AURORA | There’s no Blarney Stone at Buckley Air Force Base, no ancient Celtic castles tucked in Southlands shopping center and little in the way of bogs along Aurora’s eastern stretches.
Finding many direct links between Ireland and Aurora for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration may seem like a tough task. But even though the Colorado plains are many leagues away from the lush hills of the Emerald Isle, Aurora has some pretty solid ways to go green for the most Irish day of the year. The city is home to the oldest Irish bar in the metro area and host to a sprawling, two-story Irish pub/restaurant in Aurora’s southeastern stretches. As a result, some of Colorado’s finest Irish bands make a point of playing here every March.
That may seem surprising for a city that doesn’t even host a parade to commemorate the day. But according to Andy Schmidt, the owner of the Sheabeen Pub at 2300 S. Chambers Road, the successful St. Patty’s Day scene in Aurora has to do with loyal customers. The bar kicked off its March tradition when Belfast native Tony McAleavey first opened Sheabeen Irish Pub 25 years ago. Tucked into a humbly sized storefront in a shopping center, the bar is an unlikely candidate for the title of the oldest Irish bar in the metro area. But thanks to a loyal customer base, a strong sense of ambience and a heated smoking patio, the bar has managed to outlast its oldest competitors across the city.
Schmidt worked to preserve the spirit of the place when he bought the bar nine years ago, and he said keeping up the St. Patrick’s Day party was a big part of that effort.
“It’s a big event here, that’s for certain. We do a lot of events during the year, but St. Pat’s is the event of the year,” Schmidt said. “Throughout the day we get about 600 people.”
This year’s party will be a bit different, Schmidt said, partly because the holiday falls on a Sunday. With a crowd of loyal customers looking to start celebrating on Saturday night, the bar has had to adjust its traditional plans. This year, for example, the music will start a little earlier. Shebean’s house Irish band Juice o’ the Barley will play at 8 p.m. on St. Patrick’s Day Eve, March 16. That set will preview a full day of music on Sunday, with a lineup that includes a yearly appearance by the Michael Collins Pipe Band, as well as sets by Pandora Celtica at 3 p.m., the Celtic Steps Irish Dancers at 6 p.m. and Steve Pierce with Ernie Martinez and Bob Cook at 7 p.m.
Schmidt said he’ll make his own appearance on the stage this year.
“We put together a special appearance by an Irish music band called the Sheabeen Ramblers. We’re a lot of the regulars who play on the open stage,” Schmidt said, adding that the new group specializes in traditional Irish ballads. “I haven’t performed before in the past, but I’m not nervous. We’re just going to have fun.”
Along with the full slate of live music, the Sunday celebration at the Sheabeen (a hybrid of the Gaelic word for an illicit bar and McAleavey’s wife Shea) will feature a decidedly Irish menu. According to Schmidt, the bar will serve Irish stew on Saturday night, and then move on to preparing 100 pounds of corn beef for Sunday. As per tradition, they’ll kick of St. Patrick’s Day with a showing of the John Wayne film “The Quiet Man.”
The largest difference at this celebration will be the absence of Tony McAleavey, who died earlier this year. While the pub staff is planning a formal send off for the
former owner in May, it will be impossible to miss his presence in the celebration he helped start.
“On May 18, we’re doing a final farewell for him. His ashes are going back to Ireland,” Schmidt said. “But we’ll probably do a lot of tributes to Tony on Sunday. I’m sure there will be a lot of discussion about him.”
Across town, managers at McCabe’s Bistro and Pub at 6100 S. Main St. in the Southlands shopping center will also have to tweak their St. Patrick’s Day formula for a Sunday celebration. The two-story bar and restaurant has had less time to formalize its traditions than Sheabeen — it opened in 2006. Even so, the bar has become a popular spot for celebrating the holiday in the southeast part of Aurora. According to Shawn Popp, a general manager at the restaurant, last year’s St. Patty’s sales included about 14 kegs, or about 1,400 pints, of Guinness.
“This is our Super Bowl,” Popp said. “We’re going to be as busy as all heck.”
The fact that the holiday falls on a Sunday this year has stretched out the party plans, Popp said. Bagpipers, Irish bands and Celtic step dancers will be appearing through Saturday and Sunday, and the restaurant side of the building has simplified its menu to traditionally popular St. Pat’s Day fare (corn beef figures on that menu). What’s more, Popp said the bar has extended its liquor license to open a beer garden on Sunday that will spill into Southlands’ Main Street. That will help the bar deal with the added flow of customers, which typically includes Buckley Air Force Base service members from all over the world.
“Anything that says ‘Irish’ on it is going to sell,” Popp said.
Sheabeen’s Irish Pub
2300 S. Chambers Road Aurora, CO 80014
303-696-6131
www.sheabeenirishpub.com
Mar. 16
Music- Juice O’ the Barley
Mar. 17
9am Open
10am movie- “The Quiet Man”
2pm music- Sheabeen Ramblers
3pm music- Pandora Celtic
6pm irish dancers- Celtic Steps
7pm music- Steve Pierce and Ernie Martinez
8pm music- Michael Collins Pipe Band
McCabe’s Bistro
& Irish Pub6100 South Main Street
Aurora, CO 80016
303-627-6234
www.mccabesbistroandpub.com
Mar. 17
10:30am Open
Live Music all day including Irish Step Dancers and Bagpipes around 8pm
Baker’s Street
Pub & Grill8101 E Belleview Ave. Denver, CO 80237
303-577-2790
www.sherlockspubco.com/
Mar. 17
11am Open
7pm music-6Million Dollar Band
Darcy’s Bistro & Pub
4955 S. Ulster St. #103 Denver, CO 80237
303-770-0477
www.darcysbistroandpub.com
Mar. 16
6pm irish dancers
8:30pm music “Highlands Ranch Swingers”
Mar. 17
1pm – DJ
4:30pm Irish Dancers
5pm bagpipers
McDonough’s Irish Pub
10395 E. Iliff Avenue
Aurora, CO 80010
303-369-9819
Mar. 16
7pm music-Pandora Celtica
Slattery’s Irish Pub
5364 Greenwood Plaza Blvd
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
303-741-2115
www.slatteryspublichouse.net
Mar. 16
1:30pm irish dance-Reed School of Irish Dance
1:30pm music-Juice O’ the Barley
3pm Conivan
5:30pm irish dance-Reed School of Irish Dance
6pm music-Celtic Wind
8:30pm music-Denver and District Pipe Band
Mar. 17
1pm irish dance-Reed School of Irish Dance
1:30pm music-The Commoners
2pm music-Ciorcal Ciarde Irish Pipe Band
5:30pm irish dance-Reed School of Irish Dance
6pm- Chancer’s Hooley
7pm music-Doug Reichlin, Irish Piper
Reach reporter Adam Goldstein at agoldstein@aurorasentinel.com or 720-449-9707