Dublin 2012
A Pilgrimage to Ireland
“W
hen Pat Mahoney came to me over a year ago and suggested sort of sheepishly that perhaps we could go to Dublin to play football, I laughed out loud,” Fr. McGrath said from the pulpit of John’s Lane Church during the closing liturgy of the Ireland trip. “My first thought was, ‘what would I have to have wrong with me to agree to take, oh I don’t know, 200 students to Dublin for a few days!’” But the more Fr. McGrath and Loyola’s leadership looked into accepting the invitation from the Global Ireland Football Tournament (GIFT), the more they saw it as an opportunity——not only for the football players, but also for members of the band, cheer and pom squads and the golf team, as well as other students, families, friends, faculty, board members and alumni——to experience culture and camaraderie. View our online photo gallery of Despite losing 30–29 after Dallas Jesuit kicked a field goal with 49 seconds Loyola moments in Dublin. left in the game, the Ramblers won over the crowd for their “grit on the gridiron.” As proof, out of 500 high school athletes, quarterback Peter Pujals ’13, who ran for two scores and threw a 77-yard touchdown pass to Luke Ford ’13, received the tournament’s Play Like a Champion award for character and leadership. Special Assistant to the President and Alumni Relations Director Dennis R. Stonequist ’90, one of the trip’s primary organizers, made certain that the Loyola students and their families had plenty to do outside of sports. “I’ve never been so proud to be a Rambler,” reports Stonequist. “One of my favorite events was the kickoff parade. As we marched through the streets of Dublin singing our fight song and waving our maroon and gold, I couldn’t believe how many Loyola fans were there cheering us on. We also enjoyed tours of the city and countryside. The final Mass, when 500 of us gave thanks for this amazing experience, was really powerful.” “What you and I have done here in Ireland,” Fr. McGrath said at the closing Mass, “is nothing short of a pilgrimage. Ask God now and as you go forward to show you the grace you’ve experienced and to help you be grateful for all that we have and all that we are called to be.”
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