Cheers from Ireland.

Over the days the in country, the colors Garnet and Gold became increasingly pervasive in the pristine green Ireland landscape which Florida State now occupies.

Whether in the warmth of a friendly Dublin pub or the rainy and windy streets of Galway, known as “The City of Tribes,” Seminole fans are representing their colors loud and proud.

When the Irish meet one another, they might say, "What’s the craic?" ("craic" refers to news, gossip and conversation), while the universal greeting of this tribe from Florida State is “Go Noles” and is often accompanied by a chopping arm motion.

Denise Bishop and Carl Meyer, who hail from Tallahassee, called out to us at the Kylemore Abbey, a spectacular mansion/castle in the Connemara region just north of Galway.

“It’s been fun and friendly everywhere we’ve been,” Denise said, as a light mist dusted her parka.

“We’ve met people from all over the world including Seminoles from across the East Coast,” her husband Carl added.

The brochures promote Ireland as the friendliest country in the world and we haven’t met a single FSU fan who would argue the point. Hail fellow and well met is an ancient Irish expression that made it across the pond among American families with Irish descent. It describes a person whose behavior is hearty, friendly and congenial, which describes the Irish we met to a tee and the Seminoles we encountered, too. Not a stranger for long.

We quickly confirmed that to be spot on. The rain was beating down on the streets of Galway as our train pulled into the station, so we took shelter in the first open door we found, Darcy’s Pub, where the barkeeper “Ellie” welcomed us and our baggage with Irish coffees and Guinnesses (note plural) and friendly introductions to the regulars as they bellied up to the bar.

This was the Ireland we’d read about. Not only did we meet Stevie, the 82-year-old farmer, who immediately began breaking our stones, and welcomed the favor in return, but we met several Noles, including Doug Rohan and his wife and children from Atlanta.

There were no strangers. Ellie and Stevie were sorry to see us go.

Jeff and Dottie Bryan, who now live in Greensboro, N.C., found the Atlanta Sky Club filled with Seminoles. They noted their flight over was dominated by Garnet and Gold-clad fans in the one airport you’d expect Georgia Tech to rule.

The couple travelled to Galway, a two-hour train ride west of Dublin, to take in the sites, shop and play a round of golf.

“I was randomly paired up with the former president of the Raleigh Seminole Club,” said Jeff, whose wife, Dottie, was enjoying a day shopping with her college sorority sister Janice Finney, who ran admissions for Florida State for many years.

What are the chances?

“Nice guy, good golfer, but the windiest conditions I have ever played in with the weather changing every 15 minutes,” Jeff added, noting everywhere they’ve been they’ve heard the “Go Noles” cheer.

Ireland is a land of rain and wind, soon followed by frequent rainbows. If you don’t like the weather, stick around a minute and the sun will re-appear in all its glory. Florida State head coach Mike Norvell and his band of merry Seminole fans should expect the same on Saturday in the open-roofed Aviva Stadium.

The rain could come and go, leaving a slick field and pigskin.

Or not.

Ediotr's note: After a rainy evening Thursday, the sun rose against a crystal blue sky on Friday, with temperatures in the high 60s, humidity at 85 percent and winds still clipping at 21 mph. Temperatures and wind on gameday are forecast to be similar, with a 47 percent chance of a light mist.

More dependable than the weather will be the home-field-like advantage Nole fans will provide, with 170 of the Marching Chiefs leading the cheers and the chop.

The 2024 season opener has become a family re-union in what has been promoted as the first-ever international football game for Florida State University football. But Thursday night at an informal Osceola gathering, former FSU linebacker Clint Parker and runningback Rick Oreir were reminiscing on their freshman year, when the freshman football team played in Olympic Stadium down Mexico way, so technically this is the second time an FSU football team has played out of the USA.

That team included future Hall of Famers Barry Smith, a first-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers and JT Thomas, who earned a fistful of Super Bowl rings for the Pittsburg Steelers.

