St Patrick’s Day in lockdown at Bradford's oldest Irish pub

The pub claims to be Bradford’s oldest Irish pub and for them St Patrick’s Day is the biggest day of the year.

The green decorations would have been put on the wall and the DJ booth prepped for the night’s festivities.

The Harp of Erin pub

However, this isn’t a normal year and the pandemic has put a stop to St Patrick’s Day festivities once again.

The government has announced that pubs with beer gardens will be allowed to reopen from April 12- but until this date, pub goers will have to wait.

We caught up with one of The Harp's barmen to discuss their favourite St Patrick's Day memories- and to see what they have lined up for next year.

How the Harp of Erin is linked to Bradford’s Irish community

In 1851, Bradford had the had the highest proportion of Irish-born people in Yorkshire and made up around 10% of the city's population.

The Harp of Erin pub is strongly tied to this historic Irish connection.

Paul Jennings, the author of Bradford Pubs and The Local: A History of the English Pub, looked at the origins of The Harp of Erin and how it tied closely with the Irish community.

The pub was situated in the Longlands district, a housing development that was hope to many Irish men and women, who had been arriving in Bradford since the 1820s.

A landlord called Patrick Henry took over the pub in 1882 and changed its name to the Harp of Erin. He himself had been born In Ireland and clearly wished the fact to be reflected in his pub.

Under Patrick’s ownership, the Harp of Erin became an integral part of the local Irish community acting as a grocer’s shop and also taking in lodgers.

St Patrick’s Day in The Harp of Erin

In the modern day, The Harp of Erin hasn't forgotten its Irish roots.

John Berry has been a barman at The Harp for seven years- and he fits in comfortably at the Irish pub as most of his family are from Belfast.

John Berry

He said: “I started working there when I was 14- I was doing a little bit of glass collecting. This evolved to me working behind the bar.”

Irish and Celtic customers are no strangers to the pub; there is even a corner of the pub that has been playfully nicknamed 'Scotch Corner' and it is often occupied by Scottish and Irish regulars.  

Berry said St Patricks Day is undoubtedly the “biggest day of the year” and the pub is always packed with customers and live music.

He is disappointed that the St Patrick's Day celebrations couldn't go ahead this year.

Irish decorations in the pub

John said his regular customers are also upset that the day can’t go ahead.

He added: “People have been messaging me this morning saying ‘we wish we were in The Harp today’.

“Even though we live in England- it’s still an important day for so many people”.

John said you can’t beat the jovial atmosphere on the day.

By day, John manages the bar but he says the place completely transforms at night when he takes up his role as a DJ.

He added: “I love seeing everybody dancing and having a laugh on St Patrick’s Day.”

“It will be strange not to hear The Fields of Athenry and The Wild Rover belting out.”

The pub truly does pull out all the stops for St Patrick's Day.

In 2019, they had a live singer and some people even dressed up for the occasion.

St Patrick's Day in 2019 (Photo: Facebook Live screenshot)

However, John Berry isn’t going to let lockdown dampen his spirits and he is still determined to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.

He said:  “I’ve booked the day off work- I’m going to nip to Tesco and get a crate of Guinness.”

For those missing their St Patrick’s Day celebrations at The Harp of Erin, John Berry said he has some big things planned for next year’s festivities.

He said: “We will be out of this soon and it will be a bigger and better St Patrick’s Day next year.

"We have some interesting ideas in the pipeline to make the next St Patrick's Day extra special."

“I might even dress up as a Leprechaun.”

If you are desperate to return to the Harp of Erin (even if it's not on St Patrick's Day), the pub will be opening for beer garden service from April 12.