They Call It an Irish Pub
Green Season in Columbus has a little something for everyone of an Irish persuasion! We start Monday evening, March 2, when the local Daughters of Erin chapter join Prologue Bookshop of the Short North neighborhood in hosting Irish attorney and author Cliodhna O’Sullivan at the Dublin Recreation Center for an author talk.
Attendees can purchase and have signed her debut young adult fiction piece Her Hidden Fire. For the politically minded, the Proclamation of the Irish Republic will be read at Columbus City Hall, beginning around 10:30 Friday morning, March 6.
Then, it’s Irish music! Lúnasa spends early March in Ohio, with stops at the beautifully restored Holland Theater in Bellefontaine, an hour northwest of Columbus, on March 6, followed by a show at the Shamrock Club March 11. New York City’s newest Irish Rock sensation The Narrowbacks return to the city following their debut performance at the 2025 Dublin Irish Festival. They play Saturday night, March 14, at Byrne’s Pub.
Next, we march! The Columbus St. Patrick’s Day parade happens on the day – Tuesday, March 17. The best viewing is at the corners of High and Broad Streets. For those with tickets, the parade concludes at the Convention Center for the Irish Family Reunion.
Green Season would not be complete without some Irish humor. Mick Foley, the professional wrestler, born Midwestern, and proudly descended from immigrants from County Cork, is now a touring comedian. His Columbus show is at the Attic Comedy Club in Olde Towne East on Sunday, March 22. Now, I recommend turning on The Scratch’s anthem “Another Round,” a refreshingly modern take on an Irish drinking song from the bartender’s perspective, as we tour Columbus’ Irish pub scene.
Columbus Irish Pubs
Downtown’s Irish pub, Dempsey’s Food and Spirits, is at the heart of the city and state’s politics. Founded in 2012 by south sider Mark Dempsey, his son Conor has turned the bar and restaurant into a hub for sports fans, a local music scene, and wonderful event space with its basement Irish speakeasy.
The Notre Dame Backers and Man City Supporters Club both call Dempsey’s home. The bar will also be rocking for the Irish Men’s Soccer World Cup Qualifying Playoff Semi Final on March 26 (and, hopefully, for the Final March 31). Crew fans can start their tailgate at the Pub too, as it lies at the start of the city’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA), and is the perfect walking distance to Scotts Miracle-Gro Field for finishing off a fresh pint of perfectly poured Guinness.
The next stop is the heartbeat of Irish Rock music, Byrne’s Pub, in the Grandview neighborhood just West of downtown. Byrne’s contains a beautiful patio and a fabled music stage that Larry Kirwan of Black ’47-fame still routinely reminisces about on his Sirius XM broadcast Celtic Crush.
614 Magazine regularly rates Byrne’s the best Irish pub in the city in the 2020s. Founded in 1995 by three Byrne brothers, Byrne’s hosts eight Irish music bands this March, and is a hotspot for Bluegrass music in the city year-round.
Just south of downtown is Cavan Irish Pub, a gay bar in its modern incarnation that keeps Guinness flowing on tap. Columbus board game creator Jordan McLaughlin (of Rookie Mage Games for anyone looking for an Irish American Ohio-created gift idea) told the Columbus Chronicle podcast that Cavan is his favorite spot out in the city because it maintains the traditional Irish snug vibe, encouraging conversation amongst pub-goers.
Our Comhaltas chapter fills pubs and bars across Franklin County with Irish trad music in weekly sessions. Tuesdays start the craic with an open session at Ruby’s on Summit, just east of Ohio State’s campus. Then, a “closed session” of member musicians happens every Thursday at McClellan’s Pub, just outside Dublin, while Comhaltas players end the week with a bodhrán bang Sunday evenings at The Lazy Chameleon in Powell.
The city of Dublin offers to cover a weekend bar tab for any Irish tourist who visits the city in the northwest corner of Franklin County. Four friends from Baile Átha Cliath (Dublin, Ireland) took advantage of the offer in March 2024, visiting the owner (and former member of an Garda Siochana) of the Fadó Pub in Bridge Park. The Atlanta-based Fadó chain also has a pub in Easton Town Center, which first opened with the outdoor mall in 1999 and is still slinging pints.
Easton’s Fadó hosts the Celtic Supporters of Columbus, as well as watch parties for 6 Nations Rugby and the Irish Rugby Union. Dublin also sports a Celtic Cocktail Trail of 16 restaurants and bars with at least one Irish themed drink offering.
On the city’s east side, Flanagan’s Pub is renowned with the dog owner class for its dog-friendly patio. O’Reilly’s Pub sits high above North High Street in Clintonville, but presents patrons with the ever-vanishing experience of walking down stairs into a low-ceiling watering hole, like the television patrons of Cheers.
No tour of Columbus pubs is complete without mentioning the members-only bars at the Shamrock Club and Tara Hall. Pub memberships are low-cost and are the best ways to show, and support, your Irish spirit in the city.
The Dead (of Irish Pubs in Columbus)
The Brazenhead Pub of Grandview lasted 20 years until COVID triggered a building sale by its long-time owners. Brazenhead had an exquisite façade (still visible from West 5th Avenue today) and imported hand-made internal bar features from Ireland. In 2019, it’s last year of existence, Brazenhead was rated the top Irish pub in the city by 614 Magazine.
Claddagh Irish Pub in the Brewery District suffered the same fate as all its sister locations from the Solon-based chain in 2018. Its loss left downtown without an Irish trad session until Comhaltas set up in Ruby’s this year.
Pub Mahone also closed downtown in 2022 after a short, wild run of Columbus St. Patrick’s days. The pub became the first bar downtown to have outdoor-facing bar service, previewing today’s popular DORA.
So, raise a glass to today’s Irish pubs in Columbus, and pour a little out for those which have departed. Have a wonderful, safe Green Season and happy St. Patrick’s Day!
