Seven St. Patrick’s Day Events in New Bedford

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by Nicholas Walecka
by Nicholas Walecka

The crew I hang with doesn’t usually need an excuse to go out and drink, but this Saturday offers an opportunity to truly pour out your drinking heart and soul to honor the passing of St. Patrick (March 17th is believed to be the day he died).

The last time St. Patrick’s Day fell on a Saturday was in 2007, and minus those poor suckers who will be running in the New Bedford Half Marathon the next day, many of New Bedford’s finest will be looking get their fix of some Irish fare.  Here’s list of seven places you should check out if you don’t want to be called green by your fellow Irish-for-a-day friends.

One place you do NOT want to go on St. Patrick’s Day is jail, and it’s never smart to get behind the wheel of a car after you’ve been drinking Guinness all day long.  Writing down the phone number for Bluebird Cab (508-999-1124) is a solid starting point.  It would be a good idea to have the number on hand because you may not be capable of looking it up on your phone when it’s time to go home.

St Patrick's Day New BedfordThe Garden (133 Union St.) is always a fine choice to either start, spend, or end your night, and even though they don’t necessarily offer anything exciting in particular, legions of devoted drinkers have always made their way down to the Garden on St. Patrick’s Day.  Heck, even Joni Mitchell wrote about getting back to the place in her song “Woodstock.” (Just kidding about that last part.)

Named after the capital city of Ireland, Dublin’s (1686 Acushnet Ave.) will be celebrating their first of what they hope to be many St. Patrick’s Days on the Avenue. It will surely be populated with patrons ready to throw down a few Irish Car Bombs (relax, it’s only a drink). They’ll be open at 9am for an Irish Brunch (which goes until 12) and there will be performances by The Shenanigans from 1-5pm and by Mark Dignan from 6pm-12am.  There will also be a special Irish menu, drink specials, and promotions all day long.  Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the door.

Danny’s Seafood (574 North Front St.) is typically known for what it is named for—seafood.  But on St. Patty’s Day, they bring the beef with a hearty boiled dinner of corned beef and cabbage.  Just a few achars down the road from Dublin’s, it’s a good place to stop to get a good belly full before (or after) you decide to hit the hooch somewhere else.

If you’re looking for something a little different than your traditional Irish celebration, head on down to The Black Watch Pub (266 Dartmouth Street) where they will present “Erin Go Bragh-less,” a record release appearance for New Bedford rock act Everything Burns. Other New Bedford rock trio Weld Square will perform, along with Maine’s No Sane Man (their guitarist, Chris Souza, is from New Bedford) and Boston’s Letterday.  Doors open at 8pm, and admission is $5. Get there shortly thereafter if you plan on going inside.

Most locals probably don’t know that Hibernia (109 William St.) translates to “Ireland” in Latin.  It’s fairly obvious that any Irish establishment is probably a safe bet on St. Patty’s Day, but Hibernia is owned and operated by Barry Flynn, a native of Ireland, so this won’t be your average American impersonation of the Irish.  They’ll be traditional Irish music, and they’ll have corned beef and cabbage all day as well, as well as “the usual madness,” according to one of their bartenders the last time I stopped in.  He was Irish too I think, and I base that merely off his strong Irish accent.

Anyone who has EVER claimed to have been out on St. Patty’s day in New Bedford has graced the temporary outdoor tent at Kirby’s Irish Pub (818 Kempton St.) that is set up every year to accommodate the masses that pass through their doors.  Though they don’t have anything else really special planned, they’ll be music, some food, the tent, and a lot of people drinking.  It usually promises to be a lot of fun—unless you don’t usually drink or enjoy fun.  In that case I would advise you to stay home, like you always do. The place used to be called The Irish Immigrant.  What else could you need?

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4 comments

  1. what the heck is they’ll? I will certainly look
    out for that in the future. thanks Ted!

    • They will? Haha – nice job! Keith might bring me by a local church in CO for a fine meal on St. Patrick’s Day.

  2. ****UPDATE****
    Tickets for DUBLIN’s front and back room bash will be $5 at the door!!!

  3. Catherine Beaulieu

    Nice article! Keep up the good work! Be safe!!!! 🙂 —-Love Auntie xo

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