St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon Tablescape

I am happy to be sharing a St. Patrick’s Day table setting to inspire you

The longest I lived any one place was in Northeast Ohio. After living in places like New Orleans and Idaho a move to Cleveland was culturally different. In addition to all of the Eastern Europeans, the west side of Cleveland has a substantial Irish population. One of the things I loved each year was the huge St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Cleveland. There was a big St Patrick’s day parade with the bagpipers, and a big contingent of Irish Wolfhounds! My husband belonged to the Cleveland Athletic Club which had a fabulous all day party with lots of green beer and corned beef and cabbage!

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Photo Courtesy Cleveland.com

The Irish first started coming to Cleveland to work on the Ohio and Erie Canal. The Irish continued to grow in numbers in Greater Cleveland and established Irish-American Clubs, Churches and businesses. One well known brand established by the children of Irish immigrants in Cleveland is Great Lakes Brewing Company.

For my place settings I used gold square chargers, white dinner plates and topped them with cabbage salad plates. Gold brushed flatware coordinate with the settings. I finished them off with green napkins tucked into gold shamrock napkin rings.

Do you have any special St. Patrick’s day traditions or experiences that you do every year or something you have planned for this year? Have you been to a St. Patrick’s Day Parade? The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in New York City in 1762.

Instead of flowers this year, in the middle of the table, I placed this green and gold teacup and filled it with gold chocolate coins. Irish folklore says that there is one piece of gold in the leprechaun’s pot for each year of his life. You can find his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The 1959 Disney film, Darby O’Gill and the Little People Americanized the leprechaun and made him a symbol of Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day. This holiday is a perfect opportunity to gather friends or family around a traditional Irish dinner table.

Corned beef and cabbage have become the traditional foods of St. Patrick’s day. Irish immigrants were poor and had to go with the cheapest cut of meat, corned beef. The beef was paired with the cheapest vegetable, cabbage and that is how the tradition began and has carried on. I set this table on my front porch for a luncheon, but I could move it into the dining room for a dinner party, too.

This is a simple table, with a white tablecloth, gold matte flatware and green and gold edge stemware. The color scheme is simple for St. Patrick’s day…green and white and then add some gold for a nod to the leprechaun’s treasure! There are so many different ways to set a St. Patrick’s Day table.

Green napkins with gold shamrock napkin rings that I bring out every year for St. Patrick’s day. According to Irish legend St. Patrick chose a shamrock, or three-leaf clover as a symbol of the Church’s Holy Trinity because of its three leaflets bound by one common stem. Four leaf clovers do exist, but are rare. Their leaflets are said to represent hope, faith, love and happiness.

Will you wear green for St. Patrick’s day? I usually try to find something green in my closet to wear on St. Patrick’s day. I do enjoy setting a themed table for the day, even if it is simple like this one. I know a couple of little girls who will be visiting soon that will be more than happy to enjoy some of those chocolate coins!

For table centerpieces idea, consider vases of white flowers! They can be picked up from grocery stores and arranged in simple vases or even canning jars.

Shop my St. Patrick’s Table:

Cabbage Salad Plates – Gracious Living
Gold Flatware – Amazon
Gold Square Chargers – Amazon

I couldn’t find the shamrock napkin rings, but here are some Claddagh napkin rings you might like: Amazon

Here is a peek at last year’s St. Patrick’s day tablescape. Visit it at Elegant St. Patrick’s Day Tablescape.

More ideas for St. Patrick’s Day Decor:

St. Patrick’s Day table runner
St. Patrick’s Day wooden serving boards
Shamrock porcelain plates



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30 Comments

  1. By Gosh and begorrah, Chloe!!! We always attended the Cleveland St. Patrick’s Day parade!! Some of my favorite memories of early single adulthood revolved around the parade and the parties afterwards!! We used to go to a little bar just down from Playhouse Square and see Pat Dailey singing. I love your table – just crushing on your gold shamrock napkin rings!! Your little pot tipped over and spilling gold coins is precious!! I hope you have a fun time this St. Patrick’s Day.

  2. Very interesting. I had no idea Cleveland has a lot of Eastern Europeans. I love your green lettuce plates and the gold shamrock plates. It sounds like the parade in Cleveland was a lot more civilized than the one in Dallas. It was fun hopping with you today.

