Dublin's Fair City

Kristin Cotter McGowan explores Dublin -- Dublin, Ohio, that is.

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Bridge Street, Dublin

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    This is not just a case of an American city with a European moniker. In  Dublin, Ohio just outside of Columbus, residents live on Innisfree Lane and Phoenix Park Drive, play links-style golf at the Golf Club of Dublin and root for the Shamrocks, Irish, and Celtics – all local high school teams. They frequent the Shoppes of Athenry and relax in Balgriffin and Trinity parks. The Dublin Community Recreation Center offers classes in Irish Dancing and named its theater after the famed Abbey in Ireland. Fire hydrants are painted green and the shamrock adorns everything from city signs to local business advertisements. The city has embraced the Irish culture for the fun and uniqueness of it … yet the care and attention paid to these Irish touches are indicative of the careful planning and attention to detail that has enabled Dublin to go from a small farming village of just under 700 in 1970 to a city of over 40,000 today without losing its close-knit community feel – or its continuing homage to all things Irish.

THE RARE OULD TIMES
    First inhabited by Native Americans, then settled by the Sells family in 1810, the limestone-rich land along the Scioto River began as a strong farming community named for land surveyor John Shields’s hometown in Ireland. The village developed slowly at first, but carefully. Wood and stone collected from cleared forests and fields were used to build homes, bridges, and stone walls that still survive. Some of the names of the original families – Sells, Karrer, Coffman, and Pinney – can still be found in the phone book as well as on streets and schools named in their honor.
    In the mid 1970s, life for this small village began to change rapidly after a trinity of events which deputy city planner Dana McDaniel says “set the standards for quality early on.” Construction of Interstate 270, the ‘outer belt’ around Columbus, drew more of the city population to the surrounding suburbs. It also brought the headquarters of Ashland Chemical, which in turn convinced Ohio to add an I-270 Interchange in Dublin. Ashland was the first corporate headquarters to locate in Dublin, followed by Wendy’s, the OCLC (Online Community Library Center), and later, Cardinal Health.
Around this time, world-renowned championship golfer and Columbus native Jack Nicklaus chose Dublin as the future site of a world-class golf course and tournament on par with Augusta National, site of the Masters. Nicklaus named the course Muirfield Village Golf Club, after Muirfield in Scotland, the site of Nicklaus’s first British Open title. The course is home to Nicklaus’s Memorial Tournament, and will host the President’s Cup in 2013. The quality of the course attracted residents to the Muirfield Village subdivision, which broke ground in 1974.
    As the town grew, the Irish touches took on a life of their own … the original limestone walls were continued throughout the town. Developers adopted Irish place names for subdivisions like Waterford Village and Donegal Cliffs. The shamrock, the popular symbol of Dublin for years, was officially adopted in 1973. Ten years later, Ha’Penny Bridge Irish Imports opened its doors in Dublin.
    While there was no directive from the town to incorporate Irish culture, according to community planner Sandra Puskarcik, “it was easy for Dublin, Ohio, to align with Dublin, Ireland. There is such a richness and diversity in the Irish culture that you can apply it in a respectful way to the fabric of the community. Some of those things were here naturally – like the stone walls – and some we had to learn and continue with.”

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