Irish men and women, Irish-Americans and the Irish-for-a-day will converge Wednesday at O’Connell’s Irish Pub & Grille for the Norman restaurant’s annual St. Patrick’s Day blowout.

However, not even owner Jeff Stewart knows if this party will be the last green-themed bash at the bar’s original location on the southeast corner of East Lindsey Street and Jenkins Avenue.

While Stewart owns the business, OU owns the property on which his bar has sat since 1968. The university bought the land and buildings on that corner in January 2007, according to information obtained in an open-records request. Stewart’s lease expired in October of that year, and the purchase agreement stated all leases, save one, were to be concluded by December 2007.

The lone outlier was Subway’s lease of part of the building adjacent to O’Connell’s. That agreement concluded in August 2009. However, the sandwich shop still occupies the space at 1301 Jenkins Ave.

One tenant, King Kopy, moved from the lot to Boyd Street. O’Connell’s was set to follow suit, Stewart said. He even went so far as to open a new location on Campus Corner, in anticipation of the need to move out of the original location.

Moving day for Stewart and O’Connell’s has yet to come, though the location on Campus Corner remains. Stewart said his lease at the original spot is now month to month.

“I was kind of apprehensive about that relationship to begin with, but it’s been a very good relationship,” he said.

Stewart said he anticipates being able to keep his Irish pub open in its original location for the remainder of 2010, though he said there have not been any guarantees from OU in that regard. He said he’s asked for a 90-days’ notice from OU before having to leave.

“I’m pretty confident it will be [here] through football season,” Stewart said. “Again, that’s not definite, but I’m pretty confident it will be.”

O’Connell’s’ existence catty corner to Oklahoma Memorial Stadium beyond the close of the calendar year is even less certain, Stewart said.

OU’s plans for the O’Connell’s property remain up in the air. OU plans to build a new facility to replace Wilkinson, Jones and Jefferson Houses, said Jay Doyle, university spokesman. Those structures are directly east of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium across Jenkins Avenue. Right now, they are used as dormitories for athletes and other students, Doyle said. The land on which O’Connell’s now sits may be used for part of that project, Doyle said.

The land also may be used for additional university parking, Doyle said. However, neither one of those projects are likely to proceed until Oklahoma’s economic situation improves, Doyle said.

Stewart does have a plan for the day when and if that notice comes from OU.

When Stewart began making plans in 2007 to close, inquiries came in from former and current patrons who wanted to secure a piece of memorabilia from the saloon. The most popular requests have been for the pictures of softball teams along with other photos that line the walls of O’Connell’s, Stewart said.

However, Stewart said he has fielded requests for just about anything related to the bar that opened in 1968. Someone even wants to buy the bar itself to put into a renovated basement, Stewart said.

“We’ve had people who just wanted a set of tables and chairs for their den,” he said.

And the success of the two-location system has Stewart thinking about even further expansion, he said. North Oklahoma City would be the most likely location for another O’Connell’s, though Stewart said nothing is definite yet.

No new location or continued business success will make a potential last day on Lindsey Street any easier. Stewart said he realized that when he spoke to another former Norman business owner who closed his doors.

“He said the hardest thing you’re going to have is walking out of here the last time,” Stewart said. “And, he’s probably right. That probably will be one of the toughest days of my life.”