This Friday, revellers across the city will head to the nearest pub for a pint of Irish dry stout in celebration of St Patrick’s Day. Though some might associate the annual date with glittery shamrock topped hairbands, ginger beards and green clothing, its roots are religious, tracing back to the early 1600s.
Designed to commemorate the death of St Patrick – the patron saint of Ireland – on 17 March, St Patrick’s Day was originally a religious feast day. These days, it’s a hugely popular celebration of Irish culture and an excuse to consume a ton of booze. Whether you’re after a couple of after work stouts or a full weekend of bottomless Guinness, Manchester can deliver.
Albert’s Schloss is putting an Irish spin on its popular sausage menu staple with the ‘Paddywurst’, there’ll be live, traditional Irish music at the likes of Bask, Edinburgh Castle and Hatch and also a couple of places to enjoy free Irish inspired tipples.
Read on for our round-up of where to celebrate St Patrick’s Day 2023 in Manchester.
Paddywursts and live music at Albert’s Schloss
Monday 13 – Friday 17 March
Nothing says St Patrick’s Day like a cold pint of Guinness with a shamrock stamped in the foam, and Albert’s Schloss is changing up its barrels so that the stout will be flowing freely on tap all weekend long. The bier palace is also putting a spin on its day-to-day menu, offering diners a ‘Paddywurst’, a special St Patrick’s Day sausage made with Cahill’s Irish porter cheddar and jalapeño, topped with onion, bacon slaw and German mustard all encased in a fluffy colcannon potato roll.
Live music at Bask
Friday 17 March
Just a short jaunt from Stockport train station, Bask, the bar, cafe and live music venue, will host an Irish knees up with live performances from Irish artists this Friday. First up is traditional Irish duo Matt & Donal who will play Irish singalong classics and non-Irish pop songs with a Gaelic touch via a lovely bit of accordion. Warming up for them is Two Of Us, a duo known for their sweet harmonies. Resident DJ and XS Manchester host, Gareth Brooks will then be taking over the decks into the early hours of Saturday morning.
Beef and Guinness pie special at The Black Friar
Friday 17 March
Guinness stews are up there with some of the best grub to get you through the winter months, and The Black Friar has taken things one step better by putting one in a pie this St Patrick’s Day. Famous for its seasonally changing pies, the Salford restaurant is offering a beef and Guinness pie and a pint of the good stuff for just £14 12-6pm this Friday. Pints of Guinness will also be on offer for £4 all day long – sláinte!
St Patrick’s Day Rock N Roll Bingo at Cooper Hall
Friday 17 March
Cooper Hall is back with a St Patrick’s Day Rock N Roll Bingo special this year, complete with all the usual classic rock hits and a high-energy take on the game. Guests can expect a live DJ smashing through metal, rock and indie hits as they tick off bands from their bingo sheet – whilst Shazamming all of the answers, as cheating is 100% encouraged. Cooper Hall’s basement bar has got everything you need to make a night of it, too, with plenty of beer on tap, including Guinness.
Bottomless pizza and Guinness at Crazy Pedro’s
Friday 17 March
The Crazy Pedro’s bottomless pizza offer is a Manchester institution and for St Patrick’s Day this year Pedro’s is adding Guinness into the bottomless booze mix. See how many schooners of Guinness and slices of crazy topping pizza you can cram into your 90 minute slot.
Irish all-dayer at Edinburgh Castle
Friday 17 March
Taking St Patrick’s Day from dawn to dusk in Ancoats, Edinburgh Castle’s all-day Irish festival features food and drink specials. There will also be live Irish music and plenty of pints of the black stuff. Performing across the event are Matt & Donal, Niamh Finan and Méabh Kennedy. Exec chef Shaun Moffat is one to watch, so expect some creative dishes with a gentle nod to Irish cuisine using ingredients like Irish oysters, cabbage and bacon.
Free pints of White Hag ale at Exhibition
Friday 17 March
Independent craft ale brewery, White Hag began its journey in the small town of Sligo on Ireland’s Atlantic Way. Crafted in the region’s rugged countryside, the beer has spread its wings with the recognisable logo now featuring on taps across the UK. Manchester’s Exhibition has got White Hag’s The Black Pig, Nitro Irish Stout and its Fleadh Celebration Ale on tap and is offering a free pint of the latter to the first 50 punters that ask for a fleadh (pronounced Flaa) on Friday. The word means ‘festive occasion’ in Gaelic.
Live music and discounted Irish whiskey at Hatch
Friday 17 March
One of the city’s first multi-trader street food concepts, Hatch is packed with indie food businesses, a huge outdoor seating area and even has a stage for weekly live music. For St Patrick’s Day 2023, the dining destination is hosting musicians all weekend including the Manchester Celtic Collective, Four Leaf Clovers and Helena Ward. As well as this, every time the 1998 hit C’est La Vie by Irish girl group B*Witched plays on Hatch’s sound system, a Jamesons, ginger ale and lime will cost £3.33 from the bar, but you’ll only have two minutes and 52 seconds to claim your cheap bev.
All-dayer at the Irish World Heritage Centre
Friday 17 March
The IWHC in Cheetham Hill is serving a full Irish breakfast from 9am-4pm with bar snacks available after that time. Live entertainment between 11am and 9pm comes from El Ray, Connoly, Last Race Home and Paul Doran. There will also be a funfair from 12-9pm. Children are welcome in the bar but only until 7pm.
