The annual Shamrock the District event will occur for the sixth time on March 15 to 17 at the Muldoon’s restaurant in Carmel’s Arts and Design District. First hosted in 2018, the three-day event on the weekend of St. Patrick’s Day celebrates Irish culture and heritage. According to Beth Hohlier, the owner of Muldoon’s, there will be multiple events to celebrate the holiday.

“It’s our annual St. Patrick’s Day weekend party. We have bagpipers, bands, karaoke and more inside the tent and inside the restaurant,” Hohlier said. “We have Irish bingo that’s new this year inside the tent on Saturday.”

Shamrock the District is just one of the events that support Carmel’s Irish community, whose members have differing perspectives on their heritage. For junior Riley Abernathy, Irish culture is a part of her identity, but not her daily experiences. She said the Irish community is quite loose in Carmel.

“[Irish culture] has been a thing that I’ve been able to bond with other people about, and I really appreciate that,” Abernathy said. “I haven’t really seen it around the school. I’ve met a couple of people who do dance. Some people enjoy the food, but I haven’t seen it represented as much as some other cultures. I recognize Irish culture to be an aspect and not really a core section of my identity. I just think it’s something that is really fun and interesting to learn about.”

Junior Aidan Hartman said he has a similar relationship with Irish culture. Hartman said although he considers himself Irish, his exposure to Irish culture is limited as an American.

“Ever since my family moved to America, we don’t really do that much with Irish culture,” Hartman said. “We as a family celebrate the general events, like you know, St. Patrick’s Day. But beyond that, we don’t do much. I don’t really have that many experiences with Irish culture to be honest.”

Nevertheless, Abernathy said she considered events like Shamrock the District to paint a more accurate portrayal of Irish culture than current mass media. 

“As with any holiday, St. Patrick’s Day has become a lot more commercialized. We have these images of the holidays like wearing green. A lot of people don’t know the history behind it and a lot of people kind of think of it similar in importance to Valentine’s Day. People don’t know about the activities that you could do or the food you eat or the things you do with your family,” Abernathy said. “I think [Shamrock the District] would give a good insight into what kinds of activities and events that take place within celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.

[Shamrock the District] would be a great event especially if you were interested in Irish culture and wanted to learn some more about how other people celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. It seems like a very interesting way to spend the weekend and have fun.”

Although Hartman said he personally has not had many experiences with the wider Irish community, he said the importance of community events cannot be understated.

“Especially because we live in America, when we talk with other people with Irish heritage or go to Irish events, it’s a good reminder of what kind of people we are and who our ancestors are,” Hartman said.

According to Hohlier, she hosts the event because Irish culture is part of Muldoon’s identity as a restaurant. To her, showing Irish culture to others is the center of the event.

“We are the oldest Irish bar in Carmel,” Hohlier said. “We always say everyone is Irish at Muldoon’s. All ages and kinds of people participate in Shamrock the District and have fun.”