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Elyria native named 1st female leprechaun mascot at University of Notre Dame

"Who says the Fighting Irish can't fight like a girl?"
Credit: University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame is known for its rich athletic traditions, with perhaps the most notable being its treasured nickname: The Fighting Irish.

For decades since the university adopted the name, countless men have portrayed the school's famed leprechaun mascot, bringing a little Irish enthusiasm to the fans throughout the year, especially on Saturdays in the fall. Now, one Northeast Ohio native is about to join their ranks, and make history while doing it.

Midview High School alum Lynnette Wuike, of Elyria, has been named one of three students who will portray the leprechaun during the 2019-20 school year, including football season. The appointment makes Wuike the first woman in the history of the program to portray the mascot.

In a video she made as part of her application for the position, Wuike had asked the selectors, "Who says the Fighting Irish can't fight like a girl?" She further stated:

"I talked about being a role model (during the tryout process) because even through high school and into college, it's always been important to me to be someone people can look up to. I think I hadn't (yet) found that thing, like I wasn't fulfilling my true purpose here to be that face and that role model, so when this opportunity came about I thought it was destiny. This is what I'm meant to be doing. … My rector told me, 'Little girls are going to want to be you,' so to be that role model for young women is really special."

Wuike is currently a junior majoring in  film, television and theatre with minors in business economics and musical theatre. She was captain of the Midview cheerleading team, and the school even congratulated her after her selection was announced.

Joining Wuike as leprechauns this season will be Conal Fagan of Northern Ireland (the first native Irishman to portray the mascot) and Samuel Jackson. Jackson and Wuike will be the second and third African American leprechauns in school history.

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