St. Patrick’s Day promises to bring out Phoenix-area residents’ inner Irish
Mar 17, 2015, 7:23 AM | Updated: 9:24 am
PHOENIX — Tuesday is St. Patrick’s Day, and that means it’s time to bring out your inner Irish, even if you are not from the Land of Saints and Scholars.
“Everybody is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day,” said Mary Moriarty, operations manager at the Arizona Irish Cultural Center.
If you’re looking for something Irish to do Tuesday, Moriarty said the cultural center in downtown Phoenix will have plenty of Celtic-inspired festivities throughout the day, including music, dancing, food, drinks and a chance to win a trip to Ireland.
“We are going to be doing our raffle for two free trips to Ireland, and people can still buy tickets up to 6 p.m. (Tuesday),” she said.
With an estimated 500,000 Irish-Americans living in the Valley, Moriarty said St. Patrick’s Day in Phoenix is as authentic as it gets without being in Ireland.
“Most of the people that live here have come from somewhere else, and a lot of them have come from Ireland,” she said.
But don’t worry if you don’t have the luck of the Irish in your veins, because Moriarty said everyone is welcome at the Irish Cultural Center to celebrate.
“And you notice that because you will see people that obviously don’t look Irish walking around with green hair and green whiskers and green clothes,” she said, “and it’s a great way to celebrate St. Patrick.”
See some other ideas for where to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in the Valley.
