Covers were up 15.5% over 2012 to 50,000, and dry sales hit £364,000.

Two pubs, the Queen Elizabeth in Chingford and the Ainsworth Arms in Radcliffe, surpassed last year’s sales by a staggering 222% and 203% respectively. And all Orchid pubs in the company top 10 achieved total sales growth of more than 100% over St Patrick’s Day 2012.

On Sunday, Orchid’s pubs sold:
• 11,000 pints of Guinness
• 43,000 pints of lager
• 16,000 carveries

Simon Dodd, commercial and HR director at Orchid Group, said: “Despite the wet weather and average temperatures 6.2 degrees lower than last year, it seems customers knew that the best place to stay dry, warm and well fed and watered was their local Orchid pub. As part of our Magnificent 7 2013 drive, which encourages all our teams to make the most of key dates, St Patrick’s Day has been an incredible success across the board.”

Planning for the celebration of Ireland’s patron saint has been underway for weeks, with pubs gearing up for the event by organising live Irish folk music, green cupcake sales, Pot of Gold sweepstakes and fancy dress parties.

The country’s cuisine was enjoyed with special Irish stew and green food, and two drinks were created just for the day – the Shamrock Pitcher and the Baileys Irish Kiss. The Guinness flowed, and staff spent weeks perfecting the art of topping the pints with a creamy shamrock.

“The figures really do speak for themselves and just go to prove how being prepared and working hard to give customers many reasons to visit pay off for the business,” Dodd added. “By going the extra mile to make the day really special for all our customers pubs across the company have surpassed expectations.”