Emerald Isle Classic

Well, Dublin has really rolled out the "green" carpet for all these football fans ! While those of us rooting for Navy may have been vastly outnumbered (7,000 to 24,000) and outweighed by a huge amount on the field, no one's spirits could have been brighter or voices louder!!! The scoreboard certainly did not reflect the spirit of the Navy fans or even all those brigades of Midshipmen! We even had the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations here to root the team on! (they were seated just below us because we were dead center on the 50 yard line!)

Last nights pep rally in the park across from the Shelbourne Hotel was fantastic - just like any good college pep rally should be! Navy Band was awesome!! Fans super! We have academy graduates here all the way back to the class of 1950! Of course, Mary was hoping to meet someone from Grandpa's class of '46 but we never found anyone further back than 1950.

The weather for game day was SPECTACULAR! It was sunny with just a hint of fall temperatures in the air! And there was no rain! Duffy had a great time! She cheered loudly when we had opportunities --- be they few and far between. At the pep rally last night she remembered all the words to Navy's Blue and Gold!! She's loving every second - even if we didn't end up on the right side of the score!

Tomorrow we leave to drive to BallyFin ! Can't wait to see this magnificent manor house that took 11 years to restore. There are only 15 rooms in a huge old manor home that sits on 640 acres. We hope to see fabulous gardens and there is an amazing art collection in the manor house. I will be posting photos so stay tuned!!!

PS The photo of the gentleman speaking at the pep rally is the Secretary of the Navy- very distinguished guy.