On Wednesday, March 12, the Bowling Green State University Falcon Marching Band (FMB) began a three-legged journey by plane to perform on the homefront of Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations: Dublin, Ireland. 

“It’s the first time the band has been out of the U.S. The parade is really great…… There will be around 700,000 people on the parade route. It is well attended, well loved by the people of Ireland,” Waters said. “It’s a year and a half in the making, and we are excited,” FMB director Jon Waters said.  

The project is “a year and a half in the making” according to Waters.  

“You can imagine, the logistics of all the instruments, all the uniforms, hotels. Everybody getting passports; The travel stuff, the food, the itinerary: all of that stuff is a lot, to move this many people. We are on three international flights,” Waters said. 

Like the band itself,  it’s also junior film production major and alto saxophonist Dominic Merril’s first time out of the country. 

“It’s not a go there, perform and leave. We get to have fun! We will be looking at castles, we are staying in a hotel outside of Dublin for a couple nights. We are going to be able to appreciate the culture and the differences there,” Merril said.  

Senior women, gender and sexuality studies major and melophonist, Keith Richmond is performing for his last time as a part of the band Ireland. 

“I am expecting to have an absolute blast in Ireland. Having the performance at the end [of the week] makes you feel great because it’s like going out with a big bang. You pour your heart and soul into that performance,” Richmond said. 

The band will be performing an Irish jig, and “The Stars and Stripes Forever” in the city center. 

“Actually, the people of Great Britain and Ireland have turned the Stars and Stripes forever into one of their soccer cheers. So I thought, hey, this will be familiar to them, even though it’s an American song,” Waters said. 

Both students said nerves are running high for the performance, but are excited to make the trip with friends.

“Knowing that I am able to go with the school and represent myself with BG and with the band pushes me from being scared to being excited and passionate,” Richmond said. “We have traditions, and in my [instrument] section, we go around and say what we are thankful for. And that really helps you lock in.” 

Merril adds that the band is meant to represent the university in Ireland, which has added some stress to the trip.

“It’s stressful for us to make a good impression over there. We have had rehearsals every week, learning music;” Merril said, “We’ve had culture classes. Every rehearsal we are reminded that we are not just representing ourselves, we are representing the university.”

The band will be representing all large college marching bands as they aren’t typical in Europe.

“Music is the universal language. The great thing about the trip is large college marching bands are not typical in Europe. So when people see this many people marching in step, in time, in one place, one band: it’s impressive and it’s something that they’ve never seen before,” Waters said. 

FMB worked with the international study abroad office to coordinate students’ ability to utilize campus financing options. Merril and Richmond, along with their cohort, are expected to self-fund their trip abroad. 

“What I have done, and what other people have done, is I planned it into my loans when I took out my loans at the beginning of the year. I paid through the study abroad and my bill,” Merril said.

With working to get to Ireland, the trip just means that much more to band members.

“Coming from a small town, and not always having monetary opportunities definitely [cements that] this was done by my own hand. It makes the experience even more special to know everything I’ve done up to this point: I marched for 10 years; there are scholarships I worked for.” 

Waters worked to create a co-curriculum with the project to justify the allocations.

“All of the students are self funded, so everybody is paying their own way. At the start of the semester, we created an Ireland class around [the trip]. Students, if they wish, can use their scholarships and university funding for the trip,” Richmond said.

The rare occasion to go abroad brings pride to the band community. While Richmond and Merril both expressed the nerves and excitement of family, Merril owes a special favor to a community member. 

“I had a coworker from work actually give me 20 dollars and a postcard with his address for me to send a postcard; Him and his wife might never get to go,”  Merril said. 

In line with the BGSU mission to increase study abroad opportunities, Waters places international perspective next to traditional classroom education. 

“This really fits my educational philosophy for our students, in that I believe every Bowling Green Student should leave here with two pieces of paper: one: their diploma, and two, their passport.” 

The band will arrive early Thursday morning, Ireland time, performing in the parade on March 17, 8 a.m. EDT.