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Notre Dame's Happy Returns

Dublin, the Experience, the Game

Brian Ó Conchubhair author Susan Mullen Guibert author Matt Cashore illustrator

Format:Hardback

Publisher:University of Notre Dame Press

Published:5th Dec '12

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Notre Dame's Happy Returns cover

The University of Notre Dame’s connection with Ireland has been entrenched in Notre Dame’s heritage and identity since the founding of the university in 1842. The university is also closely associated with Ireland through its renowned football team, the Fighting Irish. When some thirty-five thousand Americans descended on Dublin, Ireland, for the Emerald Isle Classic football game between Notre Dame and Navy (played on September 1, 2012) at Aviva Stadium, the relationship between Notre Dame and the land and its people was celebrated throughout Dublin and the rest of Ireland. Now the allure of both Ireland and the Emerald Isle Classic football game are brought together in Notre Dame’s Happy Returns: Dublin, the Experience, the Game. Senior University Photographer Matt Cashore took thousands of photographs for this book, and has selected nearly two hundred of his favorite shots for this large-format collection, capturing the sights, historic places, and cultural riches that make Ireland special for fans of the Fighting Irish.

Woven together with brief cultural and historical captions by Brian Ó Conchubhair and Susan Mullen Guibert, Notre Dame’s Happy Returns contains dozens of full-page photographs of Ireland’s capital city. Ranging from art and architecture to spectacular views of Dublin Castle, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Trinity College, Casino Marino, Saint Stephen’s Green, shops, pubs, and other notable landmarks, the photographs capture the mythical attraction of one of Europe’s most vibrant cities and offer readers a glimpse of its rich history. The photographs and text also highlight the university’s commitment to scholarship through the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, Notre Dame’s Catholic tradition of service in Ireland, and the extraordinary beauty of the countryside beyond Dublin. In addition, the book explores the introduction of American football in Ireland and Notre Dame’s role in elevating the sport there, and contains a special section on the 2012 Notre Dame–Navy game in Dublin.

As travel guide, sports book, and lush photographic essay all in one, Notre Dame’s Happy Returns is a must have for those who attended the Notre Dame–Navy game in Aviva Stadium as well as for all Notre Dame football fans. It will also be of interest to graduates, subway alumni, members of the Notre Dame family, and university supporters for whom Ireland is a spiritual and ancestral home.

"The book offers an illustrated history of Dublin and an essay on Notre Dame's growing presence in Ireland . . . A third section chronicles American football in Ireland, culminating in the September 1 game against Navy. 'If you went to the game here's a memoir,' Ó Conchubhair says in describing the project. 'If you didn't go to the game, here's what you missed.'" —Notre Dame Magazine


"Notre Dame's Happy Returns: Dublin, The Experience, The Game is much more than a look back at Notre Dame's 50-10 season opening victory against the Midshipmen across the Atlantic Ocean. Rather, it is a photographic archive of the city of Dublin and the fanfare leading up to the Emerald Isle Classic, as seen through the lens of Matt Cashore with a look at the culture and history of Dublin as told by . . . Brian Ó Conchubhair and . . . Susan Mullen Guibert. . . . Serving as a photographic tour book of sorts, the reader will have an opportunity to relive or visually experience the week leading up to the football game. . . . Lastly, there are some stunning and vivid action shots from the game." —examiner.com


“Cashore selected nearly 200 of his favorite shots for this large-format book, capturing the sights, historic places and culture of Ireland.” —Today@ND


“The book was a delight to read. . . . I’d recommend the book for the pictures alone. You’ll see dozens and dozens of beautiful large photographs of Dublin and once you’re finished it actually feels like you finished your own personal trip to Ireland.” —OneFootDown.com


“A winning photographic essay, a travel book, a sports guide. It is all about what makes Ireland special for fans of the Fighting Irish and contains an exploration of the intro of American football in Ireland and the role of Notre Dame enhancing the sport’s existence there.” —Epoch Times


“Recounts the Fighting Irish’s springboard to the BCS National Championship Game, a Sept. 1 whooping of Navy in the Emerald Isle Classic in Ireland.” —ESPN The Magazine


“A travel guide, a sports book, and a lush photographic essay all in one, Notre Dame’s Happy Returns is a must have for anyone who attended the Notre Dame-Navy game in Aviva Stadium in Ireland as well as for all Notre Dame football fans. Matt Cashore’s photographs capture the sights, historic places, and cultural riches that make Ireland special for fans of the fighting Irish.” —Irishamericannews.com


“A winning photographic essay, a travel book, a sports guide. It is all about what makes Ireland special for fans of the Fighting Irish and contains an exploration of the intro of American football in Ireland and the role of Notre Dame enhancing the sport’s existence there.” —baseballguru.com


“A book of photography focusing on the University of Notre Dame and its strong connections to its Irish Homeland from the historical Indiana university. Collecting photographs from the university, focusing on Ireland and the strong connection that is between Ireland and America through the university, capturing landmarks, landscapes, people, and many other topics. Full color and glossy, any fan of the Fighting Irish will do well with ‘Notre Dame’s Happy Returns’ as a choice coffee book photography selection, highly recommended.” —The Midwest Book Review


“The result is a book that captures the pageantry that surrounded the game that went by the name of the Emerald Isle Classic. ‘Notre Dame’s Happy Returns’ features game photographs as well as pictures of the kind of events leading up to the game that will remind longtime fans of the kind of activities that take place prior to any home game.” —South Bend Tribune

  • Winner of Catholic Press Association Book Award: Design and Production, First Place 2013 (United States)

ISBN: 9780268023089

Dimensions: 229mm x 305mm x 16mm

Weight: 886g

184 pages