Working all day at the pub

Lolita Harper

Irish eyes were smiling extra-wide Monday as hundreds of people

ditched work, school and other responsibilities for one of the most

important holidays of the year.

Popular Irish pubs such as Shamrock’s in Newport Beach’s Miracle

Mile, the Harp in Costa Mesa, Muldoon’s in Fashion Island and

Malarkey’s on the Peninsula were already filled with Kelly-clad

merrymakers before the workday was over. The hard-core St. Patrick’s

Day fans said they started at day break, but had to wait for the bars

to open at around 10 a.m.

“I woke up at 8 a.m., cracked a beer and called my boss and told

him I was feeling a little sick today,” said Kilby Rodell of

Huntington Beach, who was drinking Guinness at Shamrock’s. “I think

we got down here at about 10:30 a.m.”

But Rodell and his friends were not partying irresponsibly. Rodell

pulled out an all day Orange County Transportation Authority bus

pass.

“We took the bus down here, and it goes straight from here to the

Harp,” he said. “Talk about perfect.”

“We all do have cars, though,” chimed in Thomas Martin, friend and

fellow public transportation enthusiast. “Really nice ones. We just

want to get home in one piece.”

Native Irishwoman Elizabeth Dalton and her clan were also at

Shamrock’s celebrating the holiday, her 81st birthday and the 25th

wedding anniversary of close family friends Tim and Margaret Leyden.

The group, already in merry spirits by 2 p.m., said they had been at

the bar since about noon.

“I came for a month holiday in January and I’ve been here ever

since,” Dalton said in her Irish accent.

“She found out we have better bars here,” friend Ray O’Malley

said.

The Leytons, who also speak with thick brogues, said they chose to

get married on St. Patrick’s Day because in Ireland no one drank

during Lent -- except on March 17.

“It only made sense,” Margaret Leyton said.

Shamrock’s was just the first stop on the group’s “pub crawl.”

They planned to travel up the coast to Sunset Beach.

Businessman Bill Sparks said it was the official day of his

monthlong retirement party. After 41 years in the whiskey business,

Sparks said he was calling it quits.

He wasn’t going out quietly. Shamrock’s was his fifth location of

the day. He and his compadres, dressed in formal corporate wear

despite the informal environment, started the day at Hennessey’s,

then went to Cabanas in Laguna Beach, Muldoons and the Harp. At 2

p.m., they had settled at the Shamrock.

“This place has a certain magic about it,” Sparks said about the

quaint oceanfront bar, where the screens show rugby games and a live

band plays authentic Irish music. “It is one of the few places where

there are real people.”

After a few more shots of whiskey, including one from a bottle

from 1962, the year Sparks started in the business, they would head

over to Malarkey’s for some more Celtic revelry.

“I am going to party until I feel like I am done,” Sparks said.

His attitude was contagious. All those interviewed said their

revelry would last until they could no longer stand.

“We are not on a curfew,” said Sharon O’Keefe of Anaheim.

At Malarkey’s, a line had already formed by 3 p.m., and about 15

people were patiently waiting for some Blarney booze. The crowd was a

little younger, with fewer business suits and more tank tops and flip

flops.

“We are all about St. Paddy’s Day,” said Jamie, who refused to

give her last name.

Outside, waiting patiently in a green-collar shirt, was

31-year-old Bill Romero.

“I am supposed to be at work, but I cut out early,” Romero said.

“It’s St. Patrick’s Day. They have to understand.”

Certainly understanding was Tim Mitchell, who celebrated with his

two daughters over a traditional Irish breakfast and a little midday

carousing at the local eateries. His youngest daughter, Devon, had

the day off from school for a teacher’s planning, and “somehow,” his

older daughter convinced him to let her stay home also, he said.

“It’s a holiday,” he said.

Devon wore her green Bailey’s foam hat over her lovely locks and

donned a fashionable pair of bright green, large-rimmed glasses.

“I think it is great because I am Irish,” 8-year-old Devon said.

“I get most of my Irishness from my dad.”

Although he is a true Irish man, Tim Mitchell chose Newport

Brewing Co. as his midday celebration destination instead of the

eateries with Irish names.

Brewing company owner Jerry Kolbly said it doesn’t hurt his

business to not have an Irish name on his sign.

“It’s a beer-drinking holiday and the brewery has beer,” Kolbly

said. “By 6 p.m., you won’t even recognize this place.”

Even Costa Mesa City Councilman Gary Monahan was ditching Monday’s

council meeting to host the busiest night of the year at his pub --

Skosh Monahan’s.

“It’s St. Patrick’s Day,” he said plainly.

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

and covers culture and the arts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275

or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.