“Being Irish, I guess I should resent the Notre Dame nickname, “The Fighting Irish.” After all, how long do you think nicknames like “The Bargaining Jews” or “The Murdering Italians” would last? Only the ironic Irish could be so naively honest. I get the feeling that Notre Dame came real close to naming itself “The F***in’ Drunken, Thick-skulled, Brawling, Short-dicked Irish.”” — George Carlin
http://culthero666.proboards.com/thread/30/george-carlin-brain-droppings
“I used to be Irish Catholic. Now I’m an American. You know—you grow!”I guess he rediscovered being Irish later on.
— “Class Clown”, 1972
The characterization of Irish immigrants as brawlers—especially if drunk— was common in the nineteenth century, and the early years of the 20th century.
The football team of Our Lady’s University was originally tagged with this description by a less than friendly press. Over time, Notre Dame developed a legendary team, who adopted the term with pride.
These days the fightin’ part is mostly identified with tenacity in the face of great adversity— which most certainly is a fair characterization of the Irish people in history.