On Saint Paddy’s Day, everyone claims to have Celtic blood and it’s no different in Buenos Aires.
Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated annually in Argentina to commemorate the passing of St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland who died on March 17 in the year 493.
Irish Pubs in Buenos Aires
On March 17th in Buenos Aires visitors will find St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the city’s ‘Irish Pubs.’
The most popular spot for Saint Patrick’s Day revelry is in the neighborhood of Retiro where some of the city’s oldest Irish pubs, DownTown Matías, John John, The Kilkenny, are congregated.
Downtown Matías is the oldest Irish pub, opened in the 1970s.
Kilkenny really brought out the Irish spirit though, after opening in 1997, when Buenos Aires’ good economic times were still rolling.
The pub was part of the Guinness Original Irish Pub Concept to promote Guinness and meld it with the traditional Irish Pub abroad.
In 2001, Kilkenny pub made all the news channels when 60,000 people showed up outside their doors on St. Patrick’s Day.
Ironically, after Argentina’s economic collapse a few months later Guinness could no longer be imported for the better part of two decades.
Now Guinness is back. It started being manufactured in Argentina in 2021, the first time it is being made in South America.
If you arrive very early there may still be some traditional Irish dishes such as Colcannon, made the Argentine way.
Be forewarned, later on, it’s pretty wild.
These rowdy bars are nothing like granny’s favorite village pub in Ireland, especially on St. Paddy’s Day.
Watch this video to see the usual scene that takes place every year.
Indeed, it is in part due to the out-of-control party that the city decided to move the official celebrations away from the pubs and to Plaza de Mayo to lessen the typical St. Paddy’s Day chaos.
On March 17th in Buenos Aires sometimes people also gather in Plaza Irlanda (Irish Square) in Caballito, from 11 a.m. onward to celebrate the Irish, but there has been no official announcement this year.
If there’s not much action in the plaza, they may have moved on to the nearby Slainte Irish listed below.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2024
In Buenos Aires, there is an annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade to help the more than 500,000 Irish descendants in Argentina celebrate.
This year, Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations will return to the Plaza San Martín area (Retiro) at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 17th.
The Grand Captain of the parade will be Maria Cristina Brown, a direct descendant of Admiral Guillermo Brown, the ‘Father of the Homeland at Sea.’
Traditional Irish food and beer will be on offer in surrounding pubs.
The elves, fairies, bagpipers and Irish dancers will honor the homeland with the parade.
Afterward, there are live music and dance performances featuring Irish-flavored rock and folk groups, which usually include a U2 tribute band along with performances by the Irish dance troupes, Emerald Dance and Celtic Argentina.
The event is hosted by the Argentina-Ireland Association, the Buenos Aires city government, and the Irish Embassy in Buenos Aires.
The official celebration hosted by the city will be held on March 17 in Retiro, around Arroyo and Suipacha Streets.
• 4:00-late Parade and Celebrations
Top musicians from the Argentine-Irish community will be performing.
Irish Pubs in Buenos Aires by Neighborhood
Irish Pubs in Retiro /Recoleta
• Down Town Matias — Reconquista Street 701
• John John — Reconquista Street 924
• The Kilkenny — Marcelo T. de Alvear 399
• The Irish House — San Martín 979
• Saint Patrick’s Irish — Pres. José Evaristo Uriburu 1714
• The Shamrock — Rodríguez Peña 1220 (Recoleta)
Irish Pubs in Palermo
• Sullivan’s Irish Pub — Jorge Luis Borges 1702, Palermo
• Slainte Irish Pub Palermo — Fitz Roy 1747, Palermo
• Dubliners — Humboldt 2000, Palermo
Irish Pub Chacarita
• Slainte Irish Pub — Av. S. Martín 6066
Irish Pub Recoleta
• The Shamrock — Rodríguez Peña 1220
Irish Pubs in San Telmo
• The Clover Pub — Av. de Mayo 1357/ Piedras 78 (San Telmo)
• The Malin Head — Bolívar 583 (San Telmo)
Irish Pubs in Centro/Downtown/Monserrat
• Temple Centro — Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear 945
• The Celtic Pub — Carlos Pellegrini 551 (Microcentro)
Smaller St. Patty’s Day Events Around Argentina
Some smaller towns around the country have their own St. Paddy’s Day celebrations, usually on the Saturday closest to Saint Patrick’s Day.
The town of Luján in Buenos Aires province will be celebrating the 122th anniversary of their St. Paddy’s Day pilgrimage and parade on the 18th, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
That will be followed by a mass in the Basílica Nuestra. Sra. de Luján, which is lit up green at night.
In the Basilica itself, there are Gaelic inscriptions and names.
The service will be followed by a lunch and social that will feature Celtic music and dance.
The event is organized by the Federation of Irish Argentines and the Irish-Argentine Association of Luján.
The local Pub Notre Dame de Luján is the place for the after party and they now have real Guinness.
The Hurling Club of Buenos Aires
The Hurling Club of Buenos Aires, a club founded by Irish immigrants in 1922, also has a yearly festival, and then dinner and dance to honor St. Paddy’s Day in their very authentic-looking pub.
Saturday, March 16th we celebrate St Patrick’s at Hurling Club
We invite you to participate once again in one of the most important holidays in the Irish community.
Various sporting activities will be developed from noon and the event will continue until 02:00 am, including a kermese with games for the kids, traditional dances, bands, raffles, etc.
Sporting events of the date:
Traditional sports:
– Hurling match Hur
– Gaelic Football Match 
Local sports:
– Rugby & Mixed Ability Matches
– Hockey Games
The Hurling Club
Gdor. Vergara Avenue 5415
Hurlingham
Tel: 4665-0903/ 4662-8358
9:00-11:00 p.m.— dinner
11 p.m.— performance and dance
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