So how did 10 Iowans end up at the Kildysart Agricultural Show?

About 31 miles from our hometown is Dysart, Iowa, firmly planted in the heart of the Midwestern U.S.

So when, during our trip to Ireland this summer, we heard about the “Best in the West” ag show in Kildysart, County Clare, we had to go. 

As Iowans, we’re used to roaming around a county fair, oohing over the baby lambs and marveling over the fattest pig. The fair in Kildysart, then, didn’t deliver too much culture shock. But what it didn’t offer in shock, it over delivered in charm. To start: our directions, delivered by a blushing teen working at Fanny O Dea’s (established 1695): just follow the signs, ya can’t miss it. Indeed, the road signs led us straight to the field lined with combines and vintage cars. Luckily, we made it just in time for the dog show, where proud pet owners paraded the ring. We saw gleaming horses, handsome cows and of course, the sheep so familiar to us from our drives across the Irish countryside. We felt both at home and a world apart: it was truly a highlight of our time in the Emerald Isle. 

–Margaret Poe