John Doran isn’t hard to find. With his friendly and spirited demeanor and that habit of wearing the iconic green cutaway suit and bowler hat, he’s one of the most recognizable students on campus.
Learn a little more about the man in the leprechaun suit.
The Basics:
Name: John Doran
Graduation Year: 2016
Dorm: O’Neill (off-campus)
Major: Accounting
Hometown: Troy, NY
Relationship Status: Single
A Little Extra:
Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Cereal: RBC (Raisin Bran Crunch)
Favorite TV show: The Office
One Direction or Justin Bieber: Justin Bieber, no doubt.
If you could have one secret pet to keep in your dorm, what would it be? Definitely a dog.
Favorite season: Fall
Favorite Song/Pump-up Song: “Here Comes the Money” by Naughty by Nature
Spirit Animal: Eli Manning
Fun Fact that Nobody Knows: My long history of waiting until the last minute to do school work has made me work great under pressure.
On School (He’s not just the leprechaun!):
Favorite Class/Professor: Acting for the Non-Major with Anton Juan
Favorite ND tradition: Can’t really pick one specifically, but nothing beats a home football Saturday.
Favorite Study Spot: Kitchen table
Dining Hall preference: South, obviously.
Favorite Dining Hall meal: Making my own quesadilla.
Best Football Game Ever Attended: Michigan, Junior year
Life as the Leprechaun:
What was the hardest part about becoming the ND Leprechaun? It is a pretty big time commitment. Much more than I anticipated. It was a big change from freshman and sophomore year.
How did you decide that being the Leprechaun was something you wanted to do? Everyone has always told me I looked like a leprechaun and I’m a pretty outgoing kid so I figured I would give it a try.
Did you have any previous mascot experience? No, I’ve just always been a pretty loud fan of the teams I watch.
Is it strange to see yourself in all the ND media and on TV? It depends on the situation. I don’t usually rewatch the game on TV so I only see it when friends send me pictures during the game. It’s pretty funny most of the time. I’m always just hoping I don’t do anything embarrassing because my roommates like to make fun of me.
What is your favorite part of being the Leprechaun? Traveling across the country and seeing the Irish fans from all over is pretty special. Everyone is always excited to see me and being on the field for the games is pretty exciting.
Do you have any pre-game rituals? Only thing I really do every game is get a picture of the stadium before the game starts. It’s pretty cool to compare them all and I keep a little ranking of every stadium in my head.
Thanks for the interview, John!
Go Irish, Respect Navy!
XOXO, HCND
Follow HCND on Twitter, like us on Facebook, Pin with us and show our Instagram some love!.