A snapshot of Notre Dame's Fighting Irish taking on the Navy team at Giants Stadium, New Jersey in 2004 (image via Wikimedia Commons)
To celebrate the beginning of the 2012/2013 US college football season, RTÉ has planned a night of Irish-American entertainment that will see the channel simultaneously broadcast a live event on television, radio and online for the first time.
The Gathering: Notre Dame – A Welcome Home will hit TV screens, radio waves and YouTube this Friday, 31 August at 9.30pm. Coming live from the O2, Dublin, Miriam O’Callaghan will host a night of performances from Irish entertainers like Brian Kennedy, Damien Dempsey, Eimear Quinn and The High Kings, as well as the Notre Dame Band and Folk Choir.
The event marks the beginning of the college football season in the US, which kicks off on Thursday, and will also see the launch of The Gathering Ireland 2013, a year-long initiative to showcase all that Ireland has to offer and to encourage overseas visitors.
An Taoiseach Enda Kenny will be there on the night to welcome fans travelling from the US – expected to number about 35,000 – to see the Emerald Isle Classic in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, 1 August, where Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish will take on the US Naval Academy
The 90-minute celebration will incorporate elements of a traditional Notre Dame pep rally, honouring the football heritage of the Fighting Irish, and will be broadcast on RTÉ One, RTÉ Radio 1 Extra and worldwide on RTÉ’s official YouTube channel.
