HUNDREDS of St Patrick’s Day revellers started partying in a packed-out pub at 8am today.
Punters – decked out in green, white and orange – queued to get into Edinburgh’s Three Sisters boozer from early in the morning.
It saw them pay £25 entry which included breakfast, a pint of ‘Leprechaun Lager’ and live entertainment.
Many wore Irish sports tops, face paint, giant Guinness hats and shamrock sunglasses.
The capital’s Dropkick Murphys pub saw people camp outside to be first in the queue.
Posting a picture online the boozer said: “What greeted our cleaners this morning. Please do not camp overnight outside Dropkicks, just be in first on St Patrick’s Day.
“Also, there was nobody else in the queue.Happy St Patrick’s Day to everyone including campers/total rockets”.
First Minister Humza Yousaf wrote: “Happy St Patrick’s Day to everyone celebrating, in particular our beloved Irish community in Scotland.
“The friendship between Scotland & Ireland is deep and enduring. We are working hard to ensure it grows from strength to strength.”
He added: “Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh go léir!” which means “Happy St Patrick’s Day to you all.”
Eight million pints are expected to be downed in Scotland as St Patrick’s Day triggered pubs’ busiest weekend of the year – as we sup almost 10 times more Guinness than normal.
Scots bars had to send an SOS for more beer to breweries to prevent taps being drunk dry.
Pub giant Wetherspoon, selling £2.99 pints of Guinness at its 800-plus bars, said: “Customers are celebrating St Patrick’s Day and raising a toast to the patron saint of Ireland.”
A bumper four million pints in pubs in Scotland plus four million pints at home in Scotland were drunk from Friday to today British Beer and Pub Association beer consumption data trends show.
Guinness sales today are expected to be the highest of the year at over eight times the average, studies show, with 13 million pints of the black stuff drunk worldwide.
