Mary Van Kirk was definitely in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day today at Morrison's Pub in Alton. (Photo by Dan Brannan)

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ALTON – Irish eyes are definitely smiling today at Morrison’s Irish Pub in Downtown Alton.

The business, located at 200 State St. in Alton, was already packed with people by 11 a.m. today, St. Patrick’s Day. It appeared it was going to be an extra busy day for Morrison’s staff.

Mary Van Kirk and Lisa Morrison are the owners of Morrison’s Pub. The two have survived two floods over the past year since opening and this is the couple’s first St. Patrick’s Day at the business.

Many other Alton and River Bend area restaurants and bars were also expecting large crowds through the day to mark the holiday that most enjoy.

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“It’s Irish Christmas,” Van Kirk said of today. “We are thrilled to be in Downtown Alton on St. Patrick’s Day and hope for many more. In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is almost as big as Christmas. It is always a very happy day.”

Managers Katey Van Kirk-Thayer and George Thayer both share the excitement about St. Patrick's Day. Thayer said the pub would have plenty of corned beef and cabbage and Irish food for guests today.

The business will host live music all day and feature corned beef sandwiches to go for $4.50 and free giveaways while supplies last.

Van Kirk said business at the pub is great and said she couldn’t thank Alton area people enough for their support. She said residents helped them move out their furniture each time it flooded and put it back in place and have supported the pub through thick and thin.

“The community has been such a blessing to us,” she said. “We are glad we chose Downtown Alton for our business. We also can’t thank the City of Alton enough for building the big temporary flood wall during the flood to keep water out of Downtown. That meant everything to us.”

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