Year
built: 1925
Capacity: 273
Male or female? Always male.
They Call Themselves: Manorites or Men of the
Manor, owing to the castle-like architecture of the dorm; prior
to that, the Marauders, a tribute to their interhall football
success in the 1970s.
Named for: Father Andrew Morrissey, CSC (1860-1921),
president of Notre Dame from 1893 to 1905. Morrissey was unexpectedly
chosen as Notre Dame's seventh president by his dying predecessor,
Father Thomas Walsh, CSC. He opposed plans for expansion and strived
to maintain Notre Dame's reputation as a "compact, tidy little
boarding school." His efforts failed, and he oversaw construction
of many additions to campus, including Corby Hall, the Grotto
and the first central heating plant.
Distinguishing Features: Patterned after buildings
at Oxford, Morrissey boasts unique architectural details reminiscent
of both English and Spanish architecture, including a west-wing
balcony that was originally designed as a pulpit for passing funeral
processions. In fact, the entire dorm is an experiment in Gothic
design. Architect Francis Kervick incorporated asymmetrical details
including an off-center front door, a one-sided spire and mismatched
roof-lines. A statue of Morrissey's patron saint, the apostle
Andrew, stands to the left of the dorm's entrance. Inside, the
entrance hall's rich wood paneling and oversized fireplace were
once surrounded by crests of Oxford and Cambridge, painted on
the walls by students in the 1930s. The crests disappeared when
the Navy moved into the residence during World War II. Morrissey
is notorious for having the smallest rooms on campus; all 127
were built as singles. Morrissey's fifth-floor tower, formerly
a residential space, is now a study lounge.
History Made There: Manorites take pride in
their dorm being one of the first to have its own fight song.
According to legend, "Fight on for Morrissey" was written by former
Manorite Bill Murphy '74 in an attempt to rally the hall's football
team over arch-rival Dillon. Sung to the tune of what Murphy then
thought to be the second-greatest college fight song ever -- USC's
"Fight On" -- "Fight on for Morrissey" spurred both the football
and hockey teams on to interhall championships in 1972.
They Lived There as Students: the executive
director of the Pro-Life Action League, Joseph Scheidler '50;
national security adviser to President Reagan, Richard V. Allen
'57, '58; baseball legend Carl "Yaz" Yastrzemski '61; former chief
of staff to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, J. David Hoppe
'73; co-founder of Bookstore Basketball, Vince Meconi '75; basketball
star Kelly Tripucka '81; starting forward for the NBA's Golden
State Warriors, Troy Murphy '02.
Lore: Although Morrissey currently enjoys a
reputation as the "gentleman's dorm," civility was not always
its trademark, particularly in the case of the "Dirty Thirty."
The unsavory nickname was given to a group of 30 residents who
lived in the dorm's popular basement-level rooms, sharing only
one bathroom. In 1996, a poll by Link, The College Magazine,
named Morrissey named the worst residence hall in the United States.
The Dirty Thirty rooms were converted into laundry facilities
and social space during Morrissey's 1997-98 renovation, partially
due to the ungovernability of male residents with ground-level
windows.
Traditions: On the morning of the first home
football game each year, Morrissey residents wake at 7:15 to take
part in the "Breakfast Club." In an attempt to rally fellow Domers
for game-day festivities, Manorites parade around campus singing
the hall's fight song and wearing only their boxer shorts. Morrissey
also has a Christmas dance, formerly held in the hall. More recent
additions include a campuswide golf tournament and Yaz's, a student-run
food-sales operation said to offer the "finest in freezer-food
name brands." The most popular Morrissey event is the Manor Knockdown,
a semiannual tournament of wrestling matches held in the third-floor
lobby, referred to as "God's Courtroom." The Knockdown has been
known to feature both brother vs. brother and roommate duels.
-- Susie Schaab '03
