19 spots to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in the D.C. area

Guinness closed its Baltimore County production facility last summer — the “Baltimore” Blonde is now made at F.X. Matt in Utica, N.Y. — but the Irish brewery’s taproom and experimental brewery in Halethorpe remains open. Since Guinness retains such strong ties to St. Patrick’s Day, it’s holding events over four weekends, including a four-course beer dinner with Sean Hunter, the executive chef at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin (March 1); live music Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons (March 1-24); traditional Irish music and dancers on Saturdays and Sundays (March 9-10 and 16-17); and an Irish Village with beer tastings, food stalls, oyster and beer pairings, and ticketed events (March 8-10 and 15-17). Through March 24. Times vary. 5001 Washington Blvd., Halethorpe. guinnessbrewerybaltimore.com. Free admission to brewery; event prices vary.

The 41st parade sponsored by the Ballyshaners — that’s “Old Towners” in Gaelic — brings marching pipe and drum bands, troupes from Irish dance schools, costumed military reenactors, Irish dogs, and Irish civic organizations to the streets of Old Town Alexandria, in addition to the usual mix of classic cars, Scout groups, bands and floats representing local businesses. This year’s parade begins at King Street and St. Asaph Street at 12:15 p.m., wrapping up at the corner of Fairfax and Cameron streets. Afterward, the Irish pubs and bars of Old Town are overflowing with music and fun. Daniel O’Connell’s, owned by parade emcee John Brennan, has live music from Brendan’s Voyage throughout the afternoon and performances by the Boyle School Irish Dancers in the afternoon and evening. Port City Brewing is taking over King & Rye’s patio at the Alexandrian hotel for live Irish music, plus food and drinks. March 2. Locations vary. ballyshaners.org.

The Old Brogue in Great Falls is a lively place on St. Patrick’s Day, with bands playing from 11 a.m. to last call, and crowds enjoying pints of Guinness and Smithwicks soon after doors open at 10 a.m. But the cozy pub, celebrating its 43rd birthday this year, is a destination for music fans in the weeks leading up to St. Patrick’s, thanks to the annual Winter Celtic Concert Series. Driven by wooden flute, fiddle and bodhran, longtime favorite Iona takes listeners on a voyage from Ireland to Cornwall to Brittany (March 3). The following Sunday, Karen Ashbrook and Paul Oorts perform a mix of Irish, French and Flemish songs, with Ashbrook’s hammer dulcimer and flute complementing Oorts’s harp guitar and accordion (March 10). Each night features two separate 90-minute performances, with doors open 10 minutes before showtime. March 3 and 10 at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. 760 Walker Rd., Great Falls. oldbrogue.com. $21, plus $10 food and drink minimum per person.

St. Patrick’s Day is an Irish holiday, but how much do you know about the history and culture? Profs and Pints is an entertaining lecture series that brings college professors into local bars to share their knowledge. Over the next few weeks, you can learn about a variety of topics, including Ireland’s long history of emigration from Matthew Dziennik, who teaches Irish and British history at the Naval Academy (March 3 at Crooked Run in Sterling, March 11 at Penn Social in Penn Quarter); Ireland’s 20th-century struggle for independence with Kevin Matthews, a former journalist who teaches European history at George Mason (March 5 at Penn Social, March 17 at Crooked Run); and the Emerald Isle’s rich history of poetry, music and language with Seán Ó Coistealbha, a Fulbright foreign language teaching assistant at Catholic University, during “Ireland 101” (March 17 at Penn Social). March 3-17. Locations and start times vary. See profsandpints.com/washingtondc for a full schedule. $13.50-$17.

Montgomery County’s alfresco Acoustics and Ales concert series takes on an Irish character for this happy hour in a Silver Spring community park. Music is provided by the Barleyjuice Trio, who perform Celtic tunes on accordion, guitar and bagpipes, among other instruments. The afternoon also features a performance by students of the Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance. Silver Spring’s McGinty’s Public House serves food, alongside the Catalyst Hot Dogs truck, while beers come from the Silver Branch and Third Hill breweries and Two Story Chimney pours hard cider. March 9 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 315 University Blvd. W., Silver Spring. montgomeryparks.org. Free.

For more than two decades, Ireland’s Four Courts has been a fixture on Arlington’s bar scene, known for its multiday St. Patrick’s celebrations. Sadly, those couldn’t happen in 2023: The Court House pub suffered extensive damage when a car drove through the front of the building in August 2022, and it didn’t reopen for more than a year. But a week of parties return to Wilson Boulevard this year, kicking off with a Saturday morning fun run before Ireland faces England in the Six Nations rugby tournament (March 9). There’s English soccer (March 10), an Irish-themed pub quiz (March 12), and nights promoting Jameson (March 13) and Guinness (March 14) before the big weekend. Doors open at 8 a.m. March 16 and 8:30 a.m. on St. Patrick’s Day itself, with live music from a merry-go-round of performers as well as step dancing groups. See the website for a full schedule. March 9-17. 2051 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. irelandsfourcourts.com.

After a few days recovering from the Alexandria St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Murphy’s dives headlong into the packed week of events leading up to the holiday. Highlights include “St. Practice Day” Irish dancers and live music from Pat Garvey and Poehemia after the rugby on March 9; Irish trivia and live music on March 12; a chance to show off your Guinness-pouring skills during a “perfect pint contest” on March 14; and big parties on both March 16 and 17, with doors opening at 9 a.m. for Irish dancers and music all day with Pat Carroll, Garvey and Rook Richards. March 9-17. 713 King St., Alexandria. murphyspub.com.