Four ways to celebrate the luck of the Irish in Norman

Jeff Elkins, The Norman Transcript, Okla.
Updated ·2 min read

Mar. 16—There's plenty of options for Norman residents looking to celebrate St. Patrick's Day on Friday with bars, beer and bagpipes.

Between green eggs, special beer releases and live music, there's enough going on at local bars and breweries to spend the entire day celebrating Irish culture.

A longtime favorite in Norman is O'Connell's Irish Pub and Grille, 769 Asp Ave. Owner Jeff Stewart opens at 8 a.m. for green eggs and ham, and most years he serves more than 300 breakfast plates.

The big draw for patrons every St. Patrick's Day, Stewart said, is the dyed beer, which he calls "green fun."

Stewart said this year he expects even more fun.

"The biggest difference this year is we're going to have the Highlanders, a pipe and drum band here pretty much all day long," Stewart said. "They will play inside and outside."

Stewart said he has eight other bands scheduled to play under the tent outdoors. The music starts inside with breakfast at 8 a.m., and begins outside at noon.

Each year, Stewart said he sees people he hasn't seen in a while, and that's one of the best parts of the annual celebration.

Another draw for customers is the commemorative $25 mug and $16 t-shirt.

"Get your derby hat, come on down and get green," Stewart said.

Equity Brewing Co., 109 E. Tonhawa St., will have two new releases and live music Friday.

Co-owner Hannah Grillot invites residents to come try out their Honey Mint Spring Lager and Snug Irish Red.

"Our first Pink Couch Concert Series will be at 7:30 p.m. with local musician Nate Borofsky," Grillot said.

Borofsky is an award-winning singer and songwriter who has been featured on the TV show "Guiding Light."

Stephen Swanson, founder and co-owner of Lazy Circles Brewing on Main Street, said they have brewed a special Irish lager for the occasion named Harpsichord. He said the light bodied brew has slightly sweet malt aromas and floral hop tones.

"OK Sandwich Company Food Truck will be out here, the Rum Fellows, a pirate band, will play at 5:30 p.m., so we'll have a good time," Swanson said.

It's happy hour all day Friday at Beer Is Good Brewing. The brewery, 215 E. Main St., will release The Irishman, a traditional Irish Red Ale.

"One of our bartenders, Chris Downey, is from Belfast, Ireland, and he brewed that with me, and we thought it would be a fun day to release it," said Justin Wilson, co-founder of Beer Is Good Brewing.

The Rum Fellows will make their way west down Main Street to play at Beer Is Good Brewing at 8:30 p.m.

"It should be a fun night," Wilson said.

Jeff Elkins covers business, living and community stories for The Transcript. Reach him at jelkins@normantranscript.com or at @JeffElkins12 on Twitter.