Notre Dame student intern witnesses Mayo's historic All-Ireland GAA victory
Maggie Newell is a senior at the University of Notre Dame studying global affairs in the Keough School. She was the summer 2026 communications and public relations intern with the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), a placement offered through the Notre Dame Dublin Irish Internship Program. She reflects on her experience witnessing County Mayo's historic All-Ireland Senior Football win, their first after overcoming a 75-year-old "curse." Read about Maggie's summer below.
Standing on the pitch at Croke Park, camera in hand, I captured videos and photos of County Mayo footballers erupting in cheers, jumping wildly, and celebrating winning their All-Ireland semi-final match. Looking through the screen while I filmed the moment, I couldn’t help but smile along with them. It was impossible not to be infected with the joy and electric atmosphere surrounding the stadium and the team, especially as they reached another All-Ireland final, chasing their first win in 75 years.
As someone who grew up playing Gaelic football, it was a surreal experience. For much of my life, I have experienced Gaelic games as both a player and a fan. The excitement of watching one’s club or county, the anticipation of matchday, and the strong community created by the Gaelic Athletic Association, the GAA, are things I have been accustomed to. However, during this past summer in Dublin, I had the opportunity to experience that world from an entirely different perspective. As a communications and public relations intern for the Gaelic Athletic Association through Notre Dame Dublin’s Irish Internship Program, I got to go behind the scenes of Ireland’s largest sporting organization and see firsthand what it takes to tell the stories of the games I had grown up loving.
From the beginning, this experience far exceeded anything I could have imagined. I was welcomed into the GAA by an incredible group of coworkers who truly made me feel part of the team. Every day brought something new, whether it was creating media, prepping for major events, working on communications materials, or just learning from the people around me. I had the opportunity to be involved in the senior championship season of both hurling and football, working behind the scenes during all the major matches.
The summer culminated with working the All-Ireland football final, where I experienced Mayo winning their first senior football championship title since 1951. Attending an All-Ireland final is rare enough, but the opportunity to be on the pitch for such a historic win was unimaginable. It was an indescribable experience, and looking around at all the fans singing “The Green and Red of Mayo” in Croke Park after the match, I knew I wasn't the only one who felt that way. It was truly so special to be part of the team that captured pieces of that day and provided a new angle for people to view and connect with. There was something powerful about capturing the moments beyond the match; the raw emotion, passion, and stories behind the sports that mean so much to people across Ireland and around the world.
The GAA was only part of what made the summer so unforgettable. Through the Irish Internship Program, I was surrounded by other students who were having their own incredible experiences across Dublin. Many of us were working in vastly different fields, from Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to the National Gallery of Ireland to STEM research at Trinity College Dublin. Every student in the program was very passionate about their particular jobs, and it was inspiring to hear about their unique adventures and projects.
Outside of work, our group explored Dublin and beyond. We took trips, participated in cultural enrichment activities, and made the most of every opportunity we were given through Notre Dame. Although I have traveled around Ireland previously, experiencing it with my new friends provided a novel perspective and much deeper appreciation, as well as a whole host of new, amazing memories. However, many of the best moments were not scheduled or planned at all. Some of my favorite memories were kicking a football around on the Trinity College green, spontaneous game nights, conversations on the bus, DART rides for sea cliff walks, sweet treats after our professional development sessions, and all the little moments in between that caused me to look around and realize how lucky I was to be experiencing Ireland through this lens.
When I think back to that moment on the pitch, surrounded by the celebration and trying to capture anything around me, I realize that it represents so much of what this summer has meant to me. It was exciting, unexpected, memorable, and at times, surreal. Most significantly, I come home with a much greater appreciation of perspective. I had the chance to experience the sport I love in a new way through the lens of my camera, and shape the way that others experience it as well. At the same time, I saw Ireland alongside new friends and through completely new experiences, allowing me to take in a familiar place from a novel point of view. Sometimes, all it takes is a fresh lens to see something you thought you knew in an entirely different way. I will be forever grateful to the GAA, Notre Dame Dublin, the benefactor of the Irish Internship Program, and all of the people I met along the way for giving me that perspective, as well as memories I will carry forever. It truly was the summer of a lifetime.
About the Irish Internship Program
The Irish Internship Program attracts highly qualified undergraduate and graduate students to live and work or research in Dublin, Galway, or Cork during the summer. Learn more here.
These fully-funded internships and research positions place students in prestigious organizations across the full spectrum of Irish life, embracing the community sector, entrepreneurship, research laboratories, engineering, politics, business, education, social justice, STEM, sport, poetry, architecture, theater, and Irish culture. For two months, students are immersed in their host organizations, working alongside Irish employees and gaining valuable pragmatic experience.