St. Patrick’s Day celebrations meant a busy day for bars and restaurants in Connecticut, and also for police patrolling the roads.
On St. Patrick’s Day 2018, a lively crowd packed McLadden’s in West Hartford for bangers and mash, corned beef, and of course Guinness.
“The drinks are great. The food is great. It’s all about Irish,” Carrie Ladden of Hamden, Massachusetts, said.
For this pub, it takes weeks of work and all of the staff to pull off this nearly day-long celebration.
“Biggest day! We get crazy. We get totally packed by this afternoon,” Priscilla Polci, McLadden’s manager, said.
According to the National Retail Federation, the day is most popular with adults age 18 to 24. And of those who plan to celebrate, about a quarter plan to go to a bar or restaurant. With so many people headed to parties across the state, state police are launching enhanced patrols.
“Today is normally one of the busier days of the year,” Trooper Aaron Pelletier, State Police, said.
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Pelletier was looking for drivers who are drunk, distracted behind the wheel or involved in other unsafe moves or violations. Troopers had a message for those who celebrate a little too much.
“You can call Uber, Lyft. You can definitely try to find a ride home. I mean there are safer routes than getting behind a wheel and driving and endanger everybody else on the highway,” Pelletier said.
