“Y’all think you’re known for Mardi Gras, across the world,” comedian Jermaine “Funnymaine” Johnson recently told an audience in Mobile. “No, the world knows y’all for that leprechaun.”
It’s been 15 years since Brian Johnson, then a reporter for NBC affiliate WPMI-TV15 , went to investigate a commotion in Mobile’s Crichton area and came back with an entry in the viral video hall of fame. After some residents reported seeing a mysterious figure in a tree, others piled on to add to the creation of a modern myth: The Crichton Leprechaun.
The block-party atmosphere of the event rapidly faded, as did reports of sightings. But an amateur sketch featured in the report became a part of Mobile’s iconography, an icon as instantly recognizable as the spire of the RSA Tower, the silhouette of the USS Alabama or the oft-painted cannon at the intersection of Government and Houston streets. It’s been featured on beer labels, T-shirts, Mardi Gras floats and who knows what else.
When an AL.com reporter investigated the phenomenon and its legacy in 2019, several interesting points emerged. Among them: The original sketch was auctioned off for $1,100, with proceeds to benefit the American Red Cross.