Don your greenest clothes or shamrock-decorated fancy dress and head to Digbeth this St Patrick’s Day and you may just find a pot of gold there. Birmingham’s oldest pub The Old Crown will be bringing their St. Patrick’s festival back to Birmingham this March for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, forcing the celebrations to take a two-year hiatus in 2020, and the 2022 programme is shaping up to be the best one yet.
Despite the iconic parade day being cancelled due to the ongoing tram developments throughout the Digbeth district, The Old Crown are determined to celebrate not only a great day in the calendar of our city but also the rich heritage that Ireland has throughout Birmingham. The pub’s St Patrick’s events will run throughout March with a programme of events featuring Birmingham legends, Prof. Carl Chinn MBE, Lampa, Caidre, Ash Sheehan, On The Sesh and Irish legends, Goats Don’t Shave.
The Old Crown will also be playing host to screenings of the Six Nations rugby tournament for free, where guests can watch all the action play out on their big 10ft outdoor screen. Plus, the 653-year-old pub, which was built the same year the Ming Dynasty began in China, will be offering live music throughout March and a free Jameson whisky tasting event on March 14 for those who fancy something a bit stronger than Guinness.
Kicking off from March 8, the first St Patrick’s event will be an Irish literary evening by Carl Chinn where all proceeds will go towards the official St Patrick’s Parade. During the weekend of March 12 and 13, Brummies can watch the Six Nations with live music by Lampa & Caidre as well as enjoy the legendary St Patrick’s Parade Day Party with plenty of music playing til late.
On the following weekend, The Old Crown will be throwing a huge party in the pub after the prestigious Gold Cup at Cheltenham which will be shown live on their screens in the garden. Irish folk legends Goats Don’t Shave will be making the voyage across the Irish Sea to Digbeth to get the Friday night party going late into the night.
Ciaran Healy, director of The Old Crown, said: “We are really looking forward to our 2022 St Patrick’s Celebrations – after two years off we are looking forward to celebrating Irish culture in the city with an exciting programme of entertainment featuring some of the best Birmingham and Irish talent. We’re really looking forward to Irish legends, Goat’s Don’t shave flying over for a special performance on Friday 18th March.”
Tickets to the St Patrick’s Day events at The Old Crown vary from free entry to £5 and can be purchased here.