Dublin Diary, day three: How five Notre Dame fans at The Brazen Head completed a life-changing trip

DUBLIN, Ireland — You might be wondering where Dublin Diary day two is after such enthusiastic acclaim in the reception of Dublin Diary day one. My alibi: BlueandGold.com was Dublin Diary day two. The comrades back home combined forces with me and my boots on the ground at Aviva Stadium to provide incredibly comprehensive coverage of Notre Dame’s 42-3 win over Navy.

Seriously. Go check out all we have to offer if you haven’t already. It’s a Notre Dame fan’s playground.

Dublin has been my playground for the last two and a half days. And let me tell you; two and a half days isn’t nearly enough. Not in this city.

My plan Sunday was to wake up early enough to write three more articles for the site, eat brunch then jump on the Luas tram to head downtown for an afternoon of sightseeing. That was supposed to include a waltz through the Guinnness Storehouse, a pint or two at The Brazen Head and a jaunt down the DART to the eastern-most train station in town. That’s Howth, for those planning a trip — one that spans more than two and a half days, I hope — to the Emerald City sometime soon.

Articles: One, two, three. Check.

Brunch: More like lunch, but check. The “Doirty Burger” from The Brass Fox in Tallaght is amazing, just in case there actually are some Dublin-bound folks who are reading this. Tossed in foxy hot sauce topped with smoked bacon & Wicklow cheddar cheese on a brioche bun with crispy cos lettuce, tomato & crispy fried onions. Served with foxy fries. Yeah. “Doirty,” as the locals say, indeed. It was spectacular.

I made it to the Storehouse, but I didn’t make it inside. There were tickets available for numerous Sunday time slots when I checked the website Friday evening. There weren’t any when I went to make a final decision Saturday morning. I showed up just to see if they’d cut an American who’s overseas for the first time in his life some slack. Nope. They’re strict about buying passes in advance. Bummer, but understandable.

I didn’t even get into the Guinness Open Gate Brewery just north of the Storehouse. There were several open seats, but they were reserved for large parties set to arrive soon. More like the Guinness Closed Gate Brewery, am I right? It was what it was. I saw enough of everything from the outside to at least say I know what people are talking about when they bring the place up.

Now here’s where the fun begins.

James’s Street turns into Thomas Street once you pass Bridgefoot Street heading east, and it’s quite a scene after some afternoon rainfall with the sun peaking through the clouds. St. Augustine & St. John’s Church is a hidden gem among all the major churches in the area. It’s breathtakingly tall and active on the eyes with an array of color from green roofing to reddish trim in the archways. St. Audeon’s Park and Church a block over is just as stunning in a less consuming type of way. There’s not a whole lot to it, but it provides plenty of scenic serenity.

Just around the bend of Bridge Street Lower, meanwhile? Not much serenity at all.

That’s where The Brazen Head, Ireland’s Oldest Pub, is situated. Constructed in 1198, it feels like you’re stepping into the adult version of Hogwarts. The entrance takes you down a narrow, dim, damp tunnel. It opens up into a small, outdoor seating area. Three different rooms plus a couple covered areas surround what might be the smallest yet liveliest courtyard in Dublin.

Trips, in a bare-bones breakdown, are about destinations. The places you’re off to. But they’re also about the people you meet, or simply see, along the way. How about Notre Dame national champion and four-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Joe Montana? He was there at The Brazen Head on Sunday, sitting in the corner of one of the rooms encapsulating the courtyard, sipping on a Guinness and rolling dice with his son and some friends.

There were many Notre Dame fans and general onlookers alike who were satisfied enough with a paparazzi-like photo of Joe Cool. I was one of the latter. I ended up making friends with a Golden Domer who was ambitious enough to meander his way into the Montana party and take a shot of Jameson with the legend himself and his son, though.

That’s when the evening really took off. That’s when I knew I wouldn’t make it to Howth by sundown. Or at all.

