McGlinn Hall stands on West Quad, just beyond South Dining Hall. From a distance, you can see the McGlinn Shamrocks painted on the windows in their signature green and white. Built in 1997, the hall is home to about 270 women across 7 sections, making it one of the largest female residence halls.
Despite the sheer number of girls living in the dorm, McGlinn has a super tight-knit, passionate community that gets stronger every day. They love their home—I had so many girls message me to volunteer information and fun anecdotes for this article. Connections are made between sections, classes, hall staff, and residents through all kinds of events, both official and not. For example, Senior Sundays consist of seniors in the section alternate hosting their room to chat over tea and snacks. Or bonding during the few hours before dances which are spent swapping dresses and jewelry or the Christmas decoration contest that revs up everyone’s competitive spirit. (I’ve been told bounce houses, balloons, skits, and hiding in recycling bins were involved just this past year.) Students can also get involved in Mass, held Sunday, Monday, and Thursday in the St. Bridget of Kildare Chapel.
Sister Mary Lynch, the rector, is a shining beacon for all of McGlinn. She is all in with the community and looks after her girls with compassion, and they return the favor. Last year, while she was undergoing chemotherapy, they set up a system to bring her meals from the dining hall, surprised her by wearing fanny packs like her medical pack, and threw a party for her last treatment. The dorm rallies together in a similar way for interhall sports, for which they’ve won the Kelly Cup 10 out of the past 11 years.
The Shamrocks also pour all of their energy into their signature events, Casino Night and Bubble Soccer. Bubble Soccer is a relatively new event, in which people wear clear, inflatable bubbles and play soccer (just as chaotic as it sounds). Casino Night is a much older tradition and has evolved into a classic campus event, where students pay an entrance fee and receive a stack of fake money to gamble through blackjack, Texas Hold’em, and Roulette. The girls running the show dress to the nines to add to the experience for the packed room. All McGlinn fundraisers benefit St. Adalbert’s Catholic School, where they also send students to serve as tutors every week.
While at Notre Dame, there is no doubt you’ll someday be graced by the compassion of a McGlinn Shamrock. If you don't already live there, that is because if you do, you’re probably already out there, building a stronger community day by day.