Cheers to Ol' St. Patrick Tales of food and lore from Irish pubs in America. By Nancy Ross Ryan

Philadelphia's oldest bar, established in 1860, is McGillin's Olde Ale House, an Irish pub. If only those walls could talk. Or maybe they can. Proprietor Chris Mullins tells of entertaining a Catholic priest fresh from Ireland on St. Patrick's Day. It was the good father's first time in America, and his first American St. Patrick's Day. "After some conviviality, I said, 'So Father Murphy, what do you think of our St. Patrick's Day?' He thought for a moment, then he said, 'Well, you know, in Ireland we hold mass, and we have a family dinner. It's a very religious day. So I think I will always spend my St. Patrick's Day in America, because this is a grand old party you have here!' "We normally serve about 200 to 300," Mullins says, "but on St. Patrick's Day, 2,000 people come through that door. The line goes around the block." Like most Irish tavern keepers, Chris and his wife Mary Ellen serve forth the drink: green beer, stout and Irish whiskey. And of course, the Irish pub food, too: "Corned beef and cabbage, great Irish stew made with lamb, shepherd's pie." The Food Let's be honest. Irish food has never really been top of mind for most St. Patrick's Day revelers. But it is for the Mullinses, and a proper fete at their pub wouldn't be complete without it. One point of pride: the Irish stew, which always starts with browned lamb. (Whether to brown the meat first has oft been a point of contention for the Irish.) What's more, Mullins suggests that many of the dishes associated with Irish pub food may not be Irish at all. Potato famines, starvation and British landlords were not conducive to developing an elaborate national cuisine. "The Irish immigrants may have borrowed corned beef from their Jewish or Eastern European neighbors when they came here," he says, "but we made it our own." Although St. Patrick was not reputed to be a teetotaler, he would have disapproved of celebrating to excess. As the old Irish saying warns, "Drink is the curse of the land. It makes you fight with your neighbor. It makes you shoot at your landlord, and it makes you miss." The Drink Myles O'Reilly, a native of Dublin and now proprietor of O'Reilly's Irish Pub in San Francisco, recalls its effect on the late Brendan Behan, when that famous Irish writer visited America on St. Patrick's day in the '60s. Behan was slated to lead the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Chicago as Grand Marshal, then to appear later that week in New York on "The Ed Sullivan Show." "He had a few drinks, quite a few, and became inebriated and disorderly after the parade. A judge, who just happened to be Irish, put him in jail for 72 hours. When Behan appeared on TV, Ed Sullivan asked him, 'How do you feel being put in jail for 72 hours by one of your own?' Behan replied, 'I've often wondered after St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland where they wound up.'" O'Reilly plans to celebrate all weekend long this year. The holiday falls on Friday, so the celebration begins that day at 8 a.m., and the pub will serve an Irish brunch until 1 p.m. The street will be closed from 3 p.m. until midnight "with all the usual fun attached to it," he says. Saturday the restaurant is hosting a beer and oyster festival in nearby Washington Square Park with live Irish music. And on Sunday, "More of the same, with our full Celtic brunch menu and probably the best Bloody Marys in San Francisco for those needing 'the hair' ... " Among traditional pub foods served will be soda bread, Dublin coddle, colcannon (an Irish vegetarian dish), corned beef and cabbage, corned beef hash, and Irish lamb stew. The Blarney More than food, the Irish are famous for blarney, the gift of gab and storytelling. Bill Nordhem ("Yes, I'm Irish,"), proprietor of the Four Farthings Tavern in Chicago for 19 years, still looks forward to St. Patrick's Day because each one bequeaths a new tale. His favorite so far: "Last St. Patrick's Day a good friend and patron decided to dress as a leprechaun, green suit, hat, pointy shoes and all. Well, he was a great hit with the ladies. That night he met his lady love, saw her home and spent the night. But the next morning he found himself in the bright light of day trying to hail a cab -- in a full leprechaun suit."

Lucky Charms Leprechauns are Ireland's most famous fairies, and certainly the luckiest for a mortal to meet. The leprechaun's main job is shoemaking, as fairies constantly wear out their shoes from incessant dancing. If you meet a leprechaun, here are the three things you must know: 1. He always carries a purse with two coins. One is magic and always replenishes itself after being spent. 2. If you catch him he will usually give you the other coin. While you are examining it, he will make his getaway. 3. Leprechauns know the location of buried treasure, and if you catch one he must tell you. But do not take your eyes off him for even a split second, or he will be gone before you can ask.

Pub Finder FOUR FARTHINGS TAVERN 2060 N. Cleveland Ave. Chicago, IL 60614 (773) 935-2060 McGILLIN'S OLDE ALE HOUSE 1310 Drury Lane Philadelphia, PA 19107 (215) 735-5562 O'REILLY'S IRISH PUB & RESTAURANT 622 Green St. San Francisco, CA 94133 (415) 989-6222

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