NEW YORK BOSTON |#Popular: Irish Celebrity Gossip Irish in US Politics Irish Festivals Irish Roots Irish Entertainment Offbeat Irish

Home Page > News > Notre Dame do battle with Kansas high-school over Fighting Irish logo

Notre Dame do battle with Kansas high-school over Fighting Irish logo

Indiana giant allows school to fight on minus the famous leprechaun

BERNIE MALONE,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Friday, October 21, 2011, 8:25 AM

Updated Friday, October 21, 2011, 10:34 AM

Larger Text

E-mail

6 Comments

Chapman High School, in Kansas were using the very same logo as Notre Dame

Photo by Google Images

The summer the Indiana University, Notre Dame, famed for its football team and its Fighting Irish leprechaun, noticed that Chapman High School, in Kansas were using the very same logo.

Needless to say after a short back and forth the northeaster Kansas school submitted despite the fact that they’ve been using that very same logo since 1967. It only took Notre Dame 44 years to notice.

Recently hired superintendent Lacee Sell added that Notre Dame’s letter was serious. He added “They are no longer allowing us to use the fighting leprechaun mascot.”

-----------------

Sophomore Andrew Hendrix soars in his first game with Notre Dame

Notre Dame's Brian Kelly talks about maximizing the team's strength ahead of USC game

-----------------

Chapman high principal Kevin Suther said "Well when you get a letter from Notre Dame it gets your attention… For anything like stationary and school uniforms as long as its Chapman Fighting Irish, we are still the Fighting Irish.”

The school district officials told KWCH-TV that they can keep the nickname, “Fighting Irish”, but they now have to come up with a new logo. The community is holding a contest to choose the logo which will be unveiled during a school basketball game, next February.

Sadly this is not the first massive force to have come across the school. In June 2008 the school was destroyed by a tornado. This January it reopened its doors.

Nster.com

E-mail

6 Comments

See all comments

AnPiobaire | Oct 24, 2011, 01:33 PM EDT

Joycean has it right, the graphic is far too similar to the simian characaratures of the Irish shown in Punch and other racist publications of the 1800's. The Irish were shown as similar to apes in a mis-application of the theory of evolution, the implication being that since they had not travelled as far down the evolutionary trail as the civilised English. Likewise, the "fighting Irish" label implied that the long history of Irish resistance to English imperialism could not stem from any valid grievance; it must be because the Irish are more genetically predisposed to violence than other humans, and the poor English were suffering from the geographic misfortune of finding themselves living in close proximity to such genetically flawed creatures.

Report abuse

Mairin67 | Oct 22, 2011, 07:29 PM EDT

I find the whole "Irish" thing at Notre Dame to be absurd because there are people who call themselves "Irish" and have nothing to go on but the Notre Dame football team. Why isn't the university called St. Patrick's or something if they are so big into all things "Irish"? Just another example of how Americans get it all wrong....but think they are so right...

Report abuse

Pittsburghkid | Oct 22, 2011, 02:54 PM EDT

It about money.

Report abuse

johnymac60 | Oct 21, 2011, 12:05 PM EDT

Excuse me! I'm not sure what you mean by that! I have always prided my appearance and been compared favorably to the 'Fighting Irish' logo fellow! I happen to think I look exactly like him! I hope to act the part when his bio-pic is made. The nerve!

Report abuse

cuculin | Oct 21, 2011, 11:27 AM EDT

Us Irish...don’t take offence for any racial reasons and we don’t consider ourselves tribal. In fact we are the first to laugh and or have a dig at ourselves. That’s what’s wrong with the world today. The fighting Irish symbol is something to be proud of and do gooders like you are what’s wreaking the world and workplace today with your “offensive logos” . People like you are the same reason kids are running around wild these days as a good clip across the ear is seen as a no no. We are The Fighting Irish and always will be The Fighting Irish and the day we lose that identity is the day we are no longer Irish! 19th century cartoon Leprechaun lol what a joke.

Report abuse

joycean | Oct 21, 2011, 09:10 AM EDT

What's amazing is that anyone would want to use that offensive nineteenth century cartoon leprechaun, or be allowed to use it. My alma mater, William and Mary was told it could not use a pair of yellow and green feathers as a logo accompanying our nickname, the Tribe, because some native Americans might be offended. The university argued that no Indian tribes had ever said they found the logo offensive, but that was the final conference ruling: ditch the logo, or don't play conference. sports.

Report abuse