Danielle Lirette
Audio By Carbonatix
Pints of Guinness, shots of whiskey and plates filled with corned beef and potatoes will be plentiful as the city celebrates St. Patrick’s Day 2026 on Tuesday, March 17. After a jam-packed weekend of events, including Saturday’s annual downtown parade, the actual day has arrived and pubs are likely to be packed.
While the number of Irish bars in the metro area has dwindled in recent years (RIP the Irish Snug and Finley’s Pub), the ones that remain beckon with promises of Irish egg rolls filled with corned beef and plenty of Jameson. One study recently named five Colorado Irish pubs among the best in the nation, but we know that the metro area has even more worthy spots to visit as you don your best green outfits this weekend.
Sláinte!
The Abbey Tavern
5151 East Colfax Avenue
The Abbey regularly hosts traditional Irish music on Sundays and all Liverpool games. There’s a full bar, as well as a whiskey flight with four pours, plus Guinness and Smithwick’s on tap. For eats, there’s a traditional Irish breakfast, Irish bread pudding, Guinness chocolate chip ice cream and Guinness BBQ wings, to name just a few options.
On March 17, it opens at 11 a.m. and festivities include performances by Celtic Step Irish Dancers and Colorado Youth Pipe Band.
The Celtic Tavern
1400 Market Street
After closing its original location on Blake Street in 2016, the Celtic made a comeback the next year on Market at a large, open, two-story location where soccer fans regularly flock to catch games. Along with a vast whiskey collection and food like its signature fish and chips, the Celtic is an official off-track betting facility that offers the chance to bet on games via its FanDuel Cash at Counter partnership.
The walls at Clancy’s are covered in bric-a-brac.
Danielle Lirette
Clancy’s Irish Pub
7000 West 38th Avenue, Wheat Ridge
The longest-running Irish bar in the state, Clancy’s maintains its well-worn appeal. The bar serves over thirty Irish whiskeys and has Breckenridge Irish Stout, Guinness, Harp and Smithwick’s on tap, and you can sate your appetite with options like Irish spring rolls with whiskey mustard sauce, a crock of Irish onion soup made with a Guinness broth, and classic bangers and mash.
It’s celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a packed schedule of live music starting at noon. Entry is free until 4 p.m. After that, it’s 21 and up only with a $5 admission.
Dougherty’s also offers a solid brunch.
Danielle Lirette
Dougherty’s Neighborhood Pub
5 East Ellsworth Avenue
You can consider Dougherty’s, which opened in 2007, a semi-Irish pub – one that caters to all. It’s also home to hammerschlagen, a game involving a tree stump, hammer and nails. (It may not be the safest bar game ever devised, but it’s a damn fun one.) The drinks are strong, there are daily happy hour specials, and when the time comes for soaking up that firewater, Dougherty’s also has an excellent pub kitchen and a nice dining room separated from the bar.
It’s open on March 17 from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. with drink and food specials.
The Fainting Goat is a popular spot to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Courtesy of the Fainting Goat
The Fainting Goat
846 Broadway
The Fainting Goat serves Irish-influenced dishes like shepherd’s pie, Reuben sandwiches and Irish nachos (made with tater tots instead of tortilla chips) alongside bar staples like burgers and wings. There’s plenty to keep you busy, from games and television to trivia nights and naughty bingo. The three-story bar also has a heated rooftop patio for year-round enjoyment, and it pours a damn good pint of Guinness.
The Irish Rover
54 South Broadway
The Irish Rover has been a staple in the Baker neighborhood since 2005. Along with Guinness, Magners Irish Cider and Smithwick’s on draft, there are nearly twenty types of Irish whiskey (and a full bar) available for imbibing. The Irish coffee, served hot, is made with Jameson whiskey and topped with whipped cream. Sip one on either of two heated patios alongside a plate of fish and chips or shepherd’s pie. The Rover also offers brunch specials, trivia nights and open-mic comedy nights.
It will open at 10 a.m. on St. Patrick’s Day with no cover. There will be food and drink specials, plus Irish Dancers and bagpipers.
Visit Nallen’s website for a countdown clock to St. Patrick’s Day.
Danielle Lirette
Nallen’s Irish Pub
1429 Market Street
Denver’s oldest Irish pub, Nallen’s was opened in 1992 by Ireland natives John and Una Nallen. Since then, it’s established itself as a center of Irish culture in Denver; it’s where the bi-weekly publication the Celtic Connection got its start. While it doesn’t serve food, Nallen’s has a full bar and cocktail menu that includes a large selection of whiskey and Guinness and Smithwick’s on tap. Happy hour specials are available every day starting at 4 p.m.
Nallen’s gets the party going early on St. Patrick’s Day, opening at 9 a.m. with performances from the Celtic Steps.
Scruffy Murphy’s opened in 1993.
Scott Lentz
Scruffy Murphy’s
2030 Larimer Street
A Ballpark neighborhood mainstay for years, Scruffy Murphy’s has the old-worldness of an authentic Irish pub with its authentic antique stained glass and the dark wood of its back bar and bar top. The weekends can get a little boisterous when there’s live music. It also hosts open-mic comedy every Tuesday and karaoke every Wednesday and Sunday from 9 p.m. to close. The bar serves a number of Irish beers and ciders, and the kitchen serves a few pub mainstays like shepherd’s pie and bangers and mash.
Doors open at 11 a.m. for St. Patrick’s Day partying.
The name Sheabeen is a combination of the original owner’s name and the word “shebeen” — an Irish speakeasy.
Danielle Lirette
Sheabeen Irish Pub
2300 South Chambers Road, Aurora
Not only is the Sheabeen, which opened in 1989, a destination for drinking Irish whiskey and downing Irish car bomb shots, but it’s also known for its live music. There’s an open stage every Thursday and rotating live music on Fridays and Saturdays starting at 8 p.m. The small kitchen serves up a simple menu of burgers, sandwiches and 12-inch pies from Rocky Mountain Pizza. Pints of Guinness, shots of whiskey and plates filled with corned beef and potatoes.
St. Patrick’s Day is an all-day celebration here, kicking off at 9 a.m. with its annual showing of The Quiet Man at 10 a.m. At noon, corned beef and cabbage is served, then a schedule of live music and performances starts at 3 p.m.
Bonus: Carw Gwyn
1509 North Marion Street
This new spot off East Colfax that opened in November 2025 isn’t technically an Irish pub — instead, it’s a Medieval European-themed mead hall. But it does have a solid whiskey selection, and it embraces Irish culture. Look for its traditional Irish session events, when musicians gather to play traditional Celtic tunes.
It’s celebrating St. Patrick’s on Tuesday, March 17, with live music from the Hooligans and Rocky Rovers. It will be open from 4 to 10 p.m. with tunes running from 6 to 9 p.m.
