The 3rd annual Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Parade is set for Saturday, March 13, at 2 p.m. in the ghost town that comes back to life every March.

Planners promise that as usual the event will be “fun, light-hearted and completely disorganized. If you are expecting more, you have the wrong parade.”

There is only a single parade route this year, from east to west. It is a move that the committee felt would be safer and ease congestion around Dublin’s general store. In fact, the store is all there is to Dublin.

Anyone wishing to march in the unique parade should contact Gary Murphy, 319-653-5139. An entry may be anything: a float, a walking person, cars. The only limit is the individual imagination.

And, there’s more. The fun will continue into the evening with a special dinner set at the Ainsworth Opera House. The menu features Irish stew, corned beef and cabbage, Irish potatoes, Irish soda bread, salads, beverages and dessert. Cost is $8 for adults, $4 for children (6-12) and those five or younger are admitted free.

The buffet is available from 6-7 p.m. and will be followed by entertainment, featuring singing (Irish music, of course) and possibly an Irish clown.

To reserve a place at the Irish dinner, call Murphy or send a self-addressed stamped envelope (with payment) to Gary Murphy, 1617 N. Marion Ave., Washington, Iowa 52353. Make checks payable to Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Committee.

All reservations are due March 6. No tickets will be sold at the door.

History

Once upon a time there was a Chicago radio station that decided that a good St. Patrick’s Day promotion would be a contest for a trip to Dublin (Iowa, that is). After all, ther was such a place on the map and it was only hours from Chicago. What the station did not know is that although still on an Iowan map, Dublin was a ghost town consisting of exactly one building.

In its 19th Century heyday, the town had hundreds of inhabitants, a number of stores, a few taverns and even a chees factory. But time had passed it by, leaving only the on-time general store at the crossroads.

When the Chicago promotion took place in the 1960s, Washington County residents heard about it. Especially when the winners learned just which Dublin they were suppos to visit. So, the county residents brought the town back to life for the winners.