O'Brien County

Wikipedia

Notes

Mr. O'Brien's 1848 death sentence for sedition was commuted to deportation to Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania). The word Orab comes from orange and black, the school's colors.

Primghar is pronounced PRIM-gar.

Mister William Smith O'Brien,

An Irish revolutionary,

Went down to Tasmania.

He did not go as a missionary.

How did they name the county seat?

The story is bizarre.

First letters of the founders' names:

P-R-I-M-G-H-A-R.

Primghar's not large, just 900 folks,

But it is in the county's middle.

Sheldon is larger, with four thousand more,

And it does make Primghar look little.

At the high school in Sheldon, I have to say,

The teams have an unusual name.

They're called the Orabs. And why would that be?

You must ask an Orab to explain.