Irish eyes are smiling once again this month ahead of St. Patrick’s Day, which arrives on Thursday March 17.

The sad news of the annual parade’s cancellation has been tempered by the announcement of party plans at pubs around Sydney, so we spoke to some of our hot picks to find out what craic they’ve got to offer.

The Fiddler

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What to see and do: Irish breakfast from 9am, live Irish music from midday, Irish dancing, Irish coffee cart and Guinness on tap in all the bars, and games and competitions for young and old! The shenanigans will last well into the night.

What’s the fuel?A lot of malarkey and lots of beer, make no mistake, you’ll want to be here.

An Irish touch:With The Fiddler’s rich Irish heritage,

how can we not put on the biggest party in Western Sydney this St. Patrick’s
Day?

Finish this sentence: We love celebrating the luck of the Irish because…

Like the Irish, we don’t hold back on the celebrations!

The crowd: Large groups, young and old, there is something for everyone.

The damage: Free entry.

Where: Cnr Windsor and Commercial Roads, Rouse Hill

When: Full Irish breakfast from 9am with a whole day of shenanigans going well into the night!

The Mercantile Hotel

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What to see and do:St. Patrick’s Day kicks off at 7am with our breakfast event serving a full Irish breakfast (including black pudding!), Irish coffee, Guinness, Irish dance performance and traditional Irish music. Celebration of our wonderful Irish culture continues throughout the day with performances by Currie-Henderson Academy of Irish Dancing and music by our famous bands, Blackwater, Shindig and Shaylee Wilde, with traditional Irish music and Irish rock.

What’s the fuel?Full Irish breakfast and shamrock pie available throughout the day as well as Guinness (of course!), Magners and Jameson.

Finish this sentence: We love celebrating the luck of the Irish because… We love a good bit of craic!

The crowd:Large groups for the morning with lots coming and going throughout the day, most kicking on for the night!

The damage: $50 for the breakfast event. Free entry after.

Where: 25-27 George Street, The Rocks

When: Kick off at 7am, Thursday March 17. Our Festival Week kicks off on Sunday March 13 – it’s our Family Fun Day with more Irish dancing and music, including face-painting and balloon fun for the

kids!

Orient Hotel

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What to see and do:We’ll be hosting live bands on Thursday March 17:

10am – The Blarney Boys

1:30pm – The U2 show feat. U2 Elevation

4.30pm – The Moonshiners

7pm – Dublin Up

11pm – Lonesome Train

What’s the fuel?From 11am, it’s our traditional Irish mixed grill – eggs, bacon, black pudding, hash browns, mushrooms, tomatoes and soda bread, with Irish coffee and Guinness available. Order at any bar.

An Irish touch:The Orient Hotel’s St. Pat’s Day is a unique and legendary day of celebrations. Fantastic live acts blend great traditional Irish music with the best of Irish party music.

Finish this sentence: We love celebrating the luck of the Irish because… It’s a great way of being positive, the world needs a great celebration, and the Irish do it the right way.

The crowd:We have a great mix of people from international visitors to our local community and as expected at the Orient, people from all areas of Sydney come by for great service and a real good time. We cater for small to large crowds.

The damage: Free before 10pm

Where: 89 George Street, The Rocks

When: It kicks off from 10am with live acts and 11am for the Irish mixed grill. Orient Hotel has live acts every day and indeed we celebrate St. Pat’s Day all week!

[Main image: The Mercantile;The Fiddler photo © www.damienmilan.com.au;The Orient photo by Steve Markham]

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