South Bend goes green for St. Paddy's Day at Fiddler's Hearth

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Get out your best green accessories, it's Saint Patrick's Day! The party is on at Fiddler's Hearth in South Bend! The Irish Pub is in its 24th year celebrating the holiday with multiple annual traditions.

The party here has been going strong since 11 a.m., with plenty of green as far as the eye can see.

Nearly a quarter century of celebrating the Saint Patrick's Day festivities in this downtown South Bend staple. Plenty of beer (especially Guinness), corned beef, and of course, a local priest offering a blessing to kick off the day.

"We've always had live music on Saint Patrick's Day all day long, from the time we open until the time we close. As a matter of fact, I had the band playing before I even unlocked the door so when they all come in, they're coming into Irish music, live on stage," said Carol Meehan, owner of Fiddler's Hearth.

Meehan tells ABC57 she has people waiting in line every year to get in before 11 a.m., when Fiddler's opens for the day. But with the weather not being ideal today, she decided to make a bit of an adjustment.

"The cold weather that was predicted concerned me, because we've got people standing out there over an hour ahead of time, just to get the first spot in line to get in, and in 17-degree weather that's just ridiculous so I made up some little numbered tickets to hold their position in line," said Meehan.

Once those doors swung open, partygoers made a beeline to try and find a good spot to sit, and for some like Pat McGann, their favorite spot.

"I've been coming here for a number of years, and we always like this table and I offer my employees a $100 bonus if they're first in line or high enough in line where they can get this table, and jenny did, she got this table, so I'll be here until 11 o'clock tonight," said McGann.

McGann tells me he loves celebrating Saint Patrick's Day in South Bend, and says the tradition is even better because of the city's connection to the Irish through Notre Dame. There's no place he'd rather be on March 17.

"It's the music definitely, and just the atmosphere, some people really from Ireland, Michael is from Ireland, and Katie is from Ireland, it's nice to have that connection, my family originated in Donegal Ireland, so I get to celebrate my Irish heritage," said McGann.

McGann says he hopes one day, South Bend's Saint Patrick's Day festivities will be big enough for a week-long celebration.