Great Guinness and Live Music: The Best Irish Bars in Paris
St. Patrick’s Day, celebrated every March 17, started as a religious feast honoring Ireland’s patron saint, St. Patrick. Today, it’s a full‑on celebration, with friends gathering to drink, dance, and soak up Irish music, food, and culture – and in Paris, as the city’s landmarks light up green, the capital’s best Irish bars are the perfect spots to join the fun.
The History of Saint Patrick
In the late‑fourth‑century, Saint Patrick was born into a Roman family in Britain and received a Christian education. At 16, he was captured by Irish pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland, where he worked as a shepherd. Six years later, he escaped, walking roughly 300 kilometers before taking a ship to Gaul, where he was ordained a priest. Traditions place him in Armorica (now Brittany) and on the Lérins Islands off Cannes, where he reportedly spent two years in theological study, and possibly in Auxerre, Burgundy, with Saint Germain. In 432, at the request of Pope Celestine, Patrick returned to Ireland as a missionary bishop.
Stained glass window in Carlow Cathedral, showing Saint Patrick preaching to Irish kings. Photo: Andreas F. Borchert/ Wikimedia commons
By the time of his death, tradition holds that he had helped establish Christian communities across the island. Over centuries his life became entwined with legend – from using the shamrock to explain the Trinity to banishing snakes from Ireland – and March 17 became a day of church services and feasting.
Origins of Saint Patrick’s Day
When millions of Irish people emigrated, particularly to North America in the 18th and 19th centuries, they took their traditions with them. In the United States, St. Patrick’s Day slowly shifted from solemn remembrance to public celebration: parades in Boston and New York in the 1700s, a river dyed emerald green in Chicago starting from the 1960s, and a broader ethos of “wearing the green” spread well beyond Irish communities. These secular customs and lively street parties helped transform the day into a global celebration of Irish culture.
St. Patrick’s Day in Montreal. Photo: Sandra Cohen-Rose and Colin Rose/ Wikimedia Commons
France’s own St. Patrick’s Day story is, in part, an import of this wider Irish‑American model. In cities like Paris and Lyon, Irish pubs and clubs have long been gathering points for the Irish expatriate community and francophiles alike. Over the past two decades, what began as small pub events and Celtic music nights has grown into full‑blown celebrations of all things green, with parades of Uilleann Pipes along the Seine, traditional dance performances, and crowds decked out in shamrocks. What’s more, the Centre Culturel Irlandais hosts an entire weekend of festivities.
The courtyard at the Irish Cultural Centre, courtesy of CCI
Saint Patrick’s Day in Paris
So, whether you are looking to embrace Irish culture – be that by joining a parade, doing some dancing, drinking some of Ireland’s renowned alcohol (Guinness, Murphy’s, Jameson Whiskey, Baileys, to name a few), or simply by wearing something green – here are the best spots in Paris to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day.
13 Quai des Grands Augustins, 6th
Located near Saint-Michel and Notre Dame, this is a popular spot for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. It is known for its authentic atmosphere, with Irish bartenders, Irish drinks, and Irish fun.
54 Rue St Denis, 1st
McBride’s transports you directly to the warm and festive world of Ireland.
Multiple Locations
Corcoran’s Irish Pub in Paris offers a fully authentic Irish experience with pints, live music, DJs, sports on giant screens, and a lively, welcoming atmosphere perfect for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Multiple Locations
Since its launch in 1995, O’Sullivans has established itself as rather a nightlife institution in France. I have never had a bad evening in an O’Sullivans!
5 Rue des Irlandais, 5th
Europe’s largest Irish cultural hub, the Centre Culturel Irlandais, sits in Paris’s Latin Quarter in a historic building that began life as an Irish seminary back in 1578.
The Harp Bar
118 Bd de Clichy, 18th
Irish pub hung with flags and soccer scarves, serving Guinness and cocktails, plus a simple bar menu. Expect live DJs and flowing drinks for St Patrick’s Day weekend.
Lead photo credit : Corcoran's Irish Pub. Photo credit: Shutterstock
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By Poppy Pearce