Downtown Dayton could be party central this weekend with St. Patrick Day’s celebrations, Out on 5th and UD basketball game

Up until now, Out on 5th relaunched each year in April, weeks after St. Paddy’s Day. The program runs through the fall.

St. Patrick’s Day falls on Sunday, but booze-filled celebrations will be held on Saturday, such as music and other entertainment at Dublin Pub and Troll Pub in the Oregon District.

Dublin Pub, which sets up a big tent in its parking lot at East Fifth Street and Wayne Avenue, had more than 10,000 people attend its three days of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations last year, said Anthony Good, general manager of the bar and restaurant.

Dublin Pub has the largest St. Paddy’s Day celebration in Ohio by consumption, he said. The business expects to go through more than 720 bottles of Jameson Irish whiskey and 50 kegs of Guinness.

“I know the 16th will be a huge day for us and the (Oregon) district,” Good said. .

Most of downtown is a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA), which allows people to buy and carry around alcoholic drinks in special cups to consume on the street.

The downtown DORA will be suspended on Sunday for St. Patrick’s Day, but it will be in operation on Saturday.

St. Patrick’s Day events in the Oregon District and downtown usually bring out lots of people, and this year is expected to be no different, especially since it happens over the weekend.

St. Paddy’s Day fell on a Friday last year and was on weekdays in 2022, 2021 and 2020.

The University of Dayton men’s basketball team will play in the A-10 tournament on Thursday night.

And if they advance to play Saturday, UD fans will be out and about in Dayton to watch the game and either celebrate a victory or mourn a loss.

UD students will be on campus over the St. Paddy’s Day weekend. Last year, students were on spring break during the holiday.

However, last year there were raucous parties in the student neighborhoods the following weekend, which resulted in a car being overturned and a large police response, leading to a handful of arrests.

UD students were on spring break in late February. In the last 25 years, St. Patrick’s Day has fallen on days during a university break 11 times, UD officials said.

The city of Dayton recently passed a new “nuisance parties” law that officials say will help police break up out-of-control parties. The law gives police the ability to cite property owners and residents responsible for rowdy parties and also party-goers who refuse to disperse.

UD has and will continue to make clear to its students that they are expected to be good citizens and neighbors and respectful of law enforcement, who “work tirelessly to help keep them safe,” UD officials said.

“We also have made our students aware of the city of Dayton’s recently enacted nuisance party ordinance and what they should consider when hosting or attending social gatherings in our student neighborhood or elsewhere in the city,” officials said.