The day commemorates the death of St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.
True to tradition people everywhere were pouring pints of Guinness, Irish dancing and singing til their heart’s content.
The Galway Hooker, an Irish pub located in Scarborough has been preparing for the big day for weeks.
The pub hosted three live musicians, Irish dancers, stilt walkers out the front for entertainment, face-painters and gave out free merchandise throughout the day.
Venue manager Mike Ryle said that while the day trade was on par with previous years, the night “dropped off a little bit more” than what it had done on previous years.
“But in saying that it didn’t stop people celebrating the whole weekend. It was pretty much a warmup from Thursday to Sunday for us.”
“Our capacity is 390 and we were at capacity for most of the day, but all in all we could have had more than 1,000 people come through throughout the day”.
The pub prepared for the festivities by ordering 200 kegs of beer. According to Ryle, their thirsty punters consumed more than 40 kegs of the quintessential Irish stout beer, Guinness in the one day.
Peggy Ní Alluráin, an Irish Backpacker staying in Perth, was one of the thousands of people in attendance at the Galway Hooker yesterday.
“It’s really good to see Australia celebrating the Irish spirit,” she said.
“I felt like I was at home with all the amazing Irish people around me and made so many new friends.”
“I may have woken up a bit worse for wear this morning, but every pint of Guinness was worth it.”
