A view in Sligo County, Ireland. Photo by Sally Y. Hart

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, and while it may be over 3,800 miles from Washington, Iowa, to Dublin, Ireland, it is only a few miles west on G38 to where the town of Dublin, Iowa, once stood. Local historian Michael Zahs shares the little town once had a school, a newspaper, a couple of general stores and a doctor. The last store closed in the 1960’s.

Zahs shared he and some friends started parades there in the 1990’s for St. Patrick’s Day, the first had one of everything – a one person marching band, one tractor, one politician and one car. He adds the event became very popular but because it was along a county highway, and there are no blocks in Dublin, they had to stop for safety. Soon, they had hundreds of people coming. One year, Christie Vilsack, wife of then Governor Tom Vilsack was the parade’s grand marshall and they even had planes overhead some years.

To hear more about Dublin, Iowa, listen to the full interview with Mike Zahs click here.