  3. Lovely post Chloe, I love how you embraced the gold in your table. We all love gold! The shamrock napkin rings are lovely. The teapot with the spilling gold chocolate coins is a lovely addition. Loving the stemware with it’s green and gold. Thanks for the history. A pleasure joining you. Looking forward to Easter.

  4. Delightful Chloe! I love your pot spilling gold! The gold shamrock napkin rings are wonderful, and I loved reading about the Cleveland festivities, and the origin of corned beef and cabbage. I know you’re looking forward to the girls visiting soon, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

  5. Chloe, I didn’t realize the Cleveland are was so thick with Irish traditions, but I love them all. I went to a Catholic high school whose mascot was a leprechaun for the Fighting Irish. Our annual state Catholic basketball championships were held in early March, so the Irish traditions for my family (we are also Irish by genealogy) are steeped in those traditions.

    Your table is full of fun, starting with that central teapot of spilling gold coins and radiating outward to the plate stacks. I’m so glad you’re part of this table hop. Yours are always artistically styled tables.

  6. Oh I like how you presented the gold coin shamrocks! That was some good reading about St. Patrick’s Day. I lived in Chicago for a while and they were turning the river green!

  7. Chloe, wow you not only pulled a St. Paddy’s table together, but knocked it over the rainbow lol! So glad you were able to share your table styling skills in the hop. How cute and clever is the tipped over teapot with gold coins spilling out! One of these days, I’ve gotta invest in gold flatware — it looks dazzling on your table. Really enjoyed reading all the history and background behind Irish traditions.

  8. Chloe, the Irish are a special group of people who were treated poorly, but persevered and over came. I’m proud of my Irish heritage and was excited to learn even more from your post.
    Thank you for sharing that info.

    Your table with the pot of gold, chocolate coins and felted shamrocks is darling, and the grand kids will love it!
    RR

  9. Chloe, your table is beautiful! I love the idea of the gold coins for the centerpiece and how you carried gold throughout the table. We don’t have any St. Patrick’s Day traditions where I live but I was in Chicago years ago and saw when they dyed the river green! Great hopping with you!
    Shelley

    1. Thanks so much Shelley! We don’t have any St. Patrick’s Day celebrations going on here in Florida either, but I do know that about Chicago. I have never seen that, but it must be something!

  10. I agree with the other comments….your table is awesome. While living in Kansas City, we always attended the St. Patrick’s Day parade and even participated in it with our decorated float. It seemed that on that day EVERYONE was Irish!! I have always enjoyed decorating for this day. ..as I have an Irish background. Did you know the greeting that is usually given in response to ‘top o the mornin’ to ye’? It s usually… ‘an the rest of the day to ye.’
    Have a wonderful time with your grands….hugs and much love
    Kari

    1. Thanks so much Kari! It is so nice to see you back in the swing of things. No, I didn’t know that greeting. I have plenty of English, Welsh and Scottish, but I don’t think any Irish in my background. Hugs to you too!

  11. Chloe, Love your teapot with the gold coins spilling out for a centerpiece on the table! The green and gold accents make for the perfect St. Patrick’s Day celebration. Love all the history you included and seeing that handsome Irish Wolfhound. It’s always a treat to hop with you and join you at the table. Happy St. Paddy’s Day. ♥♣

  12. Chloe, your table is just lovely! I admired Kari’s cabbage plates and loved seeing them again on your table. The tipped over teapot centerpiece overflowing with gold coins is so clever! I love all of the pops of gold, especially your shamrock napkin rings.

    Thanks for the Irish history lesson! I loved learning that shamrocks represent faith, love, hope and happiness. We have a St. Patrick’s Day parade nearby that’s a lot of fun. They also have a group of Irish Wolfhounds that take part…we make bring Fergus next year! He always gets a lot of attention wherever we go.

    It was fun hopping with you, my friend! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

    1. Thanks so much Rebecca! There isn’t a whole lot that goes on in central Florida for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, not at all like it was in Cleveland. It sounds like you will have to take Fergus, I am sure he does get attention, Irish Wolfhounds are no small dog!

  13. As always Chloe, your tablescape is stunning! I love the (tea) pot of gold! Love your stories though, about the corn beef and cabbage, and the shamrock and four leaf clover meanings! The combination of gold and green really make an impact! Happy St.Patrick’s Day!

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