Murphys, CA…One of the premier annual events in the Mother Lode is Murphys Irish Day. Each year on the third Saturday in March, thousands of people from Northern California and beyond gather in the historic gold rush town of Murphys to honor its Celtic heritage and to celebrate as only the Irish can. Our picturesque Main Street is filled with booths offering handcrafted items, original art, photographs, tasty food, wine, and other beverages.

The day begins with a pancake breakfast from 8:30-10:30 am at the First Congregational Church of Murphys just a block off Main Street at the corner of Church & Algiers Streets. Purchase tickets in advance from their website.

At 11 am, the swirl of bagpipes heralds a parade of marching bands, classic cars, horses, community organizations, novelty entries, and some of the finest children in the land.  This year we will be honoring Tom Eising, who will serve as the Grand Marshall of the parade.

The day continues with live entertainment on two stages and the street featuring singers, dancers, musicians, and jugglers.

All this, in addition to the charming shops, fine restaurants, and tasting rooms that line historic Main Street and help create what is nationally recognized as one of the best small towns in America.

The Murphys Business Association hosts Irish Day each year with the knowledge that if you visit Murphys once, you will want to return again and again.  Our next community event will be Spring Wine Weekend, hosted by the Calaveras Wine Grape Alliance.  Please stop by our Visitors Center at the corner of Main Street & Big Trees Road to catch up with them and our stage sponsor, the Calaveras Visitor’s Bureau, to learn more about Wine Weekend, local wines & wineries, and all the other ways to play in Murphys and Calaveras County.

Sponsored by the Murphys Business Association, Murphys Irish Day is a fundraiser for many community projects and non-profit organizations and is the primary fundraiser for the Murphys Business Association and the Murphys Firefighters Association. For more information, contact us at info@visitmurphys.com.

Things to know if you are planning to attend in 2026

Get the 2026 Murphys Irish Day Cheat Sheet

Parking is very limited in town during events. We encourage you to take advantage of the free parking available on the beautiful grounds of Ironstone Vineyards and use the free shuttle into town.  The shuttle runs between 9:30 am and 5:30 pm and drops you off in the parking area behind the Arbors Shopping Area next to the Black Sheep Tasting Room, just a short, level walk from Main Street and the main event area. Ironstone has impressive plantings of daffodils and other spring bulbs, as well as a lovely winery & tasting room, so it’s worth the visit.  Parking will not be available in the Black Bart parking lot across from the Community Park until the afternoon. It will be used for parade staging in the morning, and parking on the surrounding side streets is extremely limited due to their narrowness and use as detour routes during this event.  We need to ensure that emergency vehicles can get through and around town, and that private driveways do not get blocked… please, please be considerate and honor those No Parking signs!  It would undoubtedly wreck your day if you found your vehicle had been towed.

Whether you plan to park at Ironstone or in the free parking lot at the Old Schoolhouse on Jones Street, the free parking lot at the Masonic Hall on the corner of Church & Algiers, or the surrounding side streets, please come early.  The hour before the parade begins at 11 am, the area around Murphys can become congested, traffic moves slowly, and the shuttles can get backed up.  We’d hate to see you miss the parade because you’re stuck in traffic.

Accessible parking is available in the Masonic Hall parking lot, but it fills up quickly.  Additional accessible parking is available on Jones Street behind Alchemy Cafe; show the volunteers your placard, and they will let you through if parking is available.

Please remember that Main Street is closed to traffic from 6 am and will not reopen to vehicles until about 7 pm or whenever the street is clear and safe to access.  Vendors & entertainers with event passes will have access through the Big Trees Road intersection between 6-9 am for setup.

Come prepared to enjoy yourself in layers, as the weather can change quickly here, and we often have days with both sun and rain, or even a little snow.  That rarely dampens our spirits, and this is a rain-or-shine event.  We consider a little precipitation to be authentic Irish weather! We have never canceled due to weather, but very low snow and unsafe conditions could result in a cancellation, so please keep an eye on our home page to stay up to date on what to expect.  Happily, the forecast is warm & dry for Irish Day.

Many people make a weekend of it for this event.  Check out our calendar and the countywide calendar at GoCalaveras to see what else is planned for the weekend.  Take a look at our 2026 Entertainment Schedule (coming soon) to see what to expect.

Please plan to celebrate responsibly by arranging a designated driver or staying for dinner and enjoying some non-alcoholic drinks before heading out.  Calaveras does have public transportation, but it is limited.  They will be running their Saturday Hopper to Murphys on Irish Day.  You’ll be able to catch it in the same parking lot where our shuttle to Ironstone Vineyards picks up and drops off.  Please make sure you are in the right line! You can check out their schedule and stops here.  We also have a taxi service and a couple of tour companies who may be able to arrange something for you.  There is rarely Uber or Lyft available in the area.  Make sure to stay hydrated, enjoy plenty to eat during the day, and keep moving… we want you to enjoy our wines and beers, but most importantly, we want you to stay safe and come back often!

Lost-and-found items may be brought to the Volunteer Check-In Desk inside the Native Sons Hall.  First Aid is provided by our firefighters’ association and first responders at their booth at the corner of Main & Church Streets near the Hovey Tasting Room.  Lost children should also be brought to the first responders, who will work with our volunteers to reunite them with their families as quickly as possible.  Want to support our Fire Department? Buy a t-shirt or a sweatshirt from them while you’re here!

Enjoy the day!

Wondering how Irish Day got started?  Here’s the scoop:

In 1993, a group of community-minded merchants decided to celebrate their friends and neighbors in our little rural town of Murphys. The first parade that would become the Murphys Irish Day Celebration we know today had a very humble beginning. It started with the Wee Ones parade. It was a parade with no announcers, all local kids, and fewer than 1,000 people in attendance.

Thirty-three years later, it has become the premier cultural event in our county, second in attendance only to our beloved county fair. A few years after that first celebration, the board of the Murphys Business Association took over production of Irish Day. While the annual event ebbs and flows in attendance with the weather, it is now not uncommon for us to see crowds upwards of 10k. As you can imagine, the logistics involved in producing this event have become a major undertaking. Yet with the help of 200+ volunteers, we continue to pull this off each year. While it is a daunting task, the MBA is honored to continue celebrating the rich history of our town and to give back to the community that supports our local businesses and citizens.