Notre Dame football, Navy to debut alternate 'Ireland Collection' uniforms in opener

Notre Dame and Navy will don special alternate uniforms for the 2023 season opener later this month in Ireland, Under Armour has announced. Two of Under Armour's partner schools, the Fighting Irish and Midshipmen are debuting gaelic style jerseys with stylized striping in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, modeled after Notre Dame's striping inside its Golden Dome administrative building on campus and Navy's Carrick Bend, a standard sailor’s knot used to join two lines together.

According to Under Armour, "strength and unity" is incorporated throughout the new looks. This is the second alternate uniform Notre Dame has revealed ahead of the new campaign, joining the green set the Fighting Irish will wear against Ohio State in a showdown of likely nationally-ranked teams.

Fans of both schools will be able to purchase jerseys and apparel from the game via Under Armour's "Ireland Collection," the sportswear and apparel giant has announced. The Notre Dame-Navy rivalry dates back to 1927 and the Fighting Irish have won five straight in the series, strengthening its all-time lead at 79-13-1.

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Here's a look from all angles at Notre Dame and Navy's new alternate uniforms for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic:

The Ireland Collection, according to Under Armour, features a Celtic knot design, which pays tribute to the historic setting in Ireland and the tradition of honor these teams share. Both team’s jerseys also share the same back-neck locker tag trim, showcasing a Gaelic knotted shamrock and a Claddagh ring symbol to express the historical loyalty and friendship between the two schools: the heart represents love, the crown stands for loyalty, and two clasped hands symbolize friendship.

Here's a close-up view of Notre Dame's "Claddagh ring symbol" on the back of its jersey, as well as the three-color swatch indicating the national flag of Ireland. The upcoming game will mark college football's eighth game all-time in Ireland and Notre Dame is appearing in its third such contest (all three coming against Navy; 1996, 2012, 2023).

Under Armour says Notre Dame's "Gaelic stripe pattern is inspired by signage throughout the administration building (Golden Dome)" on campus. These stylistic shoulder stripes set this alternate uniform apart from others we've seen the Fighting Irish wear over the years. The gold pattern contrasts well with Notre Dame's familiar navy home threads and further defines the recognizable interlocking "ND" primary logo on the sleeves.

Under Armour chose not to alter Notre Dame's iconic "gold britches" and instead color-matched its Gaelic patterned shoulders on jerseys to the gameday pants. Notre Dame has worn different pants in the past during special uniform games, but often prefers jersey alterations over changing the trousers. Under Armour made sure this specific alternate uniform still screams Notre Dame and not something far-reaching to a national audience.

A full look at both alternate uniforms for this season's opener featuring the Fighting Irish and Midshipmen. Since both programs use the same primary colors of navy and gold with near identical headwear, this almost resembles home and road looks for the respective teams. Navy's updated sleeve stripes for this game are unique to the Midshipmen this season, according to an Under Armour spokesperson.

Here's a better look at Navy's new shoulder pattern, created using "the Carrick Bend, a standard sailor’s knot used to join two lines together, further enforcing the story of strength through unity," per Under Armour. Navy's alternate uniforms have featured some of the most eye-catching in recent years, including custom helmets inspired by aviation and aquatic advancements. It'll be interesting to see what Under Armour cooks up for Army-Navy later this year for the Midshipmen.

Looking at Notre Dame's Ireland alternates from the front, you can't tell much of a difference from its usual home combination. The Under Armour across the left shoulder contrasts well with the navy uniform along with the gold-shadowed white numerals.

Notre Dame is one of the few elite programs with iconic uniforms that has embraced updated threads on singular gamedays in recent years. The green jerseys being worn against Ohio State this season are similar to the "Shamrock Series" threads that featured these alternate options over the years. The green jerseys actually go back even further in Irish history, even being the team's exclusive look over years at a time, instead of the navy blue uniforms.

According to Notre Dame's official release from earlier this spring: "From the old-school green football “sweaters” with no names or numbers, to a snazzier white jersey decades later with green numbers and matching socks, to the bolder fashion statements of today that celebrate the Shamrock Series games, the “green jersey” remains an important and intriguing part of the University of Notre Dame’s history."