03/17/05

A sea of green and T-shirts proclaiming "Kiss me, I'm Irish" met pedestrians walking down just about any Boston street today.

There was green beer in pubs, green donuts in Dunkin Donuts, green flowers at local florists, Irish music piping from pub doorways, and corn beef and cabbage sprouting on menus throughout the city. Nor was Boston alone in its celebration. On google's web site, the logo was
surrounded by shamrocks and wore a leprechaun hat. And green basketballs were used in the first round of March Madness games.

But outside of Dublin perhaps, Boston's traditions for the holiday are as rich as any city. It's not surprising. In 1737, the city held the first public St. Patrick's Day celebration in the United States and since 1900 South Boston has held its annual St. Patrick's Day parade drawing 400,000 to 600,000 people.

Regardless of the day, Boston has done its part to remember the many Irish immigrants who came to the city in the 19th century by building an Irish Famine Memorial in the summer of 1998. Among its most famous Irish immigrants were the Kennedy family that gave the city and country a president.

Boston's Irish pride is best marked, perhaps, by its Irish pubs and restaurants. Among them are the Purple Shamrock, which provides live music, karaoke and DJ's at night; The Kinsale Irish Pub and Restaurant, which serves a beef and Guinness stew; Clery's, named Best of Boston: Best Neighborhood Bar in 2002 for having over 400 regulars and 16 draught beers; The Black Rose, established in 1976 and a site of live Irish entertainment every night for over 25 years, earning it a spot as one of America's top ten Irish establishments; and Jose McIntyre's, Boston's only Mexican-Irish bar with its 60-ounce margaritas. And if drinking and eating alone don't do the trick, those looking for an Irish night can go to Hurricane O'Reilly's, where beer can be followed by a Boston Celtic's basketball game right across the street.

Of course, one needn't actually be Irish to visit these establishments. At least not today. Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day.

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