Many Kiwis use St Patrick's Day as an excuse to be Irish, but what about people from the Emerald Isle who are celebrating it here?
St Patrick's Day is Ireland's national day, but it's celebrated all over the world. And Wellington's Irish residents and visitors have a good idea why.
"It doesn't matter who you are, what religion you are, or what political party you are, you are welcome," Paul Murray of the Wellington Irish Association says.
"We're all part of a family trying to get along together."
St Paddy's usually falls in the middle of Lent, and the restrictions on Catholics drinking alcohol are lifted. But it's about more than having a tipple.
"Everybody thinks it's about drinking, and yes that might be a little excuse, but it's about getting together and celebrating where people came from," Josefine Cairns, whose parents are from Munich and Dublin, says.
That said, there's one thing that's associated with St Paddy's more than any other - but it turns out our Auckland-brewed Guinness doesn't go down too well here.
Steven Gilmore of Mullingar, Westmeath says "it's very thin, quite watery".
Sean Ryan from Clare agrees: "The Guinness isn't as good."
Thirteen million pints of the black stuff are drunk worldwide on St Patrick's Day, New Zealand going a fair way to prop up that total.
Jack Hackett's is the newest Irish bar on the Wellington scene, and bartender Conor Quinlivan says they would have gone through 20 kegs of Guinness - but not everyone's a fan.
"There's so many full pints of Guinness left. They've had a sip and don't like it, but they've tried it. They've tried Guinness on St Paddy's Day."
For those away from home, how does a Kiwi St Paddy's compare?
"It's a privilege to be on the other side of the world and acknowledge St Patrick's Day" says Mr Murray.
Mary Hughes from Kilkenny (by way of New Plymouth) says "it's great. The cultures come together and it's fantastic."
"There's the same amount of people in New Zealand as in Ireland, but there's Irish pubs everywhere. People love the Irish people, they love the craic," says Sally Wynne of Clare.
Mr Gilmore says the Kiwi brand of St Paddy's is better than back home.
"When people are away from Ireland they're more patriotic. It's so much better.
And to that, we say sláinte!
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