The leprechaun mascot is a longstanding tradition at Notre Dame, and the tryout process reflects the importance of the role. On Friday, several candidates auditioned to be the leprechaun by showcasing their school spirit in a series of cheers, skits and crowd-engagement exercises.
Friday’s tryouts came after an elimination round. To be eligible for Friday’s event, candidates had to submit a virtual audition with a personal statement and a creative two-minute video to be “used as a medium to display creativity, excitement and passion to set you apart from others as a candidate,” according to tryout information.
After the video rounds, remaining candidates were invited to engage with the crowd at a baseball game to see “in-game persona and interaction.” However, this part of the process was optional. Seven leprechauns were selected to advance to Friday’s event.
The tryouts were open to the public, and many students as well as community members turned out to cheer the candidates on.
“I went to the tryouts mostly to cheer on my friends who were trying out, but, honestly, I loved the energy. It was such a fun mix of tradition and school spirit,” sophomore Meghan Gruber said.
To begin the event, graduating leprechaun Colin Mahoney informed audience members about the structure of the event. Mahoney was joined by members of Notre Dame’s cheerleading team.
“The cheerleaders helped create an environment very similar to what the leprechauns will actually experience at a normal tailgate or fan experience event. We also help them lead cheers and get the crowd engaged to help simulate what it would be like to get people involved,” cheerleader Marissa Massaro said.
After Mahoney’s introduction, the seven candidates entered the gym and introduced themselves. Junior McKenna Englhardt — one of the current leprechauns — was the sole female contestant. Current leprechaun Riley Cantena also returned for this year’s tryout.
Mahoney also introduced the judges, who included head cheerleading coach Delayna Myers, former leprechaun Ryan Coury and executive associate athletics director JP Abercrumbie.
The contestants’ first challenge was to perform for the crowd as if they were at a pep rally.
“We’re going to give each of our candidates a prompt backstage,” Mahoney said. “They have roughly five minutes to prep this prompt ... they have four minutes to perform. The only requirement is that they queue a Notre Dame song.”
The second prompt was an improv exercise modeling a community involvement skit. Candidates were asked to act like they were at an event in the South Bend community, such as a youth soccer game. Massaro explained the importance of the improvising for the leprechaun.
“The leprechauns are thrown into situations that they might not be fully prepared for,” she said. “For example, one of the prompts was that Fr. Pete was supposed to come and speak to a group and could no longer make it, so the leprechaun was filling in for him. There are so many different variables in what they do, and they need to be prepared for the crazy things they might face.”
Finally, all the candidates did push-ups and performed an Irish jig in front of the audience. Potential leprechauns were given a random number of push-ups between seven and 25.
The tryout process is not over yet — remaining contestants are also required to complete an interview with the judging panel and cheerleading coaching staff. Results of the tryout process will be announced sometime this week.
