St. Patrick’s Day Block Party
Middle Street, Sullivan’s Island
March 17
Sullivan’s Island’s little bar district along Middle Street can get a little rowdy on the weekends, but it’s rarely as bustling as during the annual St. Patrick’s Day Block Party.
This year, thousands of green-clad attendees strolled the street, packed into the bars and restaurants, and sipped copious amounts of cheap lager and authentic stout on a warm and breezy Saturday afternoon.
Cars and trucks lined Middle Street from Station 24 to the fork in the road at Station 18. Huge crowds spilled out Poe’s Tavern, Dunleavy’s Pub, Station 22, Taco Mamacita, High Thyme, and Fiery Ron’s Home Team BBQ. Most of the folks in the streets are young and preppie (bright green sport coats and sun dresses seemed to be the rage), but families and older locals hung out inside some of the taverns and along the intersections.
We sampled a nicely-poured pint of Guinness and caught one of singer/guitarist Walter McDonough’s lively acoustic sets of traditional (and bawdy) drinking songs at Dunleavy’s. The Irish-born entertainer has been playing St. Pats at the venue for 15 years straight, and he knows how to amuse the crowd. His cheerfully gruff singing and melodic tunes even charmed and calmed the most inebriated patrons who staggered near the stage.
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