Before Notre Dame became known as the “Fighting Irish” in the 1920s, they were known as the Catholics, the Hoosiers, the Rockmen and the Bulldogs. It was during a football game in the 1960s that a human joined the cheerleading squad dressed as a “leprechaun.” The idea stuck,  and the school retained the “Fighting Irish” moniker. In 1965, Notre Dame named the Leprechaun as its official mascot.

However, it wasn’t always so.

At one time, Notre Dame athletes were known as “the terriers,” and for years, a series of Irish Terriers represented the University, a suggestion said to have been made by head coach, Knute Rockne, himself. The history of the Irish terrier and Notre Dame begins in 1924 when Ed Lynch, a member of the 1909 football team, helped the Notre Dame club of Toledo donate the first Irish Terrier, Tipperary Terrence, to Knute Rockne. Sadly, The dog was hit and killed by a car months later,  was quickly replaced by Tipperary Terrence II. When Terry II passed away in 1930, he was replaced by Brick Top Shaun-Rhu in 1932 by Charles Otis and his partner, Thomas Bolton, and presented to Rockne at the Notre Dame-Pennsylvania game that year. Brick Shaun Rhue (“Old Red”) traveled with the team for the last two remaining games of the season.

Otis had told Father O’Donnell, then President of the University, that Shaun Rhue was a fine specimen of his breed and would likely win in dog shows, but it’s unlikely that the dog ever stepped foot in a show ring. Registration papers show that ownership was transferred to Notre Dame, and both that document and Shaun Rhue’s pedigree are preserved at the University Archives.  As an aside, an advertisement in a 1934 football program stated that Otis had also presented Irish Terriers to Amelia Earhart and Will Rogers.

We don’t know what became of Shuan-Rhu, though one source suggests that the dog simply ran away from campus in the spring of 1933. After him, several other terriers acted as the school mascot, each dog typically taking the name, “Clashmore Mike.” The first Clashmore Mike was donated by Chicago breeder, William J. Butler and we believe that dog lived until 1945.  This Mike lived with his handler and trainer on campus, and endeared himself to the student body by running up to the opponent’s bench during halftime and lifting his leg on it. He had also been taught to attack at the sight of any goats to strike fear in Navy’s mascot. Mike was so popular, he was given his own article in each football program in the fall.  When Clashmore Mike I passed away, he was buried beneath the grass inside Notre Dame Stadium.

The last “Clashmore Mike” appeared on the cover of the 1963 Notre Dame Football Dope Book with coach Hugh Devore and captain Bob Lehmann.

In the 42 years that the Irish Terrier was Notre Dame’s mascot, the school won twelve National Football Championships. As far as we know, no other college symbol has been a mascot to so many National Championship teams as the Irish Terrier.

As for why Rockne chose an Irish Terrier, we may never know. His own pet was, “Noxie,” was a German Shepherd Dog, but some have speculated that perhaps Rockne thought that the Irish “No Fear” Terrier had qualities in common with the University of Notre Dame. What we do find interesting is that the Leprechaun should have taken the place of the Irish Terrier. Legend says it was The Little People (leprechauns) who gave Irish Terriers to children to be their playmates, their size and energy level making them ideal companions for other little people.

Image of Irish Terrier by © Ekaterina Solodilova | Dreamstime Stock photos; Image of 1963 Notre Dame Football Dope Book comes from an Ebay listing