UPDATE: EVENT CANCELED FOR 2020

Celebrate Murphys Irish Heritage with us on March 21st, 2020. Main Street will be closed to traffic so you may enjoy all the festivities starting with a pancake breakfast at the First Congregational Church of Murphys from 8-10 am, an awesome hometown Parade at 11 am, more than 140 Craft & Food vendors, All-Day Music and Entertainment, Kids Activities, and, of course, all our local shops, restaurants and wineries in Historic Downtown Murphys.

The luck of the Irish seems to be with us again this year, and we are looking forward to a clear, dry day to show off our quirky little town. This year we’ll be minimizing single-use plastics for our beer & wine sales so bring your open-topped, reusable container or purchase an Irish Day one from us and have it filled with beer, wine or water. Most of our tasting rooms will be happy to refill your water bottle for you.

We encourage everybody to enter the event from State Route 4 via Main Street or Big Trees Road. Free parking is available at Ironstone Vineyards with a Free Shuttle to the historic downtown event area. We encourage everybody to take advantage of the parking on the beautiful grounds of Ironstone Vineyards as event parking in town is very limited. There will be no event parking available at the corner of Big Trees Road and Main Street this year. The Black Bart Theater parking lot will be off limits due to parade staging until about noon. Accessible Parking will be available at the Masonic Hall on Church Street and behind Alchemy Restaurant. Additional parking is available at the Old Schoolhouse on Jones and on sidestreets but please be considerate.

The Ironstone shuttle stop is located behind the Arbors Shopping Area adjacent to the Black Sheep Tasting Room just off Main Street and the shuttle will run from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm.

Calaveras Connect will also be running transit service on Saturday. The bus stop for Calaveras Connect will be located near the intersection of Big Trees Road and Main Street just outside the event area. Visit Calaveras Connect to get all the details.

Activities & Entertainment

Again this year, the Murphys School of Music will be performing near the corner of Main Street and Big Trees Road adjacent to the Wine Alliance. Other kid’s activities, including pony rides, a petting zoo, photo opportunities with the adorable miniature donkey’s from Half Ass Adventures will be located close by. The Visitor’s Center next door to the Wine Alliance will be hosting other kid’s activities in their backyard.

If you need a break from the crowds and the weather is good, we have a lovely Park with a playground and creek located just a block off of Main Street down Algiers Street.

Rusty – MID 2018

The full entertainment schedule is available here. There will be live music in multiple locations, Celtic dancers, Rusty, our incredible stiltwalker, bagpipes and much more. Of course, we are a wine and music town so the party gets started on Friday night with plenty of dining choices and live music in several venues around town.

Our rock and roll stage next to the Murphys Historic Hotel will welcome back local favorites Grover Anderson & Plan B, the stage near Hovey will feature Bill Welles, and the stage near the Native Daughters will once again house long time Irish Day performers Sequoia, Michael Mullen, and the Tommyknocker Cloggers

Win a Trip to Ireland

One lucky ticket holder will win our Grand Prize Trip to Ireland. Purchase your tickets in advance at Calaveras Visitors Bureau, Creative Cookware, Marisolio Tasting Room, Murphys Historic Hotel, NEXT Upscale Resale, Sierra Nevada Adventure Company, The Spice Tin, Half Ass Adventures & The Calaveras Wine Alliance Visitor Center in or on Irish Day until 3:45 pm in front of the Native Sons Hall.

Attend in an Irish themed costume and one of our volunteers may recognize you with the award of a raffle ticket this year so make sure to dress up and show off your Celtic spirit!

Upload your favorite photos to Instagram using #MurphysIrishDay and #VisitMurphys

Our 2020 Gold Shamrock Sponsors

We want to thank all the generous sponsors & volunteers who make this event possible but particularly our Gold Shamrock Sponsors who donate every year. See the full list of sponsors here and make sure to thank them when you see them.

Volunteer Opportunities & Thanks

We Promise…Volunteering is Fun!

This event requires about 150 volunteers to plan, prepare for and manage all the activities on the day of the event. A committee begins meeting and planning in late November or early December. Committee chairs work to promote the event and obtain entertainers, parade entries and vendors in the months before the event. About a month before the event we begin soliciting for volunteers for the day of the event to help with getting the roads closed, signs up, vendor placed, our visitors greeted and directed to where they want to be, the parade managed, entertainers in place, beer, wine and raffle tickets sold, trash picked up and all the other myriad of little things that need to be done.

If you are new to town or just want to help, you may sign up online here. Volunteers receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win a trip to Ireland for each shift worked and are invited to our fabulous volunteer thank you party at the Murphys Historic Hotel.

In addition to the Business Association volunteers, we have to thank the Murphys Volunteer Fire Department and the Calaveras County Sheriff and Sheriff’s Volunteers for all their help.

Other Bits & Pieces to Know

Lodging is likely to be in short supply this weekend. We don’t have any way to help locate a room on short notice but the Calaveras Visitors Bureau may be able to help and they have an awesome calendar listing all the things to do throughout the County this weekend and beyond.

Murphys Irish Day Crowd After Parade

Please think carefully before bringing a pet to this event. When the weather is nice, as we are expecting, the street can become very crowded and noisy which can be stressful for pets of any size and we don’t want to see an animal locked in a vehicle for extended periods of time. We want the weekend to be fun for everybody.

Parking can be a challenge so we just want to reiterate that there is lots of parking at Ironstone Vineyards and a free shuttle to town. If you do decide to park in town, please be considerate and don’t park in driveways or where there are No Parking signs, barricades or stanchions. We know it looks like there is plenty of room but there really isn’t and we don’t want a parade entry or the shuttle getting stuck because someone is parked in the wrong spot….and we definitely don’t want to wreck anybody’s day by having them towed.

It’s Irish Day and there will be beer and wine for sale on the street and at the many tasting rooms and restaurants open for business. We want you to have fun but we also want you to be safe. Please keep an eye on your drink, your friends, and your own intake. There will be lots going on and it’s easy to go overboard so make sure you drink some water, eat some food, dance to the music and have a designated driver or a plan for a ride home! Remember, you are in a small, rural town and Uber and Lyft are unlikely to be available so plan accordingly.

We do have a taxi company and you may want to note their contact information, Murphys Taxi Company at 209-795-7777.

The Murphys Volunteer Fire Department Booth will be located at the intersection of Main & Church near the Hovey Tasting Room. They handle any First Aid needs, help reunite Lost & Found Children and help with vendor coordination. Thank them when you see them!

Lost & Found wallets, cell phones, and other items should be brought to the Native Sons Hall at 389 Main Street. We can make announcements over the loudspeaker system and will hold on to found items for at least a month after the event while we try and get those items returned to their owners.

Have fun and come back soon!