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Irish Eyes: Victor McLaglen and Margot Grahame star in 'The Informer,' John Ford's classic about the Irish rebellion--and a perfect warm-up video for this year's St. Patrick's Day celebrations. Gael Force The real Green Party does its politicking this weekend--a guide to St. Patrick's Day celebrations around the South Bay Everyone can expound on Joyce and Yeats on St. Patrick's Day, but for real one-upmanship, try dropping the name of Flann O'Brien (1911-66), newspaper columnist (under the pseudonym "Myles na Gopaleen") and author of the comic novels At Swim-Two-Birds and The Third Policeman. As a life-long resident of Ireland, O'Brien's primary enemy was the kind of imagery usually flogged on St. Patrick's Day, a grotty stage-Irishness of sticky nostalgia, However, the man who headlined one of his columns for the Irish Times "Tips for Sots" would appreciate being remembered at a bar any day of the year, let alone this weekend. A list of appropriate watering holes follows, and the curious can read Richard von Busack's tribute to Flann O'Brien. March 15 Pigtown The Mostly Irish Theater Company kicks off the weekend with Mike Finn's play about the city of Limerick. Fri and Sat at 8pm, Sat at 2pm. The Stage, 490 S. First St, San Jose. 408.283.7142. St. Patrick's Day Weekend Fri: Irish music, corned beef and cabbage. 10pm-closing. Sat: Irish music, all-day Irish breakfast and music by DJ Adam 10pm-closing. Sun: Irish music and dancers, Irish breakfast until 2pm, followed by an Irish menu and music by DJ Adam 10pm-closing. Mar 15-Mar 17. St. Stephen's Green, 223 Castro St, Mountain View. 650.964.9151. March 16 Pre-St. Paddy's Day Party With Celtic music. Mar 16, 4-9pm. King's Head Pub, 201 Orchard City Dr, Campbell. 408.871.2499. St. Patrick's Day Uprising Featuring a festive food buffet and green drink specials. $18 adv/$20 before midnight. Kelly's Mission Rock, 817 China Basin Way, San Francisco. St. Patrick's Day Festival Food, drink, kids' events and music by the Hot Town Jubilee, Flashback and more. 10am-6pm, downtown Campbell. 408.286.1313. St. Patrick's Festival With Irish music, food, drinks and events. 11am-11pm. free. City Beach, 4020 Technology Pl, Fremont. 510.621.2500. St. Patrick's Day Warmup With Mystique. 9:30pm-2am. Fat Cat Bar & Grill, 358 N. White Rd at McKee, San Jose. 408.254.8472. St. Patrick's Day Eve Lushfest with Celtic Soul. Plant Fifty One, 44 Almaden, San Jose. 408.297.5151 St. Paddy's Day Party With Michael Mann and a gourmet buffet dinner. Backbeat Nightclub, 777 Lawrence Expwy, San Jose. 408.241.0777. March 17 C.B. Hannegan's Includes all-you-can-eat corned beef and cabbage plus live music with the Hannegan's Home Boys Pipe Band and the Cruise Tones. $40 all-day, leave-and-return admission. C.B. Hannegan's, 208 Bachman Ave, Los Gatos. 408.295.1233. Drunken St. Paddy's Day With 10 bands, including the Odd Numbers, the Forgotten, the Shitkickers, the Feathers and Four Banger, plus food and beer specials. Starts at noon. The Usual, 400 S. First St, San Jose, 408.535.0330. JJ's St. Patrick's Day Party With Muddy's Sons. Jam starts 3pm. $3 corned beef and cabbage plus green beer, Irish coffee and Bailey's coffee. JJ's Blues, 3439 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara. 408.243.6441. Katie's Bloom's San Jose A good place to find a crowd. Katie Bloom's, 150 S. First St, San Jose. 408.294. 4408. Katie Bloom's Campbell With live music by Celtic Soul and other bands, plus Irish dancers. Katie Bloom's Irish Pub & Restaurant, 369 Campbell Ave at Central, Campbell. 