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Luck of the Irish at O'Hara's Public House

With a 'Snug' in a Pub, O'Hara's Brings Irish Fare, Fun Alive in Lexington... Especially on St. Paddy's Day

As Americans everywhere take a swig of green beer and celebrate the luck o’ the Irish for Saint Patrick’s Day, Lexington’s own O’Hara’s Public House is gearing up for an outdoor-centric, social distancing event this year.

O’Hara’s is decidedly central South Carolina’s most authentic Irish Pub, and while COVID-19 mashed up the 2020 St. Paddy’s Day celebration, Matt O’Hara said this year’s festivities will make use of the expansive outdoor space at the pub for revelers to celebrate safely.

O’Hara’s Public House at 131 E. Main Street is the dream restaurant of Matt O’Hara, one of 15 children born into an large Irish family.  He and his wife own the restaurant along with three other couples - the Wingards, the Reisnauers and the Schildkenchts

“For years I wanted to have a restaurant. When I was in college and just out of school, I bartending and waited tables. And I always said ‘well when I have my restaurant, we'll do it like this.’ I always going to do it but I spent 25 years getting further away from my days in the restaurant thing,” said O’Hara. “But a particular building in downtown Lexington that was perfect, and it was at a time when I was looking at what I was going to do next.”

O'Hara was born into a large Irish family, and he credits his mother with inspiring him to chase his dreams. Joan "Babe" Sathe O'Hara didn't just raise 15 children, but she commanded respect for living her faith and supporting her children's dreams.

"To simply count the number of her offspring is a huge disservice to the quality of her life and the depth of her love," said O'Hara. "I don't take lightly my role in furthering her life's work - to make this world a better place for having been in it."

O’Hara’s opened in April 2018, serving up Irish favorites like fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, bangers and mash and corned beef and cabbage, but also other dishes like “crazy” sandwiches and three offerings of fresh fish daily.

“I think we are the only Irish pub in Lexington or in Columbia, South Carolina, the capital city of ours,” said O’Hara. “We wanted to make the pub as close as possible to the traditional Irish pubs of Ireland and New York City. You get a real feel for what the pubs are like in Ireland in the quality of the craftsmanship the woodwork and the lighting and the craftsmanship.”

O’Hara even kept the Irish tradition of a “snug,” which is an intimate little space tucked away in many traditional Irish pubs.

“The snug is out of the line of sight of the rest of the people in the place. I think we have the only snug in South Carolina,” said O’Hara.

On the heels of a successful St. Patrick’s Day Celebration and Parade in Lexington in 2019, O’Hara’s was geared up to host another family-oriented celebration in 2020. Four days before the parade and party, the event was canceled. 

“We've been having this Shamrock Parade in downtown Lexington for five years and we're building a tradition right there on Main Street where O'Hara's Public House is,” he said. “The town of Lexington is planning to proceed with the parade this year, and we are excited about being involved in the parade. I've got significant outdoor space behind our place with a covered deck that we are going to use, and we’ll have additional tables all spaced out.”

After the big parade on Saturday, the pub will also host Tokyo Joe, one of Columbia’s most popular musical acts.

“People will have plenty of opportunities to spread out and enjoy the celebration,” said O”Hara.

For more information about O’Hara’s, visit oharas-public-house.com.

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