Boston Pub Sells Most Guinness in Massachusetts for St. Patrick's Day

The Dubliner, an Irish pub in downtown Boston, prepares for the influx of customers by ordering hundreds of kegs of Guinness and thousands of pounds of Irish staples.

Published on Mar. 8, 2026

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In Boston, Massachusetts, where Irish ancestry runs deep and St. Patrick's Day is a state holiday, the Irish pub The Dubliner sells the most Guinness in the state during the holiday. The pub's owner, Aidan McGee, starts preparing more than a month in advance, coordinating deliveries of hundreds of pounds of fish, meat, and potatoes, along with 250 kegs of Guinness to meet the demand.

Why it matters

St. Patrick's Day is a major event in Boston, with the city taking its local festivities seriously. The Dubliner, as one of the most popular Irish pubs in the city, plays a central role in the celebrations, showcasing the scale and logistics required to cater to the influx of customers during this time.

The details

McGee fields office catering requests of up to 100 people for Friday lunches around St. Patrick's Day, when workers want to celebrate with Irish stews, shepherd's pie, and spice bags. The pubs don't usually sell corned beef and cabbage, but the chef adds it to the menu for the entire month of March. To keep the kitchens flush in fish and chips, McGee's fish vendor coordinates with another supplier in Iceland that skins and fillets hundreds of pounds of fresh haddock, puts it on ice, and then flies it into Boston's Logan Airport in bulk orders of 200 pounds per day. Over St. Patrick's Day weekend, between the two restaurants, the kitchens will go through 800 pounds of potatoes for chips and mashed potatoes, 400 pounds of diced beef for Irish stew, and 300 pounds of lamb mince for shepherd's pie. At the bar, McGee has two bartenders dedicated solely to pulling pints of Guinness throughout the weekend, and he rented two trailers to store 250 kegs of Guinness, which he expects to run through over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

  • The prep starts more than a month in advance.
  • Reservations sold out at both restaurants by mid-February.

The players

Aidan McGee

The chef and owner of Irish pubs McGonagle's and the Dubliner, a popular downtown Boston spot that sells the most Guinness in Massachusetts.

The Dubliner

A popular downtown Boston Irish pub that sells the most Guinness in Massachusetts.

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What they’re saying

“It's like all hands on deck”

— Aidan McGee, Chef and Owner (Food & Wine)

“Unless Taylor Swift's available this year, I don't think we'll top that”

— Aidan McGee, Chef and Owner (Food & Wine)

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

This story highlights the massive logistical effort required by an Irish pub in Boston to cater to the influx of customers during the St. Patrick's Day holiday, showcasing the scale of the celebrations in a city with deep Irish roots.