Toasting his own parade

Updated: March 17, 2010 - 12:06 AM

Even with damp weather, Kieran Folliard and his legion of followers made a spectacle out of opening the new Kieran's Irish Pub in Block E.

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Kieran Folliard held the key to the new Kieran's Irish Pub aloft as the procession from his old bar arrived at the new Block E location Tuesday afternoon. Bartender Alice McGrath held up the last pint of Guiness poured at the old place. Next to her, Tony Winick held up the last pint of Guiness sold at the old location, a privilege for which he paid $500, which went to charity.

Photo: Jeff Wheeler, Star Tribune

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The wail of bagpipes and the pounding of drums filled the streets of downtown Minneapolis on Tuesday afternoon as pub impresario Kieran Folliard led an army of about 300 people toward Block E. The sidewalks were wet with rain, but nothing could stop Folliard's plans of parading the last pint served at his original pub over to the new Kieran's, which opened just in time for St. Patrick's Day.

"It's like a better version of an Irish funeral," Folliard said along the way, "but more fun."

Earlier, Folliard had auctioned off the final pints at the old Kieran's, at 4th Street and 2nd Avenue S. A glass of Guinness went for $500 -- the money benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation's plans to send a young man to the World Cup soccer matches in South Africa.

"The soft rain that we ordered has arrived to make it authentically Irish," Folliard joked.

When the raucous parade arrived at Block E, Folliard unlocked the doors and shook the hand of everyone who entered. "There ya go, get in there," he yelled.

Few bar owners could have pulled off such a spectacle. But Folliard has proved himself no ordinary pub owner -- his portfolio includes the Liffey in St. Paul, Cooper in St. Louis Park and the Local, also in downtown Minneapolis.

Many are expecting the new Kieran's to anchor a resurgence of Block E. Folliard will hold onto his original pub, which opened 16 years ago. It will be reopened May 3 with a new name: the Old Pub.

TOM HORGEN