When you celebrate Saint Patrick's Day at one of Philadelphia's premiere drinking establishments and you add the biggest morning radio program in the Delaware Valley in the mix, chances are you are going to get a crowd of very large proportions. That's exactly what happened yesterday at Finnigan's Wake  as WMMR's Morning Show with Preston and Steve  stopped by to host their annual Saint Patrick's Day Event with over 500 of their closest friends. Lines wrapped around the 3rd and Spring Garden St. Finnigan's location as early as 4:15am in anticipation of the event. The busiest drinking day of the year brings a smile to the face of Finnigan's owner Mike Driscoll.

"It's always gonna be the greatest day of the year for me," says Driscoll. "And when I rode in this morning and saw those lines, I thought the spirit of Philadelphia and the spirit of the Irish is alive and well. This is amazing. The crowd and the energy will double today with every passing hour."

The crowds indeed got bigger and bigger as the hours went on, and it was a foregone conclusion that a lot of people were not going to be showing up for work on this day. Mike Gilbert from Northeast Philly, was one of those people.

"This is my first time at WMMR's Saint Patty's Day event. I told my boss at work I was taking off for Saint Patrick's Day, and they were fine with it."

Scott Seothampton from Bensalem has been going to this event for the past two years. And he looks forward to celebrating Saint Patrick's Day, and recuperating on the days that follow.

"It gets bigger and better every year, so I took a vacation day for today and I'm also taking off tomorrow," explains Seothampton. "I had a friend drive me, so I'm all good to go."

Others like James O'Brien, a firefighter from Pennsauken, New Jersey, was there to celebrate his 21st birthday.

"This is amazing," exclaims O'Brien. "I don't have to worry about getting carded anymore, and I have my whole night ahead of me. To be 21 today, have my birthday on Saint Patty's Day, and being here for this is just awesome. You can't beat it." As the show got underway, guests were treated to several games and contests, including an Irish Potato Sack Race, an Irish Kissing Contest (which you had to see to appreciate), and the hanging of the Irish flag in the form of intern Steve Vassalotti. Winners received $100 and a WMMR Prize Package. Irish band O'Toole's Argyle provided some music for the crowd in between commercial breaks, and face and body painting was provided by Natalie Foxhill from Fox's Body Shop  in Clayton, New Jersey.

"I was worried that things were gonna get crazy," says webmaster and producer Nick McIlwain. "You always want to err on the side of caution. But things never got out of hand and we all had a great time."

Check Out Philly2Philly's YouTube page  for all of the Saint Patrick's Day Footage

For Aileen Bannon's EXCLUSIVE LENS Gallery of the event, click HERE

Contact Joe Vallee at jvallee@philly2philly.com