In this small southern Minnesota town, you'll find a little piece of Ireland

St. Patrick's Day is coming up and they'll be celebrating in Kilkenny, Ireland and in Kilkenny, Minnesota.

Kilkenny may have a pickle water tower, but it's the shamrock most people notice. It's become the official symbol of this little Irish community.

"Because there used to be a pickle factory up there. Needless to say, they put up a water tower that looks like a pickle," Mayor Tammy Holicky said. "It's a great town and you don't have to be fully Irish to be part of this Irish spirit." 

That's true, but Celtic pride runs deep.

"It's not just about a drinking party and a big parade, it's more about the stories and the history," Kevin Taaffe said.

History that Taaffe said began with his ancestor Denis Doyle, who was born in Kilkenny, Ireland. He emigrated to the U.S. and eventually to St. Paul. In 1856, Doyle traveled to Le Sueur County.

"He landed on top of a hill, looked over the sprawling forest at the time and it reminded him of Kilkenny," said Taaffe.

Other Irish immigrants joined Doyle and the town was born. A century and a half later, in 2013, Taaffe, who was mayor at the time, got a visit from an Irishman with a thick accent.

"[he said] 'My name is Owen Hennessy, and I come from Kilkenny.' And I said, 'You're not from my Kilkenny.'" Taaffe said. "At that time, he proposed, 'Do you think you'd want to twin our cities?' I said, "What does it mean to twin cities?' Well, I think in America it's sister cities."

When it comes to population, they're far from twins — there are about 30,000 people in Kilkenny, Ireland and 150 in Kilkenny, Minnesota — but it's still a match made in Irish heaven that both cities feel lucky to have. 

On the wall of the library is an official twinning agreement, written in both Gaelic and English.

Downtown, a mural was just put up last fall to celebrate the twinning between the two cities. You'll find a similar mural in Kilkenny, Ireland.

Dozens of Irish names can also be found on gravestones in the town cemetery.

Some of the older ones memorialize settlers who were born in the other sister city and died here. The place means a lot to those who visit from Ireland.

"They were really kind of touched when they walked through the cemetery because, like they said, when they walked through here, it felt like home. All the Irish names and all the Irish places on the gravestones," said Taaffe.

During more festive times, Kilkenny celebrates not on St. Patrick's Day, but during their "Half-Way to St. Patrick's Day" celebration in September. They paint a giant shamrock in the middle of town, Guinness beer is served at the local saloon and then they do something that doesn't require you to be Irish, but it does require you to have a toilet

Holicky said people decorate their toilets and essentially race them. It's a pot of gold of a different kind.  

"They've been doing it as long as it's been going on," Holicky said. "It's been just a fun time. Everybody loves it."

That's what this town is all about: celebrating the old Irish traditions while making new ones.

"I think when you come to a place like this, you know there's that history," said Taaffe. "To be in Kilkenny with Kilkenny people, that's pretty special."

Kilkenny celebrates their "Half-Way to St. Patrick's Day" festivities on the second Saturday and Sunday in September, but they said that for St. Patrick's Day, they still get pretty busy.