On a bright Saturday morning the streets of Downtown Holland begin to fill with people waiting for the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade to begin. People all dressed in green with some wearing authentic Irish costumes, some dressed as leprechauns, and some wearing every green necklace that they can get their hands on. A line begins to form down the sidewalk coming from The Curragh Irish Pub full of people waiting to get in and experience the Irish atmosphere to further celebrate the holiday. It’s a day when individuals of all ages come together with family and friends to embrace Irish culture, creating a fun, party-like atmosphere that brings the community together.

   Downtown Holland takes planning and preparing for the holiday very seriously, hosting an annual parade and businesses providing fun activities. But one business stands apart from all of the rest which celebrates Irish culture year round. The Curragh Irish Pub on 8th Street has made a name for themselves for being an authentic Irish Pub providing authentic Irish food, drinks, and hospitality. Ever since their start in 2004, The Curragh has always stuck to staying as authentic as possible with popular meals straight from Ireland and classic Irish music played throughout the restaurant. Popular meals include their Guinness Fish and Chips, Corn Beef & Cabbage, Shepherds Pie and so much more.

   For 20 years, The Curragh does not play when it comes to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. A countdown displayed year round and four days of events leading up to the big day with posters being hung up all around the restaurant and social media posts spreading the word. Just to name a few of the events, Guinness foam art, Guinness Pouring Competitions, a lineup of Irish bands, and tons of food and drinks. The employees were all given a proper rundown of what to expect and to get everyone locked in for the busy week.

   Jr. Olivia Plaggemeyer, a newer employee at The Curragh, said. “It was busy working on St. Patrick’s Day. There were a lot of people of all ages and there were a lot of activities and music going on. Preparing for St. Patrick’s Day was a little stressful. We had to move all the tables out of the restaurant to make room for all the people who were going to be there the next day. We blew up balloons for decorations, and there was also a tent put up over our patio area that we had to help set up and decorate. Everyone made sure they did their part and our managers were stressed to the max so most of the time I made sure to steer clear from them,” said Plaggemeyer.

   There’s no surprise that The Curragh is Holland’s favorite bar for St. Patrick’s Day and has stayed that way consistently for 20 years. Having the restaurant packed from open to close is very impressive. According to The Holland Sentinel, The Curragh received 69.44% of votes when their readers were asked to vote for their favorite location for St. Patrick’s Day, which is almost eight times more votes than any other restaurant/bar in Holland.

   Jr. Obi Foreman is also a newer employee at The Curragh. “St. Patrick’s Day was crazy and actually really fun! We had so many people working that I really had nothing to worry about. I was always occupied but I was never in a deficit and I was confident that everybody was doing the most that they could. The only thing was that it was very difficult to move through the crowd, especially holding plates and cups on my way back to the kitchen. Overall it was a great experience,” Said Foreman. Same as Plaggemeyer, Foreman described similar stress during the preparation for the events. “It was pretty scary because everyone made it seem crazy, especially the managers, but they weren’t wrong and I had nothing to worry about in the end. We rolled lots of silverware and put up decorations, which was fun, and we had a whole meeting with the staff on how we would handle St. Patrick’s Day. All this preparation made me really nervous since this was my first St. Pat’s at The Curragh but many coworkers, especially Mateo, who is a Curragh veteran, made sure I was good and everything worked out great!” Said Foreman.

   There’s many ways people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, for example, pinching others not wearing green or going out with friends and family, lot’s of preparation goes into setting up for the holiday and for 20 years now The Curragh has provided a great experience for everyone to enjoy. It can be stressful for the staff, but they have perfected their craft and always make it a success.