It was all about the luck of the Irish as the city turned green for St Patrick's Day, with one festive patron marking the occasion with a record-breaking feat.
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Plenty of Guinness and whiskey flowed at the Seanchai, where Warrnambool resident Bernie O'Keeffe was celebrating his favourite day of the year by knocking back his 5300th pint.
"In my opinion St Paddy's day is better than Christmas," Mr O'Keeffe said.
"Especially here at the Seanchai. I just love St Paddy's Day."
Traditional Irish tunes also serenaded patrons at Mickey Bourke's Koroit Hotel as pub-goers flowed in early to beat the 5pm rush, while Koroit Bowls Club was also a popular destination.
Meanwhile at Mercy Place, residents including Belfast-born Doreen Gough were treated to afternoon tea and a range of games with an Irish twist.
Born in 1939, Ms Gough recalled a difficult upbringing overseas with little opportunity to celebrate the now-iconic day.
"It was very cold and we didn't have much money," Ms Gough said.
"My family were very poor. It was particularly bad during the war - there were six of us children."
Thankfully, happier times were ahead for Ms Gough when she moved to Warrnambool with her carpenter husband, eventually settling down and having four children.
"I've got four children, that's not a really big family. They're good kids too - very good to me but they live in Melbourne," she said.
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Mercy Place acting lifestyle coordinator Lisbeth Cheah said it was similar stories of hardship which inspired some of the day's activities.
"We wanted to do something Irish," she said.
"We played lawn bowls, but since back in the day some people didn't have proper equipment they just used potatoes and turnips and played with those instead."
Ms Cheah said residents were more than happy to participate, with many excited to mark the occasion.
"We planned this for two weeks and setup the place just before lunch," she said.
"We invited all the residents down. We promote St Patrick's Day because it's a tradition and we observe the culture.
"Everything is for the residents, for them to have fun and to make them laugh and when they see me wearing the hat they're happy and remember some great times.
"The gold coin toss game we also played was just for good luck."
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