The Fighting Irish paint the town green

You’ve got to hand it to them; they do things bigger and better than anyone.

On Saturday afternoon, Notre Dame took apart the Navy in a game that was over in 15 minutes, but college football is about so much more than just four quarters.

All weekend, there was no escaping the fact the teams were in town, and for once, economists’ estimates of what it might be worth to the city didn’t seem so bloated. No matter where you went, the 35,000 fans that flew in for this were there before you.

On Friday, the Navy played a tennis match against Trinity College and they boxed off against them too. That evening there was Mass in Dublin. By the following morning, empty space in Temple Bar quickly disappeared as the Fighting Irish tailgate party began at 10am and if the Americans wanted twee, they got it in abundance.

Cows, donkeys and wolfhounds dotted the alleys, a high nelly society had a stall made to look like a thatched cottage, men in 19th century clothes tap danced on old wooden kegs while the smell of burning turf wafted through the streets. Locals were left wondering what year they’d woken up in.

Despite being the away team, the majority of those in attendance were here from the Indiana university and if they got what they wanted off the field, they got exactly what they wanted on it as well. There were doubts about their offence but for this game, anyway, they were misplaced as Theo Riddick and George Atkinson both scored two touchdowns and by half-time it was 27-3. But half-time in college football is almost as important as what comes before and after and the Notre Dame band played ‘Wild Rover’, got into a shamrock formation and marched into the shape of Ireland. Even the Navy made the most of it, and they were right too, as time was limited. Parts of Dublin were off limits and they had to return to their warship in the docks before midnight.

Earlier in the week, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly noted while it was great to be coming to Ireland, it was a pity that it was for a football game. He may have changed his mind by the end though because this was a holiday on the field as well as off it as his side recorded a 50-10 victory. Afterwards he said, “It’s been a magical trip. Our players will have memories to last a lifetime. It’s great to be part of it.” That worked both ways. Their visit may have been brief — Notre Dame flew home straight after the game — but it left quite an impression.