And yes the Seminoles won that game 24-10.

Meetups with friends like these have been standard fare. My wife, Alex, and I received a text from Tom and Laura Block, the sideline voice for the Seminole radio network, who was listening to one of the Osceola’s Seminole Sidelines podcasts and heard me say I’d be in Galway for a few days preceding the game, which coincided with the Blocks’ itinerary. So, after an in-country text later, we met for dinner and a few Guinnesses and listened to a lot of traditional Irish music, or was it the other way around?

And were greeted by many a “Go Noles!”

The Blocks used vacation time to tour the Island nation and ran into a group of Seminole fans from Sarasota. The group included former FSU softball second baseman Devyn Flaherty’s father, Mark, who with a Flaherty surname is likely counted among the “Irish diaspora,” which includes as many as 70 million worldwide, who have an Irish-born granny or claim any Irish ancestry at all, no matter how distant.

Mind you, there are just less than 5 million Irish citizens claiming residence in the Republic -- and only a few less sheep -- while there are more than 31 million Americans who claim Irish ancestry, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. My mother’s side of my DNA is among them, how about yours?

While on a tour of the Aran Islands and the Cliffs or Moher, Alex and I ran into Jeff and Terri Doxsee, from Tallahassee, who were in the back of our tour bus. The couple, accompanied by their daughter and her husband, didn’t see many Noles in Scotland, where they spent the first part of their tour, but have seen many since arriving in Ireland.

The Cliffs of Moher are a geologic phenomenon, towering 800 feet above the sea, but the jaw-dropping scenery didn’t keep Seminole fans from noticing the iconic FSU logo on Jeff’s ballcap.

With the wind gusting to 20 knots, Jim and Anne Uberti, from Connecticut, stopped to have a chat and their picture taken with the Cliffs in the background. They’d been to Port Marnie for a round of Golf and to Galway, where they saw scores of friendly Seminoles and Irishmen alike.

The Irish are curious about this American football game, which is growing in popularity among the primary and secondary school youth. Sport is very important to the Irish and a frequent topic of pub conversation as soccer and rugby matches play on TV.

The tour bus driver to the Aran Islands told us they have massive soccer leagues as well as very organized sporting clubs in every county that compete for county pride in rugby and hurling (no not the Guinness kind). A veteran of 40 years, he described hurling as (insert Irish brogue) “well-grown men chasing after each other with ash wood sticks” as they try to hit what looks like a baseball either under or over goal posts that look very much like the American kind.

He argued there is no sport requiring more intricate footwork. Think lacrosse but with small baseball bats, so the Irish absolutely have an appreciation for the violence and artistry of

The party will continue in Dublin as the team arrived early Thursday before Seminole fans have had their first Irish coffee.

The players will have slept on the flight and upon landing will be whisked straightaway to the pitch for a walkthrough practice to keep them moving and allow them to acclimate to the 60-degree weather, 20 mph wind and intermittent rain.

While Seminole fans prowl the streets of Temple Bar and Grafton Street on Friday, enjoying traditional Irish music and visiting either the Guiness Warehouse, the Jameson Distillery, Irish museum or the Kilmainham Gaol, the players will stay on a typical game week schedule with segment meetings and a team dinner at a Dublin steakhouse before they are tucked in for the night.

Mike Norvell will address the media on Friday, welcome former players on his traditional player walk with current and former players and then fulfill contractual commitments for appearances. Like Bowden, Norvell will do it with a “hail hearty and well met smile,” as if he had nothing more-pressing to do than to be with you.

If you are in Dublin, we invite you to join us Friday at the FSU Official Pep Rally on Smithfield Square at 3:15. Sorry, the Osceola’s luncheon prior to the pep rally has sold out, but you can join The Osceola at the Temple Bar Inn Friday at 7 pm, preceding the Dublin Edition of FSU’s “Inside Seminole Football weekly radio show.

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