The shot-taking Notre Dame fan’s name is Brian O’Leary. He’s in Dublin with his wife, Kelli, and his late father’s best friend, Jack. Brian and Jack wore Notre Dame garb. Kelli donned navy blue for good measure. Brian and Kelli have a couple kids at home in Orange County, Calif. They’ll be in Ireland all week.

Something tells me when they return to Southern California the Notre Dame football game they spectated at the very beginning of their Irish adventure will be the most talked about subject with their little ones, the oldest of whom turned 10 earlier this year.

Brian and Kelli had been to Ireland years ago for three weeks for a wedding. The event enticing enough to bring them back? A Notre Dame football game, of course. There was a special way Brian spoke of Notre Dame that let me knew he’s in the active process of passing the fandom down to his children. His phone background was a picture of him, Kelli and the kids dressed from head to toe in blue, gold and green poising in front of his father’s grave site.

Brian’s father was a Blue & Gold Illustrated subscriber before he passed. Brian vividly remembers his dad’s stash of BGI magazines in the house. He loved to thumb through them as a child. When I showed him the cover of the magazine I stayed up until 5:30 a.m. local time to help put together after Saturday’s game, the emotions emanating from his face were tangible. I felt them. It took him back to another place in time when his dad was still around and they’d cheer on the Irish together.

Notre Dame was Right At Home in Ireland. Sam Hartman is Right At Home at Notre Dame.

This is a @BGInews magazine you’re going to want to have. Order it here: https://t.co/nV6CUjWj8r pic.twitter.com/EQwbKC9YFT

— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) August 27, 2023

It reminded me of when it really hit me that the last conversation I ever had with my grandfather before he died two years ago was a phone call to tell him I landed a job with BGI.

Papa Joe Horka grew up a Notre Dame fan. His kids did, too, just like Brian because of his dad and Brian’s kids because of him. That stuff sticks with you.

All it took to get to the point of tugging on heart strings was, “How about that game yesterday?” from me to Brian when we just so happened to be standing next to each other in the crowded little courtyard. I spent a good four hours with Brian, Kelli and Jack on Sunday, me learning about them and them learning about me. Jack is from Warsaw. He’s a Notre Dame lifer as well. He shared that bond with Brian’s dad. I shared several pints with him at The Brazen Head and then one more at The Temple Bar. That was Brian’s treat, plus a shot of Jameson.

I met a few others of their kind at The Brazen Head. On different drinking schedules, Brian, Kelli and Jack had plenty of Guinness in their pints. I needed some more. Standing in line in one of the aforementioned watering hole rooms, a gentleman named Danny approached me and asked if my name was Tyler Horka. He said he had just watched my YouTube postgame standup video recapping the Notre Dame win and recognized me from across the bar.

Danny introduced me to his father, Jim, another Notre Dame fan. We talked Notre Dame football for a little while before they let me get back to the other three pals I made earlier on.

Notre Dame Stadium announcer Chris Ackels, who handled PA duties at Aviva Stadium on Saturday, said before kickoff Saturday you won’t ever forget attending the 2023 Aer Lingus College Football Classic. No doubt, we won’t. But I also won’t forget the places I went and the people I met because of it.

I’m from Texas. I graduated from the University of Texas. When Longhorns are abroad, they like to rep their roots. So Sunday I wore a shirt that says, “The Eyes of Texas” with a Lone Star State flag on it. The Eyes of the Irish were upon me this weekend, though. And I couldn’t be more grateful that they were.

Experiences are stuffed in my memory bank. Acquaintances quickly passed over into friendships. They feel like the kind that won’t start and finish in the same place on foreign soil. They feel like the kind that will go back to the States. Back to South Bend, where Notre Dame has six games yet to be played this year at a venue that is just as special to hundreds of thousands as Dublin’s tourist attractions are to hundreds of thousands more.

Maybe I’ll run into Brian, Kelli, Jack, Danny and Jim at the House That Rockne Built.

And if I do, they won’t be strangers.