Pubs and restaurants saw 16% increase in transactions on St Patrick's Day

Trade in Irish pubs and restaurants jumped on St Patrick's Day, with transaction volumes climbing 16% higher than on the same day in 2025, data from payments platform Clover showed.

Trade in Irish pubs and restaurants jumped on St Patrick's Day, with transaction volumes climbing 16% higher than on the same day in 2025, data from payments platform Clover showed.

Clover said activity peaked at 5pm on Tuesday, as many of Ireland's parade crowds moved indoors. Dublin accounted for 21% of all national transactions recorded on the day, with consumer numbers in the city boosted by an estimated 500,000 visitors to the capital.

The findings were based on anonymised Clover point-of-sale data from 365 hospitality venues across the State — representing around one in every 20 pubs and restaurants in the country. 

"The data tells a simple story: Ireland was out in force for St Patrick’s Day, and Ireland was spending, buying more food and drink in pubs and restaurants than we did a year ago. With terminals firing at 5pm, a 16% increase in transactions over last year, and sales volumes more than 39% ahead of a busy Saturday in March, it’s clear that St Patrick's Day delivers for Irish hospitality, every single year," said Fiserv's Joseph Walsh. 

Transactions on the day also ran 39% ahead of the average Saturday in March 2026, which was significant considering the first two weekends in March saw Ireland host the final two matches of this year’s Six Nations Rugby Championship, with tens of thousands of Welsh and Scottish fans joining Irish supporters in bars and restaurants.

Clover is operated in Ireland by the global fintech Fiserv. The transaction volumes reflect card and digital payments processed through the Clover platform on St Patrick's Day, recording the volume of sales in each period, rather than value, to exclude any impact of retail price changes.