This Small Town Boasts Loads of St. Patrick’s Day Fun
(featured image is from the Visit Dublin Georgia Facebook page)
I am not one for very large crowds or out of control celebrations, truly. So while one coastal Georgia town may brag about their St. Patrick’s Day festivities, please pardon me for committing what some might say is blasphemy, but I think I would much rather take a sooner exit off of I-16 and head into the charming town of Dublin, Georgia.
Now, I have already fallen in love with this town before as some of y’all might recall. (If you don’t, or you need a refresher, please see Girl Meets City: Dublin.) So I’m already well acquainted with its charm. But, what all do they have going on for this holiday?
One might think that since Dublin is the oldest town of that name in the United States that they surely would have one of the oldest celebrations in honor of St.Patrick, right? Actually, no, some sources say that honor belongs to St. Augustine. A quick Google search brought me to a blog post on just when this festival started in Dublin.
“Though it is the oldest Dublin in the United States and in 1966, the largest Dublin in the country, Dublin, Georgia had no St. Patrick’s Festival. Dick Killebrew, radio station W.M.L.T.’s morning radio personality celebrated St. Patrick’s day by playing Irish music and telling Irish stories and jokes. Gradually it occurred to Killebrew that the city needed to have a celebration of its Irish heritage. After all he was in Dublin. He enlisted the aid of Ed Hilliard, the station manager, and with the help of Anne Everly and other members of the station’s staff, the wheels were set in motion. W.H. Champion, editor of the Dublin Courier Herald, was asked to join in the establishment of the festival. Representatives of civic clubs were invited to join Killebrew, Hilliard, Champion and their staffs, and on January 31, 1966, the St. Patrick’s Festival was official born.” (From http://dublinlaurenscountygeorgia.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-1966-saint-patricks-festival.html.)
This above quoted blog post goes into great detail about the very first St. Patrick’s events in Dublin back in 1966. But what about today?
Would it surprise you to know that some events have already started? Everything kicked off last month, actually, but there’s still plenty of fun to be had! I’ve got two sources on this matter. First, check out the Dublin St. Patrick’s Festival website. They’ve got schedules of events and more.
Some of my favorite recaps of what all is going on is happening on my friend Piper Ellice’s blog– I love following her Instagram posts on what all is happening during the festival and really anything in Dublin.
View this post on Instagram
Making my mark… 🎨 @dublinstpatricksfestival @visitdublinga #visitdublinga #downtowndublin #stpats
So, what do you plan to do for St. Patrick’s Day? I think I’ll be heading down to Dublin this weekend for their Arts & Crafts festival and eating lots of the amazing goodness at Deano’s Pizza. And I’m kind of bummed I just realized they are having a Gala event- I love any reason to get dressed up!
Love to all y’all,
Molly
