Notre Dame Hockey issues warning to fans regarding Belfast games

You don’t need a PhD in international relations to know that Ireland and Northern Ireland don’t exactly have the warmest of relations. Now, those tensions have forced Notre Dame to issue an awkward — and quite hypocritical — warning to fans planning to attend the men’s hockey team’s games in Belfast later this month.

Neither Ireland nor Northern Ireland are known for being a major hockey hotbed, but Belfast made some progress in this area when four university teams were invited to take part in the inaugural ‘Friendship Four’ tournament which took place held in the capital of the British country. in 2015.

2024 marks the seventh edition of an event that will see the men’s hockey teams from Merrimack, Harvard, Boston University and Notre Dame compete in a battle for the Belpot Trophy over the two days beginning at the SSE Arena in November. 29.

This is the Fighting Irish’s first year competing in the Friendship Four, and the school is doing everything it can to ensure its fans don’t inadvertently draw the ire of locals over a geopolitical conflict that dates back to centuries.

On Tuesday, Notre Dame Hockey posted an online graphic advising fans to avoid wearing green clothing as well as clothing featuring shamrocks, leprechauns, the Irish flag and even the words “Fighting Irish” in a now-deleted post that endures thanks to the nature of the Internet.

For what? Well, if you’re not familiar with the situation I’ve been referring to, here’s a quick (and very basic) introduction.

The Emerald Isle was one of many countries falling victim to British imperialism after the arrival of Scottish and English settlers in the 1600s. This development sparked a series of conflicts largely rooted in tensions between the Catholic population Irish and Protestant foreigners who exercised their domination over the natives with the support of the British government.

Ireland finally gained its independence in 1921 following a war which ended in the treaty which led to the creation of Northern Ireland, which was (and still is) the main home of the ” unionists” Protestants whose sympathies are with the United Kingdom as opposed to the Irish. the “republicans” of the south, decidedly less fond of Great Britain.

This partition eventually gave rise to the “Troubles”, the bloody period of political violence fueled mainly by paramilitary groups on both sides (the British army also got involved) which began in the 1960s and lasted until the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

Tensions have eased considerably in recent decades, but there is still much tension between the two sides. As a result, it’s quite easy to see why the Catholic University would like their fans to avoid ruffling any more feathers than necessary during their time in Belfast.

HOWEVER…

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention it. Notre Dame jerseys specially designed for the Friendship Fourwhich feature a clover And the word “Irish”.

I can’t blame the school for accepting an invitation to the tournament, but it certainly seems like they didn’t think it through all the way.