A US city has set itself the challenge of breaking the Guinness World Record for the largest human shamrock just in time for St Patrick’s Day.
Last year The Irish Post reported the story of Elmira, the city that tried to break the record with more than 1,000 participants.
At the time, it was assumed that the people of Elmira had succeeded in breaking this most distinctly Irish of records.
However, despite the presence of some 1,200 participants, the powers that be over at Guinness determined that the gaps between the people making up the shamrock were too substantial.
Not to be deterred, the people of Elmira are returning for a second bite at the four leaf clover record.
According to WENY News, Jennifer Herrick and Elmira Downtown Development, Inc. have announced that the second official attempt at the World’s Largest Human Shamrock will be on March 15 at 1 p.m. at the city’s Eldridge Park baseball fields.
There’s just one slight snag: two other communities in the US will be competing for the same Guinness World Record.
More importantly, Guinness are refusing to say what each community is aiming for meaning it could require anywhere upwards of 1,500 people to break the record.
Not that it matters to Herrick.
"I think it's just community pride,” she told WENY.
“There's so much going on in the city of Elmira now, and this is just a way to garner that constant community pride that we have for the city and the county, and St. Patrick’s day is a day where everybody is Irish in Elmira so it's a day of celebration."
With less than a month to go until St Patrick’s Day, the race is on.
