You’d have to be an idiot to ask two Irishmen to talk about St. Patrick’s Day and Guinness for “15 minutes,” especially two Irishmen with such an extensive hospitality history in Long Beach as Christy Caldwell and David Copley. David owns The Auld Dubliner which he opened 15 years ago. Christy was the longtime manager of the place until he left to open The Ordinarie which, according to our own Brian Addison, is pretty great place itself.

The Ordinarie takes on American comfort food with the care and elevation it deserves

The Dubliner has become a landmark all its own. Located on South Pine, across the street from the Convention Center, David said the pub not only has “local locals,” but “annual locals,” people who show up for conventions every year and “first thing they do is race across the street to get a seat at the bar.”

And when they’re seated, chances are they’ll order a Guinness. Auld Dubliner has the distinction of consistently being in the top three in terms of Guinness sales in the state of California.

“Only Johnny Foley’s [Irish House] in San Francisco and The Field [Irish Pub] edge us out,” Christy said. “We go through more Guinness here than some pubs in Ireland.”

If David had his way, folks here would approach and use the Dubliner much more like the Irish do a pub; more on that later. As for Christy, he would appreciate it if he’s faking it.

“Yeah, I get the question many times, ‘Do they make you put on the accent because this is an Irish pub?’ ” Christy said.

When we suggested that this is Southern California and everyone is assumed to be playing one kind of role or another, his “yeah, maybe” response seemed less than placated.

Anyway, we figured we’d talk to Christy and David about St. Patrick’s Day. They agreed. Christy asked how long we’d need. “Oh, about 15 minutes,” we said. They were great, though it was clear once we got together that the highlight of their weekend would be Saturday’s Six Nations rugby showdown between Wales and defending champion Ireland. (Bad luck there, lads: Wales 25, Ireland 7.)

You lived in Boston, Christy? I know St. Patrick’s Day there is a lot different. You actually get the day off, it’s a real holiday.

It should be a real holiday here. The trains wouldn’t have reached California if it wasn’t for the Irish workers going one way and the Chinese workers going the other way.

I’ve heard that it’s significantly different in Ireland itself.

Christy: It’s somewhat different. Years ago, it used to be a religious holiday. It’s always more of a family day in Ireland than the booze fest it is here, you know, a day definitely a few people will be swimming beyond their depths.

David: Yeah, I’d say it’s very, very different. For one, it’s a national holiday, not an invented holiday. It’s our Fourth of July, our day to celebrate Irishness. As Christy says, it’s a family day; you’d go to church in the morning and then, eventually, you end up at the pub. But again, it’s more of a family thing. Everybody goes to the pub. That’s something we’ve been trying to do here, to make the Dubliner a place you bring your family, your kids. I know that people think pub is just another name for a bar, but a pub is very different than a bar.

How so?

David: Well, the easiest way to put it is that a bar is where people go to drink and maybe they socialize after. But a pub is where you go to socialize and maybe have a drink. It’s a place you go and talk. You’ll see pictures of pubs and there will be two ladies, chatting with teacups in front of them. That’s what we’d like the Dubliner to be.

I’m guessing there won’t be a lot of tea served on Sunday? What kind of special preparations do you have to make?

Christy: We are an Irish bar every day of the year, we just prepare for a busier version of every day.

But, it’s such a big day, is there some kind of strategy, especially when it comes to how much Guinness you order?

David: Well, yes. The strategy is don’t run out of Guinness. Yes, we order a lot more Guinness for the day because we’ll do roughly a week’s worth of business in that one day.

Have you ever not stuck with the strategy?

I guess I can divulge now that there was a St. Patrick’s Day a few years back that after the day ended, I went to pour myself a pint to relax as we wrapped everything up and I got about half a pint out of the tap and that was it. No more. We made it through the day by the skin of our teeth.

The Auld Dubliner is located at 71 Pine Ave. 

For information about entertainment options on St Patrick’s Day at The Auld Dubliner and other Irish pubs, click here.