BOSTON — Tommy McCarthy’s Irish bar just outside Boston’s city limits pours more Guinness than almost anywhere in the U.S., yet come this St. Patrick’s Day, the longtime owner of The Burren is stocking up on plenty of nonalcoholic options too.
“It’s come a long way since we first opened,” McCarthy said, who started slinging pints at the beloved establishment in 1996 after moving to the Boston area from West Clare, Ireland.
There is perhaps no other holiday tied more to a city than St. Patrick’s Day in Boston. According to historians, the city was the first in the country to throw a celebration for the patron saint of Ireland on March 17, 1737, as a way to support the city’s wave of Irish immigrants.
Yet while the holiday has become connected to heavy drinking over the centuries, a small but growing crowd has found ways to participate in the St. Patrick’s Day parades, festivals and banquets without a buzz. They’re doing so by turning to nonalcoholic beers, mocktails and solely sober spaces — even in the heart of Boston.
“St. Patrick’s Day is a huge drinking holiday. It is promoted absolutely everywhere,” said Jackie Taylor who has been sober for 12 years.
But she’s found lots of ways to celebrate the holiday — whether out on the town or at home — without risking a situation where “you might not make it out of there sober.”
Nonalcoholic drinks are popular on St. Patrick’s Day weekend during The Burren’s four days of Irish music shows, which can last 10 hours each. McCarthy said he’s a Guinness drinker but sticks to the nonalcoholic brew when playing the fiddle.
“I top it up with the real creamy alcohol head,” he said. “You’re only getting a small bit of the alcohol, but you get the real cream. But you’re also getting the taste of the real Guinness without the alcohol. It kind of beats all.”
Michelle Flynn, manager at the Brendan Behan Irish pub in Boston’s Jamacia Plain, said most bars now serve nonalcoholic beers — a significant shift from decades ago.
“The neighborhood, society, everything has changed, has shifted a 1,000% — especially in the youth,” she said.
It’s not just bar owners noticing an uptick in a demand for nonalcoholic options. Young adults are drinking less than they were in decades past, according to polling by Gallup, which reported in 2023 that adults under 35 were less likely to say they use alcohol at least occasionally than they were in the early 2000s.
Gallup also saw a decline in the share of young adults who drink regularly or say they sometimes drink “more than they think they should” over the same time period.
Michael Scelfo, chef and owner of four Boston area cocktail bars, said his businesses have served mocktails since he opened Cambridge-based Alden & Harlow 11 years ago. But after the pandemic, demand significantly increased.
“It’s really kind of an expected and formidable part of the menu now,” he said, with bartenders putting just as much care into a mocktail’s execution.
For nearly 15 years, William Spencer Reilly has been throwing a “ Sober St. Patrick’s Day ” in New York City — which kicks off after the parade with Irish bands, dancers and food — and may soon expand the mission to Boston.
The sober event’s founder and chairman has always had his eye on Boston “for all the obvious reasons.”
According to Reilly, it’s about refocusing the typically-booze forward festivities on celebrating Irish heritage and honoring St. Patrick, the priest born in the late fourth century who was enslaved in Ireland and later returned to promote the spread of Christianity. It’s also a chance to break hurtful stereotypes of Irish people.
When he first proposed the idea of a sober event on such a booze-heavy day, he was met with incredulity and doubt over public interest. Now he’s in talks with Boston’s local leaders and believes there’s finally enough interest and support to branch out next year.
People generally seem more interested in being healthier, said Scelfo. That includes how they choose to spend their holidays.
“The perils and pitfalls of alcohol are well-documented when not used responsibly,” he said. “We’ve got an intelligent young generation that’s focused on health and wellness. And I think that that’s a great thing.”
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Krusei reported from Nashville, Tennessee, and Willingham reported from Charleston, West Virginia. Amelia Thomson DeVeaux in Washington D.C. contributed.