Wisconsin has the Green Bay Packers. Georgia has fried green tomatoes. Sam-I-am had green eggs and ham. And for one day each year, Syracuse has green beer.

The final Sunday in February is known as Green Beer Sunday in Tipperary Hill, the historically Irish neighborhood on Syracuse’s Westside. For more than half a century, Coleman’s Authentic Irish Pub has been throwing the celebration to kick off St. Patrick’s Day season.

Coleman’s first opened its doors in 1933, and current owner Peter Coleman has been working there since 1955. Coleman has mentioned that he was a heavy drinker back then, and the idea for Green Beer Sunday came to him after he grew frustrated with being unable to enjoy the St. Patrick’s Day celebration due to the tavern’s demanding crowds, according to Syracuse.com.

The event has since become a Tipp Hill staple, attracting visitors across the city while embodying the neighborhood’s rich cultural heritage. Named after the County Tipperary in Ireland, where many of the district’s early residents emigrated from, Tipperary Hill is filled to the brim with legends and tales like the plastic cups that hold its green beer.

The Irish culture is deeply rooted within the Tipperary Hill community on Syracuse’s Westside.
Sara Schleicher | Staff Photographer

Lisa Alton, a longtime hostess at Coleman’s, described the event as her favorite of the tavern’s annual celebrations.

“It’s like every holiday rolled into one. And because it’s unique, it makes it special,” she said. “People here are really proud of their Irish heritage.”

The Stone Throwers Monument stands at Tipperary Hill Memorial Park to honor the stalwart persistence demonstrated by a group of neighborhood boys in the 1920s. When the city first installed traffic lights in 1925, local youths were irate that the red light sat atop the green. Perceived as a symbol of British oppression over the Irish, they continued to hurl stones at the light until officials stepped in and permanently installed the green light over the red, according to Syracuse.com.

This fabled light, resting atop the intersection of Milton Avenue and Tompkins Street, serves as the ceremonial starting point of the “World’s Shortest Parade” that kicks off Green Beer Sunday’s festivities. The parade lasts just a block and a half to Coleman’s.

Mayor Ben Walsh was selected by Coleman to be the grand marshal of this year’s parade. Donning Irish flag-striped sashes, he, his wife and their two daughters led the procession.

Walsh described the opportunity to serve as grand marshal, like both his father and grandfather before him, as extremely special.

“I was really excited to get that call from Mr. Coleman,” he said.

After graduating from Ithaca College, Walsh moved to Tipp Hill, which he described as an easy decision.

“My father grew up here. I’m very proud of my family’s history of public service in this community, and it really did start on Tipperary Hill,” Walsh said. “This neighborhood has always held a special place in my heart.”

Mayor Ben Walsh was selected by Peter Coleman to be the grand marshal of this year’s parade. He said he was excited to get the call.
Sara Schleicher | Staff Photographer

As the Walsh family made their way down Tompkins Street on a rainy Sunday afternoon, they were shadowed by a trio of Irish dancing schools, doing colorful jigs and reels to the tune of traditional Celtic melodies.

Coleman, in his signature gold corduroy sport coat, was chauffeured in a New York Yankees-pinstriped vehicle, tossing chocolate coins and green necklaces to the children on the sidewalk, taking shelter beneath their parents’ umbrellas.

The procession was complete once the large tanker truck holding the sacred green beer arrived outside the pub. Tradition requires the grand marshal to tap the first glass of beer from the spigot on the truck’s rear end with Coleman at his side.

The emerald hue of the beer sparkled as Walsh held up the ceremonial first glass to the crowd, receiving cheers before taking his first sip.

When asked about the flavor of the alleged “beer from the Emerald Isle,” a sly grin spread across Walsh’s face. “It tastes like beer.”

For partygoers not akin to the taste of beer, or those who can’t have gluten, 1911 Established, a brewery in LaFayette, offered for the first time a green hard cider alternative.

Katie Meehan, 1911’s director of marketing, said they “thought it could be a great addition to liven things up and give people an option that they’ve never had before.”

The historically Irish neighborhood draws people from all over to kick of the St. Patrick’s Day season.
Sara Schleicher | Staff Photographer

Like Coleman’s, 1911 cider has been a central New York staple for decades.

“We both have a ton of heritage and history, but we’re both also committed to innovation and keeping things fresh, so this is a great way to do it and partner together,” Meehan said.

After the parade, the party roared on for hours in Coleman’s parking lot and pavilion. Local college students, donning every green article of clothing one could imagine, were unaffected by the inclement weather as they danced through the puddles.

One student sported a necklace of pretzels, casually offering snacks to a crowd whose most trying concern of the day was the length of the bathroom lines.

It wasn’t just the young attendees relishing in the green alcohol, though. By the outdoor bar, an older woman could be overheard finishing a sentence with, “and that’s why I couldn’t give up liquor for Lent.”

By 2:30 p.m. the rain had subsided and the sun gingerly made an appearance. Through the clouds, a faint rainbow could be seen by attentive viewers. There were no sightings of a leprechaun sheltering a pot of gold, but one would assume that if there was, he’d be spotted instead with a few pitchers of green beer.

Published on February 25, 2018 at 10:29 pm

Contact Adam: aglehner@syr.edu