Saskatoon Irish pub owner claims his family introduced green beer to western Canada

The owner of an Irish pub in downtown Saskatoon says his bar has been busy all weekend, since St. Patrick’s Day fell on a Sunday this year.

“It’s a whole weekend of celebration,” said Daniel Ford Beavis, owner of O’Shea’s Irish Pub.

He said having it on a weekend gave families the opportunity to come for lunch and watch a performance from Irish dancers.

“When I started this over 22 years ago, I couldn’t image that I was going to be this family man,” Beavis said.

“But now we just love it, it’s all about the families.”

Celebrating the Irish holiday has been his family tradition for decades.

Beavis said his grandfather, who owned a hotel and bar just down the street, was the first person in western Canada to mark the occasion with green beer.

“They would dye the whole keg green, and they would go through 60 kegs of beer in one day on St. Patrick’s Day.”

The signature drink is made by mixing green food coloring and beer.

“It was always a good day to come in the next day because you get discounted beer, because they had to get rid of that leftover green beer.” 

(Stacey Hein / CTV News Saskatoon)