Navy, Notre Dame making presence known in Dublin
DUBLIN — Fighting Irish fans have overwhelmed Dublin this week.
Almost 40,000 Americans have traveled to Ireland for the Aer Lingus Classic as Navy and Notre Dame open the 2023 college football campaign at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Aviva Stadium. More than 30,000 of those folks are rooting for the Fighting Irish.
Because of Ireland’s connection to the Catholic university in South Bend, Indiana, it seems the local citizenry is biased as well. Dame Street, a main thoroughfare of
Dublin that leads right up to the entrance of famed Trinity College, was renamed “Notre Dame Street.”
The street was closed to traffic from Friday at 8 p.m. to Saturday at 10 p.m. to allow Notre Dame fans and festivities to completely take over the area.
“Notre Dame Street” was the site of the official Notre Dame Pep Rally on Friday afternoon and was slated to host traditional tailgating parties on Saturday.
Navy, which sold 7,500 tickets for Saturday’s season opener, held its official pep rally Friday after
noon at historic Merrion Square. Navy cheerleaders and the drum and bugle corps revved up a solid crowd of fans and supporters while numerous dignitaries took to the stage for speeches.
Merrion Square, which was first laid out in 1762, is located across the street from the large Edwardian building housing all key offices of the Government of Ireland. The Georgian garden square is also surrounded by the National History Museum and National Gallery among many other original 18th-century properties.
Among the speakers during the pep rally was Vice Adm. Sean Buck, superintendent of the Naval Academy. Buck delivered a fiery speech that he capped by declaring “Go Navy, beat Notre Dame.”
Buck has been performing some reconnaissance since arriving in Dublin Thursday morning and claims the citizens of Dublin are not really pulling for Notre Dame.
“I’ve been in the pubs over here in Dublin and secretly all the Irish will tell you they want Navy to win this game. That is really true. They’re whispering it under their breath,” Buck said. “They have a very, very high regard for our service people and a huge respect for the United
States Navy.”
At this time last year, Northwestern upset Nebraska in the inaugural Aer Lingus College Football Classic and the locals loved it, Buck said. Navy is a nearly three-touchdown underdog to 13th-ranked Notre Dame and would certainly shock the world by pulling off a upset.
“We’re the underdogs by the point spread and maybe the talent level, but a lot of people are saying we need you guys to rock this town and upset Notre Dame,” Buck said to the crowd.
Councillor Daithi de Rossi, the 355th Lord Mayor of Dublin, attended the pep rally and professed his support for Navy. De Rossi traveled to Annapolis in October 2019 to tour the Naval Academy and learn everything he could about the institution. He attended the service academy showdown between Navy and Air Force and was impressed with everything he saw.
Navy and Notre Dame were initially supposed to start the Aer Lingus College Football Classic Series in 2020, but the game was canceled due to the COVID19 pandemic.
“We’re so thrilled to have Navy and Notre Dame back here in 2023,” he said. “I know Navy and Notre Dame have a real strong history of partnership going back as far as World War II. It’s in that spirit this game is being played this weekend. As Lord Mayor, it’s my privilege to just sit back and enjoy the fun.”
Commodore John Barry, considered by many to be the “Father of the American Navy,” was born in Wexford, Ireland. Barry was the first captain placed in command of an American warship commissioned for service under the continental flag.
“Ireland has just as many connections with Navy as it does with Notre Dame,” de Rossi said. “I will be rooting for Navy this weekend. It’s so wonderful to have the midshipmen in town because they bring such great spirit and warmth to the city.”
The mayor confirmed the government estimates the event will bring about $172 million in economic activity to Dublin. Having 40,000 visiting Americans in town filling hotels, bars and restaurants is a godsend, he said.
“The town is abuzz and alive. Dublin City is absolutely bubbling with excitement for the game tomorrow,” de Rossi said. “Navy hasn’t traveled in quite the same numbers as Notre Dame, but the Navy fans have certainly made their presence felt.”
Friday was busy for the Navy football team, which conducted a morning practice at Aviva Stadium and then took a tour of Dublin aboard double-decker buses. Coach Brian Newberry along with the four team captains and other senior leaders were the guests of honor at the pep rally. Newberry, senior center Lirion Murtezi and senior receiver Jayden Umbarger addressed the crowd while the entire group posed for photos on the stage.
As soon as the pep rally ended, Buck and many other Navy dignitaries walked to Trinity College to watch the Navy men’s rugby team battle Notre Dame. It was a total mismatch as the defending national champion Midshipmen routed the Fighting Irish, 78-0.
It was a triumphant moment for Navy coach Gavin Hickie, a Dublin native. Earlier in the day, Hickie was spotted jogging through his home village of Ranelagh. He attended St. Mary’s College from the age of 8 through 18, then the University of Dublin.
“It was wonderful to be able to run through my old neighborhood,” Hickie said.
Hickie led Navy men’s rugby to its first national championship in its first varsity season. The Midshipmen beat perennial powerhouse Cal-Berkeley to cap an undefeated 18-0 season. To return to Ireland as coach of a national champ was overwhelming for Hickie.
“It really is a point of pride for me personally to bring the midshipmen to Dublin and showcase them here to my hometown. To be able to play our season opener here in Dublin and emulate a little bit of what our football team is doing is very special,” said Hickie, noting that he refuses to call Notre Dame by its nickname.
“We’re the true Fighting Irishmen right here in Dublin,” he said.
Fans in town for the game overwhelmed the Temple Bar area on Thursday night. That patchwork of streets loaded with pubs and restaurants is the Dublin version of Bourbon Street in New Orleans or Duval Street in Key West. Revelers largely decked out in Notre Dame regalia packed the street, making it difficult for anyone to move.
“I did see a lot more Notre Dame gear when I was walking around the Temple Bar area, but I saw a lot of Navy colors there as well so we’re holding our own. We have a decent footprint here,” said Joe Rubino, chief financial officer for the Naval Academy.
Rubino, a lifelong Annapolis resident, noted the respect among Navy and Notre Dame fans and said everyone was just having a good time in a friendly manner.
“Everywhere you go in the city you’re seeing Navy and Notre Dame jerseys. People visiting for this game have certainly taken over Dublin,” he said. “All the local Irish folks couldn’t be nicer. They’re delighted to have us here. This is just a great atmosphere and really fun to be part of this scene.”
On Wednesday night, Naval Academy graduate and notable Annapolis businessman Maurice Tose was spotted at Darkey Kelly’s, a popular pub in Dublin. It is named after an Irish brothel keeper who was burned at the stake in 1761 for killing a local shoemaker. Authorities later found the corpses of five men hidden in the brothel vaults, making Kelly a serial killer.
Tose, who was chairman and CEO of Annapolis-based TeleCommunication Systems before selling the business, said he’s been looking forward to this trip with his sons for months. They were among the lucky parties to find an open table at Darkey Kelly’s, which was standing room only on Wednesday night.
Customers enjoyed traditional Irish dishes such as beef stew, braised lamb chop as well as fish and chips while singing and clapping to a trio of local musicians — one picking the banjo, one strumming the guitar and one blowing the whistle.