St Patrick's Day in Sunderland: Two-for-one Guinness and more in store at These Things Happen

It's all happening at one of the seafront's newest venues for St Patrick's Day.

These Things Happen is going big for its first St Patrick's Day in the city, with 2-4-1 Guinness, an Irish food menu, Guinness cocktails and a day of live music.

Six months since it opened in the old Harbour View Motors site, the bar has proved a popular addition to Roker, offering everything from brunches and functions to live bands and DJ sets.

Owner Walter Veti always ran popular celebrations of Irish culture when he ran The Saltgrass in Deptford and plans to make it an annual event at his new venture - there will also be St George's Day celebrations in April.

On the day itself, Sunday, March 17, there will be a 2-4-1 offer on Guinness from 11am to 12.30pm, with live music starting from lunchtime from four different bands playing classic tunes from the Green Isle.

There will also be an Irish menu of classics such as Irish stew, homemade soda bread and more, as well as a live oyster bar.

Those who like their Guinness with added fizz can enjoy Black Velvet cocktails of Guinness and Prosecco. And for one day only, they'll be serving The Hulk, which patrons of Walter's first bar, Lola's, will remember fondly.

There will also be face painting for those who fancy a Tricolore or shamrock glow up.

Walter said: "St Patrick's Day was always great at The Saltgrass and we're going even bigger here. Sunderland has a big Irish community and the Irish Society from the university will be heading down."

The bar's first six months in business has proved a great success, with the bar doing 270 covers on the recent Mother's Day alone. Brunches and functions have also proved a big draw, with 60 functions booked for the coming months.

This month will also see the bar taking part in Sunderland Restaurant Week, with a special menu running from Monday, March 18 - Friday, March 22 12pm to 8pm.

"We opened in September and the first six months have been crazy," said Walter. "We were blown away with how the first Christmas went and we seem to have been really well received with good feedback on the food.

"The Meaty (short rib beef eggs Benedict) is our most-popular dish. We do well for lunches, too, and will be launching an evening menu soon."

Once an empty building, the new bar saw a £1.2million investment to create a multi-purpose venue, welcoming everyone from dog walkers and families to sports and music fans through the doors.

It's been a successful way of breathing new life into the old nineteenth century unit and complements a string of new bar and restaurant openings in Roker and Seaburn.