In Norman, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated with all-day celebrations, music and green beer.
O’Connell's Irish Pub and Grille, Norman’s longest standing Irish pub, has served green beer to the Norman community for over 40 years. St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated for centuries, but the colorful drink did not become an established tradition until the 1900s.
“I don’t know where green beer started, but I’d like to say O’Connell’s started it,” O’Connell’s owner, Jeff Stewart, said.
Marking the day of St. Patrick’s death, March 17 has been observed by the Irish annually since 1631 and was officially declared as a public holiday in 1903. In Ireland, the holiday is traditionally celebrated with cultural dishes, dancing and Irish music.
In the United States, Americans have transformed St. Patrick's Day into a celebration of luck and all things green.
From green clothing and accessories to food and drinks, St. Patrick's Day causes a spike in spending across the nation. According to the National Retail Federation, “consumers plan to spend a record $7.2 billion — an average of $44.40 per person — on the holiday this year and their top spending categories are food and beverages.”
A staple of St. Patrick’s Day in the United States, the green beer tradition is commonly credited to Dr. Thomas Hayes Curtin, a physician and club owner in New York. In 1914, Curtin hoped to make his St. Patrick’s Day event at the Schnerer Club more festive by turning everything green, including the beer.
Curtin used a laundry whitener called “wash blue” to modify the natural yellow of the beer. By the 1950s, green beer became an established tradition recognized by many American bartenders and restaurant owners.
O'Connell's St. Patrick's Day commemorative mug on March 17, 2021.
Luckily, “wash blue” isn’t used anymore to make the beer, but it is common for restaurants and breweries to use blue food coloring.
O’Connell’s has been serving green beer since 1969. Each year, the restaurant designs a specialty 32 ounce collector’s mug, which weighs 4 pounds when full. Green beer in Norman can also be found at Logie’s on the Corner and the Library Bar and Grill.
“We just pop (food dye) in individual pints so we don’t have to expose anyone to a little bit of dye if they don’t want it,” Library manager, Harvey Welles, said.
Guests must be over 21 to enter Logie’s, but O’Connell’s and the Library are family-friendly restaurants. Other events taking place include St. Patrick’s Day celebrations at Lazy Circles Brewing and (405) Brewing Co.
This story was edited by Emma Blakley and Shelby Emery. Natalie Armour copy edited this story.