Go on a tour of Little Ireland with New Manchester Walks
Friday 17 March
You may or may not know that the area around Oxford Road train station which is dominated by now-converted warehouses used to be known as Little Ireland. It got its name from the fact that this was where the (very mistreated) Irish workers lived, piled up in inhumane conditions in dilapidated housing that had Engels shuddering. Meeting at HOME, this free tour of the area will see attendees learn about the hard times faced by its inhabitants, visit the site of George Orwell’s doss house and hear stories about Auntie’s Bar to the tune of Waxie’s Dargle. There will also be the chance to enjoy “a glass of a black Irish health drink with a creamy head”.
Two-day Guinness party at The Lawn Club
Friday 17 – Saturday 18 March
The Lawn Club is going green this year, celebrating everything wonderful about the Emerald Isle. Kitted out in green lighting, a pop-up Guinness bar and a stage for live entertainment, Guinness guzzlers will be treated to live music from Irish folk band, Papillon and an Irish fiddle player, who will parade through the venue getting everyone on their feet. Entry is free to the event and walk-ins are welcome, however tables are available to pre-book to avoid any disappointment.
Traditional Irish bottomless menu at Motley
Friday 17 March
Running from 4.30pm – 7pm this St Patrick’s Day, Motley is giving its bottomless brunch menu a lucky Irish makeover offering diners a new pot of gold cocktail, green pints of beer and a feast of traditional Irish dishes. The bottomless pot of gold drink is made with Jameson’s Irish whiskey, orange liqueur, honey and cinnamon, and there are also ginger whiskey sours to sip on or Motley’s special green beer – your favourite lager dyed green for St Patrick’s Day. The food also welcomes you into the front room of a traditional Irish home with dishes such as lamb stew with Guinness gravy and champ mash, and an Irish take on poached eggs on toast served on toasted soda bread.
All dayer at Mulligan’s
17 March
Mulligan’s is often touted as pouring the best pint of Guinness you can get outside of Ireland so it’s a no brainer for St Patrick’s Day. This year the Deansgate bar will be opening its doors from 11am with live music kicking off at 1pm right through til midnight. The pub will also be showing the Cheltenham racing.
Free Guinness for Patricks and Patricias at O’Neill’s
13-17 March
O’Neill’s in the Printworks says it will be painting the town green all week, not just on Friday. There’s a week of Irish craic, drinks offers, sport and entertainment at the ever lively bar which will also tie in with the final of the Six Nations. If you download the O’Neill’s app you can get your hands on vouchers for a £2 pint of Guinness or a 2-4-1 Baby Guinness. If you’re lucky enough to be called Patricia or Patrick, you’re always going to be rewarded somewhere on 17 March, and at O’Neill’s people with either of those names can get themselves a free pint of the black stuff.
Guinness for breakfast at O’Shea’s
Doors open at 10am at O’Shea’s for “breakfast and pints” so if a pint of Guinness sounds like the ideal accompaniment to a bacon barm, you know where to head. Entry during the day is free with several hours of live music from 10:30 from Lochin, Joe Keegan and Green Hot Clover. The pub then closes between 5:30 and 7:30pm while staff say a few Hail Marys and prepare for the evening’s revellers to descend. From 7:30pm the evening event is ticketed and sold out but there will be some capacity for walk ins. Joe Keegan and Green Hot Clover will return to play out the evening.
Free Jameson’s cocktail at The Refuge
Friday 17 March
The first 50 people to head down to The Refuge this Friday will be gifted with a free Jameson cocktail – made with Ireland’s best selling brand of whiskey. The Refuge will also host pop-up food stalls serving Irish stew and Great North Pies, ideal to line your stomach for a long day of boozy shenanigans. There will also be live entertainment to soundtrack your St Patrick’s Day.
Paddy’s Day Party at Salt Dog Slims
Friday 17 March
Salt Dog Slims is going green this year, with green beer, green decor and even limited edition green Salt Dog Slims ‘Padidas’ t-shirts for those heading down. The free party combines all of the best St Patrick’s Day craic, including huge steins of Guinness, whiskey on tap (as well as loaded into water pistols), a flag waving competition, bar top dancing, live music and loads more. Running until 4am, it’ll probably be the place you’ll finish your night with absolutely no memory of whatsoever.
Celebrate The Union in Levenshulme’s 100th birthday
17 March and the rest of the year
The Union Irish Music bar in Levenshulme has painted the pub green to celebrate its 100th Anniversary which lands on St Patricks Day. It will host a 12-hour party to celebrate from noon on the big day. Lawrence Hennigan’s pub is adored by locals who will be enjoying live Irish music in the afternoon from Donegal, fiddle player Colleen Lanigan, and award-winning Irish Pipe band Fianna Phadraig – who will also bring the Irish Dancing. The Cheltenham Races will be on the big screen along with the Gaelic Athletics and there will be tunes til late from DJ Mary. The pub team, who have a rep for seasonal decorations that would give Danny Devito and Matthew Broderick a run for their money, have created a “shamrock room” in the pub with its own shamrock painted floor. Apparently the pub plans to celebrate its birthday for a whole year. If we ever get to a hundred, we’ll be doing the same.
Happy hour and live music at The Whiskey Jar
Friday 17 – Sunday 19 March
The Whiskey Jar is celebrating St Patrick’s Day with happy hour and live music all weekend. The bar will be pouring Guinness and Slane boilermakers for £7 each, two cocktails for £15 – including spritz, old fashioneds and margaritas – and also offering happy hour shots and discounted beers.
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