Kells Portland Irish Festival, Shamrock Run Bring Thousands to Downtown Portland This Weekend — Sport Oregon Voices

Annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration takes over Tom McCall Waterfront Park Friday through Sunday

For the second year in a row, two of the city’s most popular and long-standing events are partnering to put on another huge weekend festival in downtown Portland that is sure to attract thousands of event-goers and running enthusiasts from near and far.

Tom McCall Waterfront Park once again serves as the epicenter of fun and start and finish lines for the Kells Portland Irish Festival and Shamrock Run. The Kells Portland Irish Festival activities begin Friday and run through the weekend, while the annual Shamrock Run will be held on St. Patrick’s Day this Sunday.  

The two events joined forces in 2023, combining the traditional appeal of two of the leading St. Patrick’s Day traditions in the area. The collaboration once again promises a combined celebration unlike any other, pairing one of the largest runs in the region with one of its most popular Irish festivals.

“It was really exciting to come back post-shutdown in 2023 in such a big way,” said Kells owner Garrett McAleese. “Combing our resources with the Shamrock Run, we’ve been able to do some really cool things. Both organizations have high standards, and it’s been a great partnership.”

This year’s Portland Irish Festival kicks off Friday, March 15, at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, with additional festivities and activities also taking place at Kells Irish Pub in downtown Portland and Kells Brewery in Northwest Portland.

The festival will feature the best in Irish culture, including live music from notable artists from near and far, traditional Irish dancing, bagpipes, a variety of vendors and Irish food and beverages. McAleese says that there will be more interactive attractions and cultural activities than ever this year. Attendees can observe the traditional handmade woodworking craft of Irish boat-making; witness demonstrations of traditional Irish sports like rugby, Gaelic football and hurling; and even take a crack at learning a few basic native Irish language phrases.

Always a popular part of the weekend, boxing takes center stage Friday night at the waterfront, with some of the finest Golden Glove boxers from Ireland going toe-to-toe with some of the best amateur fighters from the Northwest. Gates open at 5 p.m., while the boxing action begins at 7 p.m. Tickets available here.

Saturday is Family Day at the Portland Irish Festival, providing an interactive day of fun for kids of all ages. Family Day opens at 12 noon and is free until 5 p.m. It offers live music, traditional Irish dancing, face painting, balloon animals, Providence Child Care activity booth, The Hedge School, local arts and crafts, cultural community groups, partner vendors and the chance to interact with majestic Irish wolfhounds.

The best value for this year’s Irish Festival is a three-day pass, which includes access to all three Kells locations throughout the entire festival plus a general admission ticket to Friday’s boxing event. Single-day passes are $20 in advance or $30 at the door. Each pass is good for admission to all three festival locations. Advance tickets are available for purchase here.

Once again this year, Kells is collecting and matching donations during the Irish Festival for the Kells For Kids Fund, which benefits the Center for Medically Fragile Children at Providence Child Center. To date, Kells has donated more than $250,000 through the fundraiser.

The Shamrock Run is the feature attraction Sunday, with all races originating and finishing at Waterfront Park. The traditional St. Patrick’s Day run, which celebrates its 46th edition this year, annually draws upwards of 20,000 runners, walkers and supporters for a half-marathon, 15k, 8k, 5k, Shamrock Stride and, for the kids, the Doernbecher Leprechaun Lap.

Registration for the Shamrock Run is available here.

According to Alex Jee, community manager for the Shamrock Run, incentives are being offered to elite running teams that participate in the Shamrock Run 8k this year. The fastest of these elite teams wins $500, and the largest team in terms of participants receives $500. Individual winners of the 8k will win $300 plus their weight in beer, bringing back a popular tradition.

As one of the area’s longest-standing and largest running events, the Shamrock Run has long been considered an opening day of sorts for the running season in Portland. Among the many things that make the Shamrock Run special, its appeal to participants of all skill levels makes it attractive and accessible to many. The Shamrock Run has grown into a fun event where even the most casual of runners or walkers feel at home jumping in and participating. In short, everyone has their own personal goal and emerges as a winner while taking in the Portland scenery and the best of what the city has to offer.

The combined Shamrock Run and Irish Festival provides a sizeable impact to the city and surrounding area. Namely, the boost the event annually produces for local hotels and restaurants is significant and always comes at a good time, as it provides substantial tourism activity and local business at a time of the year that’s traditionally a bit slower. But that’s when Portland is starting to hit its stride each year, as the event traditionally marks the beginning of an always impressive events and festivals calendar that attracts visitors from all over.

“Kells Irish Fest and the annual Shamrock Run kick off Portland's spring events season each year,” said Megan Conway, chief strategy officer for Travel Portland. “Both are critical events that bring to life Portland's values of fitness, fun and community. Partnering for the last two years has elevated both events, and we look forward to welcoming locals and visitors back to downtown Portland again this March.”

Of course, it takes a lot of people to put on such a big weekend for Portland. For his part, McAleese says that, in addition to his regular staff, Kells brings on upwards of 200 extra staff to make the Irish Festival run smoothly. That number increases significantly when you factor in the many hundreds more volunteers the Shamrock Run brings in.

McAleese says a lot of added staff for the weekend on the Kells side are former employees who started at the pub as bussers, working their way up to bartending before eventually moving on to professional careers. A lot of these extra staff members are from out of the area and simply enjoy being a part of the fun each year, he says. And when you’ve been doing the event for the better part of four decades, you build up a pretty good rolodex of loyal folks willing and eager to help make the event such a big success each year.

There’s a little something for everyone as part of the annual St. Patrick’s Day weekend celebration in downtown Portland, so be sure to take in some or all of the activities.