Whether you are truly of Irish descent or just like to get with the spirit of Eire every mid-March, Packy’s is the place to go in 2008.

Self-described as “almost a landmark” of West Boca, Packy’s opened its doors nearly 20 years ago in the Shops of Loggers Run on Palmetto Park Road, a few miles west of 441. It’s the closest thing in our area to Cheers, a neighborhood sort of place where many patrons know each other as well as the long-time servers who look after them.

St. Patrick’s Day has been a fixture of this cozy but sprawling restaurant and pub from the get-go. But this year it aims to take the celebration of shamrock and green to a new level.

On Saturday, March 15, Packy’s will hold a “Pre St. Packy’s Day Party” starting at 11 am and lasting deep into the night. It will feature live Irish music throughout the day and night, a clown for kids, and a character lady whose signature is funny faces. A continuous barbecue will be fired up in front of the store. The kitchen will serve corned beef & cabbage among other Irish dishes. And the bar will offer up a range of favorite Irish drinks from green beer to Irish car bombs.

For the date-observant purists, most of the above will be repeated on Monday, March 17 – but not the curbside barbecue.

So who was this guy that tens of millions of Americans pay homage to every March 17?

As a young pagan teenager in 4th century Ireland, the boy who would much later be known was Patrick was seized and enslaved for six years, during which time he found Christianity. After escaping from his captors at the age of 22, he made his way to a monastery in France where he studied for 12 years. Upon his return to Ireland in the early 5th century, he enjoyed tremendous success converting the pagan Irish to Christianity, for which he was ultimately named the bishop of Ireland. His legendary life spanned nearly eight decades – a great feat of longevity for those days. He finally died in 461 AD – on March 17, of course.

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