'Come get green': O’Connell’s Irish Pub and Grille to host St. Patrick's Day festival

O’Connell’s Irish Pub and Grille’s 53rd annual St. Patrick's Day celebration kicks off at 8 a.m. March 17 on Campus Corner. 

The pub will be serving a green eggs and ham breakfast at 8 a.m. and a lunch at 11 a.m. with dine-in, to-go and curbside options, according to O’Connell’s Facebook page.

There will be O’Connell’s St. Patrick's Day hats, t-shirts and beads for sale, and the 38-year tradition of collector’s beer mugs will continue this year, said owner Jeff Stewart.

Stewart has been the owner of O’Connell’s since 1979 and said he has his own St. Patrick's Day tradition.

“My favorite part is probably dressing up as a leprechaun and having fun,” Stewart said.

The pub will shut down Asp Avenue for the day to host the festival. The City of Norman encouraged the shut down as a way for patrons to socially distance, and the university is providing masks to O’Connell’s for the event, Stewart said.

Stewart said the day is all about customer safety during the celebration.

“It’s more a level of comfort,” Stewart said. “You want to make sure that all your guests are seated where they feel safe and comfortable, and we try our best to do that every day of the week.”

Stewart said the party will include other bars on Campus Corner, and there will be seven bands playing throughout the day starting at noon and ending at midnight. The list of bands is on O'Connell's Facebook post.

O’Connell’s is in the process of finalizing plans for what is called the “March of the Pipers,” a new feature for the 2021 celebration, Stewart said. Four bagpipers will start at the end of the north block of Campus Corner and will be followed by 100 people. Those people will be the first 100 to receive a green beer from O’Connell’s St. Patrick's Day 2021 festival.

Stewart encourages everyone to come out to have “gallons and gallons of green fun” but especially the students who haven’t been able to attend since 2003, as the party always falls during spring break.

“Just come on down and have fun with us. … Come get green. Come be Irish for a day and get green,” Stewart said.