In October 1850, County Wexford priest Father Thomas Hore set sail with his entire parish to escape the Great Hunger and settle in America. There, he established Wexford, Iowa, as the first Catholic community for miles around, with his parish called Immaculate Conception. Upon his return to Ireland, he became a parish priest in County Wicklow and then established a loyal congregation in Wexford. At home, he became the parish priest of Cloughbawn, County Wexford, where he died in 1864 at age 69. Young Wexford, Iowa, residents are especially proud of their Irish heritage.