408.379.9687. Murphy's Law St. Patrick's Day With live music and corned beef. Murphy's Law, 135 S. Murphy Ave, Sunnyvale. 408.736.3822. St. Paddy's Day Celebration Irish music with the King's Head Bangers, John Taylor & Devil's Elbow, Kilmor and Annwn. Starts at 1pm. King's Head Pub, 201 Orchard City Dr, Campbell. 408.871.2499. St. Patrick's Day and Ideal's Anniversary Celebrate eight years with drink specials and live music. No cover. Ideal Bar & Grill, 106 Beach St, Santa Cruz, 831.423.5271. St. Patrick's Day at the Asti With Irish tunes on the jukebox, Irish draft beer specials and corned beef and cabbage sandwiches. The Asti Cafe, 715 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz. St. Patrick's Day at Mountain Charley's The Gents, plus corned beef and cabbage and drink specials. Doors noon; music 9:30pm. Mountain Charley's, 15 N. Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos. 408.395.8880. St. Patrick's Day at Scruffy Murphy's With live Irish music, Irish dancers, corned beef and cabbage. Scruffy Murphy's, 187 S. Murphy Ave, Sunnyvale. 408.735.7394. St. Patrick's Day at Stephen's Green With Irish music, Irish dancers, corned beef and cabbage and more. St. Stephen's Green, 223 Castro St, Mountain View. 650.964.9151. St. Patrick's Day at The Claddagh Deja Blue, John Garcia and the Lush Puppies perform. With Irish dancers, pipers, food and drink. The Claddagh, 1300 S. First St, Gilroy. 408.848.5050. St. Patrick's Day at Spivac's With green martinis and a traditional Irish menu. Spivac's, 5635 Silver Creek Valley Rd, San Jose. 408.528.1203. St. Patrick's Day Bash Bagpipes, food and more. 2:30pm-2am. Molly Magee's, 241 Castro St, Mountain View. 650.961.0108. St. Paddy's Day Brewfest Sample beers from local breweries and enjoy corned beef and cabbage and green beer. Noon-5pm. $20/$25/$15 Mug Club members. Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, 1875 S. Bascom, Campbell. 408.377.0707. St. Patrick's Day Party With bagpipe player Richard Katz, 12:30am-1:30pm; Golden Green School Irish Dancers, 1:30-2pm; and music by Floyd's Ordeal in the evening. Fibbar Magee's Sunnyvale, 156 S. Murphy Ave, Sunnyvale. 408.749.8373. St. Patrick's Day Special Sports Page, 1431 Plymouth Ave, Mountain View. 650.961.1992. St. Patrick's Day with the "Temptations": A Revue Los Altos Bar and Grill, 169 Main St, Los Altos. 650.948.4332. St. Patrick's Day with Majic Wanda Britannia Arms Almaden, 5027 Almaden Expwy, San Jose. 408.266.0550. St. Patrick's Day with Crank Case Britannia Arms Cupertino, 1087 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Rd, Cupertino. 408.252.7262. St. Patrick's Day with the Ray Monday Band Toon's, 52 E. Santa Clara St, San Jose. 408.292.7464. St. Paddy's Day Celebration Jay Salter plays bagpipes 1-2pm; Whiskey in a Jug plays Celtic tunes 2-5pm; music and dancing 9pm-midnight. With corned beef and cabbage, green beers, black & tans and more. Zelda's on the Beach, 203 Esplanade, Capitola. 831.475.4900. St. Paddy's Day Hangout Spot With blue beer and $10 flat rate pool all day. Noon. South First Billiards, 420 S. First St, San Jose. 408.294.7800. St. Paddy's Day with Lara Price No cover. #1 Broadway, 102 S. Santa Cruz Ave, Los Gatos. 408.354.4303. Rosie McCann's Irish Pub Irish music and food all the time, but even better today. Until 10pm. 1220 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz. 831.426.9930. [ Silicon Valley | Metroactive Home | Archives ]