Aston Villa legend Paul McGrath to join Birmingham St Patrick’s Day celebrations

He won a legion of fans with his brilliant football defending skills at Villa Park for seven years.

Paul McGrath became a legend at the Birmingham Premier League club where he even became known as a “God” with his own chant - ‘Oh Ah Paul McGrath. He also played for the Republic of Ireland.

Now retired he writes about football for an Irish newspaper and is currently fundraising for a brain injury charity. And he’s returning to Birmingham to take part in the St Patrick’s Day celebrations at The Old Crown in Digbeth.

The city’s oldest pub is holding ten days of festivities in honour of Ireland’s patron saint - from March 8 to 18 along with The Old Library at the Custard Factory. And you are invited to spend an evening with Paul at The Old Library on Thursday, March 16 from 6:30pm to 11pm. The pub is also hosting a DJ set from Irish post punk band Fontaines DC who won International Group of the Year at the BRIT awards recently.

The annual St Patrick’s Day Parade in Digbeth isn’t taking place this year- with the ongoing tramworks making the event difficult - like last year. The parade is now managed by the Birmingham Irish Association (BIRA) which is reviewing its future. BIRA is also looking at hosting a low key fringe event, but no confirmation has yet been made of the details on this.

Meanwhile several pubs in Digbeth, including The Old Crown, Norton’s and Hennesseys are hosting several days of St Patrick’s celebrations - including special ‘Parade Day’ events on Sunday March 12.

The Old Crown co-owner Ciaran Healy said: ‘’While we are of course disappointed that the parade won’t be returning to Digbeth this year, we aren’t going to let this dampen our spirits or halt our celebrations. We can’t wait to welcome all those hoping to celebrate to join us for what we are hoping will be our biggest year yet.’’

Here’s a list of all the St Patrick’s celebrations at The Old Crown and The Old Library:

The Old Crown

• Saturday 11th March - Fleetwood Mac Tribute Night with Rihannon
• Sunday 12th March - ‘’Parade Day’ Party with Fontaines DC (DJ Set), On The Sesh, Ash Sheehan and Ire-ish plus DJs
• Monday 13th March - A showing of ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ at The Mockingbird Cinema, all proceeds go to the Birmingham Irish Association
• Tuesday 14th March - Comedy Night with Barbara Nice, Mary Flanegan and Special Guests
• Wednesday 15th March - The Big Fat Irish Quiz with host Aideen McQueen
• Friday 17th March - St Patrick’s Day & Cheltenham Gold Cup Day with live music from On The Sesh and Lampa
• Friday 18th March - The Six Nations, shown live at the pub: Scotland vs Italy, France vs Wales and England vs Ireland with live music from Ash Sheehan

The Old Library

• Wednesday 8th March - An Evening with Professor Carl Chinn MBE - The Real Peaky Blinders: An Irish Connection? An Illustrated Talk
• Wednesday 15th March - An Evening with Professor Carl Chinn MBE - Making Their Mark - The Irish of Victorian Birmingham. An Illustrated Talk.
• Thursday 16th March - An Evening with Paul McGrath