I suppose this advice is impossible in Ireland if you have your heart set on going to a bar since all bars by definition are Irish.

I don’t drink much anymore for health reasons. When I was younger, I usually visited a bar on St. Patrick’s Day for a pint or two of green beer. I’m not Irish, but hey I never missed an excuse to celebrate.

I have made the mistake of going to an Irish bar on St. Patrick’s Day. For one, there is usually a cover charge just to get into the bar. Unless I’m going to be seeing boobs, I am not paying a cover charge (not that I would visit such a place, of course). The bar will be packed and noisy. There will be long waits to get overpriced drinks. It’s just simply not worth it. 

The same rule would apply to a Mexican bar on Cinco de Mayo. Although, it appears this holiday is much more popular in the US than it is in Mexico.

By the way, my stock answer when someone asks me whether I’m wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day is the following: “Does gangrene count?”

Nevertheless, Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!

3-17-20

What a difference a year makes! Even the people in Ireland will not be visiting Irish bars today because the Irish government issued an order to close all bars/pubs on the eve of St. Patrick’s day at least through March 29th. 

I feel bad for the staff and the publicans (fancy name for bar owners). This is a major financial hit. Depending on how long this public health crisis lasts, some of these businesses may not recover.

However, there are people for whom I don’t feel bad. I don’t feel bad for the people who are complaining about bars being closed ostensibly on behalf of the workers but actually for their own self-interest. If you are complaining that you can’t go to a bar because it’s closed due to a pandemic, it’s time to evaluate your priorities.

Last month I tweeted: “You know the coronavirus scare is real when guys who don’t wash their hands in the men’s room are pretending to wash their hands, and guys who normally pretend to wash their hands in the men’s room are actually washing their hands.”

Stay healthy and consider that your decisions affect you AND those around you AND the people around them. We are all going to have some inconvenience and discomfort for a while.