Irish Capital of Nebraska paints famed shamrock red in support of Huskers

O'NEILL, Neb. -- The Nebraska Cornhuskers are getting ready to play on Saturday in Ireland, so it is only fitting that O’Neill, the Irish Capital of Nebraska, honors the Big Red playing in the Emerald Isle.

O’Neill is known for a lot of green, but Friday night, the eve of the big game in Ireland, the O’Neill Men’s Club and other volunteers stopped traffic at the intersection of Highways 20 and 281, where the 65’ x 55’ World’s Largest Shamrock is permanently in cement, and painted it red in honor of the Cornhuskers. 

The northeast Nebraska community has some Big Red ties in Saturday’s game. Coach Scott Frost attended grade school at O’Neill Public Schools in 1980 and 1981 when his father Larry coached the O’Neill Eagles. Also, O’Neill’s Wyatt Liewer, a wide receiver for the Huskers, will be suited up for the game.

It took just under one hour to paint the shamrock red, outlined in white with the Husker N and Liewer’s #85 in white.