Shamrock returns to Southern

RIO RANCHO — A painted shamrock made a comeback on a busy Rio Rancho intersection this St. Patrick’s Day.

The artwork, painted in an unmistakable Kelly green, was clearly visible Tuesday morning during a steady stream of traffic.

St. Patrick’s Day 2026 was just the latest sighting of the local shamrock, which some longtime residents noted was absent in recent years.

“We look forward to seeing that shamrock every year! The few times it hasn’t been here, it’s a little bit of a bummer,” said Kate Padilla, a certified dance teacher at the Brightburn Academy of Irish Dance in Rio Rancho. “It’s just a great reminder of the Irish culture that does exist here in New Mexico and Rio Rancho.”

The tradition, which dates back decades, was started by a small group, including former Observer Publisher Mike Ryan. The group, holding down a large stencil with their feet, would spray paint the shamrock outline before using roller brushes to fill in the rest. Their work was all done in the middle of the night, when local law enforcement and volunteers would help the group block off traffic, said Rio Rancho resident Elizabeth Kenney Garcia.

Garcia, who painted the shamrock during its early years, said the group would take pictures of themselves with their work after it was done. She would call her dad, an Irishman, in the middle of the night to brag about what she had done. 

“I said, ‘Dad, we painted the shamrock!’ He said, ‘You’re messed up!’” Garcia said with a laugh. “I said, ‘Well, I’ve got Italian-Irish in me — what do you think I’m supposed to be?’”

Garcia also recalls residents asking her if the group would paint a shamrock at every intersection on Southern, but they declined, she said. 

“You don’t want to do overkill because (one) kind of gives it a mysterious vibe, anyhow,” Garcia said. 

She believes the shamrock brings the community together. 

“A lot of parents say, ‘Look, the leprechauns came!’ And teachers love it, because then they tell their students, ‘Did you see the leprechauns came last night?’” said Garcia, noting the painted shamrock is not affiliated with Rio Rancho Public Schools. Additionally, the city of Rio Rancho said it is not involved in the tradition, either. 

Padilla explained how the shamrock is a low-growing plant with three-lobed leaves, used as the national emblem of Ireland. Originally, it was used by Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland, to explain the Holy Trinity, she said.

“(It is) very difficult to explain (that) there are three persons in one God — so he used three leaves of the shamrock to describe how one thing can be three different things,” Padilla said. “He converted so many in the country of Ireland, and so many of us are still Catholic today.”

While Padilla sees St. Patrick’s Day as a time to celebrate her faith — and get some Irish dancing in — it is also the one occasion she will see something truly unique: a shamrock in the middle of the road. 

“It’s a great way for Rio Rancho to be united and have something to look forward to in the spring,” Padilla said.