The Fighting Irish head to Ireland: STVM band to march in Dublin's St. Patrick's Day Parade
The members of St. Vincent-St. Mary's High School Fighting Irish Marching Band were still on the football field after their halftime show against their school's rival, Archbishop Hoban, when the news came over the loudspeaker.
A letter had come for them from the mayor of Dublin. The one in Ireland, not Ohio. The Irish Catholic high school's band would be marching in the 2024 St. Patrick's Day Parade — in Dublin.
Still standing in formation and being the well-trained marchers that they were, a few jaws dropped, but otherwise, nobody moved.
"You could hear sounds of like, 'Oh my gosh, is this real?'" now-senior snare drum player Cesca Asilo said.
Kind director that he is, Brian Campbell quickly pulled them off the field. Then, the tears began.
"Kids sobbed," senior flute player Erika Schmitt said.
"We had even no idea that this was a possibility," senior trumpet player Cian Torisky said.
It's now been a year and a half since that October 2022 game when the band learned they would march in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in 2024. Asilo said it always seemed so far away.
But it's finally here, and Friday evening, the band and a contingent of 150 students, family members and supporters fly to Ireland for Sunday's march. Campbell said they have all but about 15 seats on one plane. He joked he may have to buy those 15 people a drink.
Of the 71 band members, 10 are last year's seniors he invited to come back to go on the trip and march in the parade.
There was a cost to students, he said, but the community raised about $100,000 to lessen those costs. And Campbell said he made sure money wasn't an obstacle for any student who wanted to go.
"That was kind of our motto: 'Let's get these kids to Ireland,'" Campbell said.
They have been preparing for months, taking advantage of the rare warm late-winter weather and marching down the street behind their school and through their parking lot. One day this week, they made a half-dozen loops through the lot in an attempt to get in as much distance as they could to build up their stamina for the 2-mile stretch of parade they will have to march in Dublin.
Parents starting to line up for after-school pickup were treated to several renditions of Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" and the school's fight song. Campbell instructed them to watch their feet and practice their turns, as the footing would be different and the streets of Dublin are narrower. He was able to travel to Dublin on his own over the summer to scope out the route.
They marched in the Akron St. Patrick's Day parade last week, as they do every year, and in previous years have traveled to march in parades in Cleveland, Chicago, New York and Orlando at Disney World.
Campbell said he submitted an application over two years ago for the band to march in Dublin and had to hold onto the secret for about six months. He relished watching the students react to the news while they were on the field for the Hoban game.
He's excited now to see their reactions when they get to Ireland, to watch them take in everything from the cobblestone streets of Dublin to the Cliffs of Moher.
Grace O'Dell, a senior baton twirler who leads the band through its march, said she's most excited to see Irish castles. Her family heritage coming from Ireland on both sides, she said, gives the trip a bit of extra meaning. She also knows it will be a trip they tell their future kids about.
Schmitt, the flute player, said she loves exploring new places, so she's excited to have the chance to do that in another country.
Torisky said he's been saving up for months for souvenirs.
They haven't yet felt the nerves of playing in front of hundreds of thousands of people, not to mention those who will watch it online or on TV.
"I don't want to waste time on being nervous," Torisky said. "I just want to take it all in."
Contact education reporter Jennifer Pignolet at jpignolet@thebeaconjournal.com, at 330-996-3216 or on Twitter @JenPignolet.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: STVM band to march in St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin, Ireland
