story of the Irish in America who survived and prospered due to their relentless determination and refusal to give in.

Fr. Jenkins further developed the main purpose of his speech by comparing the “Fighting Irish” mindset that had developed at Notre Dame to the mentality of “Ireland’s people” in both Ireland and America. He saw the same driving spirit in both, and he claimed that together they reflected ideals he regarded as crucial to the mission of Notre Dame. 

In making these connections, Fr. Jenkins emphasized that the best way to live up to such ideals was to understand their significance and appreciate the traditions from which they came. These sentiments mirror the main purpose of this project, which is to find to a deeper understanding of the changing role played by the words “Fighting Irish” at Notre Dame. Hopefully it can inspire all those who carry on the legacy of the “Fighting Irish” at Notre Dame and throughout Irish-America to do so with dutiful pride and respect for the grand tradition of which they are a part. 

The “Fighting Irish” spirit described by Fr. Jenkins in his speech has persisted from the very humble beginnings of Notre Dame all the way to its current position of prestige. Though some form of that spirit has always been present, it has also undergone a tremendous amount of change over time. During the origination and early evolution of Notre Dame, the university enjoyed direct connections with Ireland and a sense of “Irishness” pervaded the consciousness of the entire campus. While Notre Dame continued to evolve over time, that same spirit proceeded to take on a life of its own as it began to reflect what it meant to be “Irish” in America, and more specifically what it meant to be part of the “Fighting Irish” of Notre Dame. Yet as times have changed and this transformation has continued to take place, the term “Fighting Irish” has always remained tied to some manifestation of the same indomitable spirit that can be traced all the way back to the founders of the university, where the next part of this story begins… 

(Volume II: Part I to come on Monday, June 18)