South Boston is pretty much party central for St Patrick’s Day and to honour that fact, we thought it was only fair to bring you some top facts about ‘Southie’.

Boston has the highest percentage of the population of Irish ancestry in USA ­ and you can¹t get more Irish than South Boston (Southie). Over 600,00 people cram into Southie every year to watch the mother of all St Patricks parades.

According to Urbandictionary.com ­ Southie is well known for its bars and Irishmen that live in them.

Once a Irish- Catholic working class stronghold, its’ proximity to the city and the beaches has transformed the neighbourhood into one of the USA’s most rapidly gentrifying areas in the last few years.  Today, the city’s best dive bars are still holding out here, but Southie’s demographics is changing to accommodate urban young professionals and empty nesters.

East Broadway in South Boston topped the Boston Globe’s top streets to live in Boston in 2015.

Southie is the place were Boston’s top young chefs are choosing to open their first solo ventures.

South Boston erected the first Vietnam Veterans memorial in USA.

Finally, if you’ve seen the movie BlackMass, you’ll know South Boston was the home and stomping ground of notorious crime boss Whitey Bulger during the 70’s and 80’s.  If you’ve seen the movie or read the book, you can check out some of his old haunts in Southie here:   http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2015/09/17/whitey-bulger-haun ts-and-hangouts/fsN1kRva0TroBwEgJgaCgP/story.html

Whether you’re heading to Southie or celebrating St Patrick’s Day elsewhere, we hope you have a great time!