Those who are fans of the University of Notre Dame’s sports teams are quite confused about the origin of the term “Fighting Irish.” After all, Notre Dame is originally a cathedral in France. Why turn Irish all of a sudden?
There are many legends about the origin of the “Fighting Irish.” Some people claim that the nickname was taken from Irish immigrant soldiers who fought in the Civil War with the Union’s Irish Brigade. On the other hand, some accounts say that the nickname was first used in 1909 when a player’s speech during a football halftime to his teammates of Irish descent led a reporter to call the team the “fighting Irishmen.”
Another version of the legend talks about using the term to stereotype against the Irish and Catholics, which makes up most of the university’s population. But despite associating the term with war and violence, the victory of the university’s football team starting giving the “Fighting Irish” a positive connotation. As the years went on, sportswriters began to use the name to describe the team until it stuck.
As Notre Dame sports teams began amassing fans from different parts of the country, university officials started to become more accepting of the nickname. Being called a “Fighting Irish” was no longer an insult but a testament to a player or a team’s willingness to win. In the world of sports, especially collegiate football, that is a sure way to hype the team and its fans. In the years that followed, Notre Dame grew stronger and went on to win several championships. Times have changed, but even up to this day, fans still cheer on the never-say-die “Fighting Irish.”
Hello, I’m Tom Colton, and I’m currently a student at the University of Notre Dame. For updates on the Fighting Irish, visit this page.
Tom Colton 