Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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HOMECOMING Senior linebacker Dan Fox's trip to Dublin is extra special age. Fox, a senior linebacker at Notre Dame, wouldn't be where he is if not for Power's determination to make a better life for himself, as well as his future family. Power, a native of Rathkeale, D an Fox never had the oppor- tunity to meet his grandfa- ther, but he's reminded every day of Richard Power's cour- BY WES MORGAN County Limerick, Ireland, came to the United States in 1932 when he was 21 years old, landing in Chicago in search of employment. With no luck there, he was told to head roughly 100 miles east to the small town of South Bend, Ind., because "they hire the Irish at Notre Dame." Offered a position in maintenance on the spot, Power worked at the university for two years, develop- ing many friendships while saving enough money to eventually move to Erie, Pa. In 1940, when his U.S. citi- zenship was approved, Power, like most other males at the time, was asked to go into an adjacent room, where he was instructed to raise his right hands and was sworn into the U.S. Army. Power served in North Africa, where he was injured in an automobile accident and finished his recovery in England before returning to Ireland. He married Maureen Forde, a story Kathleen Fox, Dan's mother and one of eight siblings, fondly recalls her father sharing. "It was a windy day in Newcastle West and he had just returned to Ire- land," she said. "There's no place windier than by the shop known as Forde's Corner, the local folks would say. the wind lifted his hat and carried it through the door of a little shop. He followed his hat into the shop, where he met Maureen Bridget Forde, working in the Forde family busi- ness. The wind and fate had its way and they fell in love and married at St. Joseph's Church in Limerick." "As he made his way up the street, 72 PRESEASON 2012 into the world, later returned to America in 1953 and owned and op- erated a bar in Erie, where Kathleen was born. Robert and Maureen Power both passed away nearly 40 years ago, but all eight children and their fami- lies will travel to Dublin, Ireland, for the Sept. 1 season opener be- tween Notre Dame and Navy, greeted by numerous fam- ily members that never left. Included in that group is Fox's cous in Brendan Macken, a member of the Irish National Rugby Team. A once-in-a-lifetime The couple welcomed twin girls experience for most Fighting Irish players, the trip has even more significance for Fox, who had secured 24 tickets for the event — 20 more than each player is nor- mally allotted. "My mom's always texting me, saying, 'Can you find some more tickets?' " said Fox, who was named the team's Defensive Newcomer of the Year following the 2011 season. "It's kind of easy trying to find tick- ets because a lot of people can't go." Fox has been at Notre Dame for Fox broke through and earned a starting role, finished sixth on the team with 48 tackles and was named the team's Defensive Newcomer of the Year in 2011. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA four years, and he'll be a prime can- didate for a fifth season. Like his grandfather did, Fox has banked quite a bit since arriving in South Bend, and he's worth quite a lot to the football program. After starting for the first time in 2011, Fox finished sixth on the team with 48 tackles. He enters this sea- son second only to fellow inside line- backer Manti Te'o (128) in returning tackles. "It feels really good," he said. "I head to Ireland looking to kick off the 2012 slate on a positive note. He's not overly concerned with the fact that American football isn't completely understood in Ireland. "I'm really excited to go over The 6-3, 240-pound Fox and Co. there," he said. "It's going to be sweet. When I first heard about it I was really excited. It's going to be different being over there. It will be a great feeling. It will be really cool. It's sold out, and they need tickets, so it sounds like they're really excited about it." Kathleen Fox designed T-shirts for got a lot of plays under my belt, so I'm just looking to improve on that and get better every day." the entire clan to wear in support of Notre Dame and "Danny," born, fit- tingly, on St. Patrick's Day in 1991. The design is modeled after the Pow- BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED