48-Year-Old Boston Bar Has Been Called the ‘Fenway of Irish Pubs’

It should not come as a shock to you that Boston was named the #1 city to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in 2024. According to Boston.com, the massive St. Patrick's Day parade in Southie brings in around a million visitors per year alone!

There is also no shortage of Irish Pubs where you can commemorate the holiday with an Irish Haircut or an Irish Car Bomb (if you know, you know).

But when it comes to Irish Pubs, there is one that reigns supreme, and that pub is The Black Rose in Faneuil Hall. So many of my fond (yet blurry) post-college memories were spent in the confines of this establishment.

The Black Rose (or "The Rose", as some affectionately call it) opened its doors in 1976. It was the first bar that opened in downtown Boston that was distinctly Irish, and they really leaned into it. I'm talking traditional Irish music every night, Guinness by the pint, poetry readings (limericks, I surmise), and authentic Irish fare. Word started to spread about the cold Guinness and cool vibes this place was serving, so naturally, locals came to check it out. Then politicians came from City Hall to see what the buzz was all about. Pretty soon, The Black Rose became a Boston institution, right up there with Duck Boats or the Fenway Frank.

If you want to spend your Saint Patrick's Day at what The Boston Globe calls "The Fenway Park of Irish Pubs", you should probably get there early. Rumor has it the line is 50 deep by 6 am on St. Patrick's Day, and they open at 8 am. You might need to wear your beer blanket!