Wichita Falls Mourns Loss of Beloved Downtown Festival Founder

Danny Ahern, the co-owner of the Iron Horse Pub and the guy who started the big St. Patrick’s Day downtown festival, has passed away.

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Danny moved to the U.S. from Ireland in 1996. In 2000, he teamed up with John Dickinson to open the Iron Horse Pub, one of the coolest spots for live music downtown. It was even named one of Texas’s top 10 live music venues.

That same year, he kicked off the St. Patrick’s Day downtown festival, which started at the pub and became a huge yearly event.

In 2005, Danny became a U.S. citizen. He also helped bring in music acts for events like Hotter’N Hell and Falls Fest and supported several local charities.

Personally, every single time I ran into Danny he was always a pleasure to be around. He was warm-hearted, funny, charismatic, and just a joy to talk to (when you could understand him!) His thick Irish accent did not wain even a little bit even after living in Texas for all these years.

You will be missed by many people, my friend.