Coach Kelly, who led Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish through a perfect season (up until the BCS championship game), was named the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) on December 13. Kelly is the fourth Fighting Irish coach to win the award, following in the footsteps of Ara Parseghian (1964), Lou Holtz (1988) and Charlie Weis … [Read more...] about Brian Kelly Is Coach of the Year
Notre Dame
The Emerald Isle Classic: An Irish and Irish-American Dream
Irish America's publisher, Niall O'Dowd, wrote from the Notre Dame vs. Navy football game in Dublin. In years to come, hardcore Notre Dame fans will ask “Were you there?” when this Dublin game against Navy is discussed. I predict it will be right up there with many of the great moments of this storied college. What a day to be both Irish and American. If you were not proud of … [Read more...] about The Emerald Isle Classic: An Irish and Irish-American Dream
Golfing the Emerald Isle
Five days of golf in Ireland's southwest and a day of football in Dublin. I credit my brother-in-law Tom Coyne for inspiring my golf trip to Ireland. Not too long ago, Tom completed what can only be called THE ultimate Irish golf trip – a whole summer circumnavigating the entire country, on foot, with his clubs on his back, playing the legendary links courses as one continuous … [Read more...] about Golfing the Emerald Isle
Kelly Green at Notre Dame: Coach Brian Kelly
It is a mid-October Sunday morning at Notre Dame, right after the home victory against Pittsburgh. It was a close-run thing and the sense of relief around the Notre Dame campus is palpable. Nowhere is it more obvious than in Coach Brian Kelly’s headquarters at the Guglielmino complex. It is easy to see what pressure a Notre Dame rookie coach is under just when you wander into … [Read more...] about Kelly Green at Notre Dame: Coach Brian Kelly
De Valera’s “Tree of Liberty” at Notre Dame
June / July 2007
Captured in May 1918 and imprisoned in Lincoln Prison, England, Eamon de Valera, Ireland’s future president, escaped in dramatic fashion on February 3, 1919. Fearing the propaganda boost his re-arrest would provide England, the IRA dispatched de Valera to the United States. His mission was to acquire official U.S. support for Irish independence, and raise funds. He traveled … [Read more...] about De Valera’s “Tree of Liberty” at Notre Dame