What would St Patrick say on his big day?
It seems Canberra may have become too trendy for Guinness.
One of the capital's big Irish pubs has decided to move on and drop the Irish connection. Canberrans are turning to craft beers and the black stuff has become yesterday's tipple.
The world famous Irish stout gets its last pour at P.J. O' Reilly's on St Patrick's Day. The day after, on Thursday, the bar also loses its Irish tint and the sign changes to plain "PJ's".
The problem is that Guinness is not favoured by the trendier elements any more. Once it was the drink to be seen with. Now hipsters won't let it pass their lips.
"The new generation don't drink a lot of dark beers, especially heavy ones," bar owner Nathan Lamont said. "They go for more fruity beers."
The new generation don't drink a lot of dark beers, especially heavy ones. It's just the way the Canberra market has gone.
Nathan Lamont
Or even Great Northern, he said.
"It's just the way the Canberra market has gone, especially with all these micro-breweries popping up."
He thought some Canberrans enjoyed "fruit in their beer". "Sours are becoming popular."
He plans to turn the bar into "just a good city pub".
But while Canberrans may be falling out of love with the drink of the Irish, they are not falling out of love with Ireland or its citizens, according to the country's ambassador to Australia.
"Australian tourists are loved," Breandan O Caollai said. He reckoned that about one in five Australians have some connection to Ireland. Australians should start thinking about the resumption of international travel and put Ireland on their destination list. "Plan now for post-COVID," he said.
He is also making a sales pitch to Australian companies. The Republic remains in the European Union, a market of 450 million people, while Britain, a market of 60 million people, is now outside the EU.
"You should continue to look to the EU, and Ireland is the most logical place for you to be," he said.
He was speaking before the big saint's day celebration today. St Patrick's Day at the embassy will be different this year.
Last year, they cancelled the gathering of 500 people at the embassy as the lockdown took hold. This year, there will be a "virtual St Patrick's Day" linking guests in Australia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Nauru and Papua New Guinea.
"St Patrick's Day, 2021 will focus on hope and recovery after what has been a challenging year," the embassy invitation said.
There would be greetings from the ambassador and from the Prime Minister of Ireland. Embassy staff, including the ambassador, would sing and poetry would be read.
Elsewhere, real as opposed to virtual St Patrick's Days were planned - but with some changes.
The Canberra Irish Club in Weston did celebrate in full last year but was closed down three days later. This year, numbers are limited to 250, half capacity. Events are spread through the week.
There will be whiskey and an Irish-themed trivia night. "We are trying to spread the love through the week," general manager Paul Lander said.
There will be a limit of 25 people on the dance floor, with no contact permitted.
"I'm not encouraging public dancing," Mr Lander said.
