(03-26-2017 09:23 AM)72Tiger Wrote: Fighting Irish is okay, but Fighting Sioux isn't.
First part, yep.
Second part, it is with me.
P.S. This comes up every time the "Fighting Sioux" issue is discussed.
The "Fighting Irish" designation likely has its origins with the "Fighting 69th" (all Irish) New York Volunteer Infantry and the Irish Brigade in the Civil War.
Father Corby, President of Notre Dame, was the chaplain of the Irish Brigade at Gettysburg.
Here is a painting of him blessing the Irish Brigade at Gettysburg.
Here is a statue of Father Corby at Gettysburg:
And his plaque at Gettysburg:
"It’s true that four of the six religious who founded Notre Dame in 1842 with French priest Edward Sorin were Irish; that nearly all of Fr. Sorin’s successors claim Irish descent; and that the student body has always had a strong Irish presence.
The Fighting Irish nickname was first coined for the Irish immigrant soldiers who fought for the Union during the Civil War in what became called the Irish Brigade, including three regiments from New York. Their valor was later memorialized in the poetry of Joyce Kilmer. That’s also the Irish way: Ireland’s poetry is often better than its fighting, turning defeat into eternal glory. The University has a valid claim to the nickname because the brigade’s beloved chaplain was Rev. William Corby, C.S.C., who later became the third president of Notre Dame."
https://www.nd.edu/features/whats-in-a-name/
http://michaelloynd.com/blog/?p=26
So, a direct link to the "Fighting Irish" nickname goes back to Father Corby and the Irish Brigade.