Beef and Guinness Pie: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beef-and-Guinness-Pie-230754

Or Irish soda bread!

A boxty is an Irish potato pancake. I've had them at Irish pubs in Chicago where they're served wrapped around fillings, like an Irish crepe. I think this is a bit more of a modern take on Irish cuisine, but who says you have to be super traditional?

You can always make a stew with mutton or a different cut of beef with lots of root vegetables, and don't forget fish and chips.

I'm making boxty with some green accompaniments (a veggie and pistachio-crusted chicken).

Can't go wrong with potatoes and green stuff, right??

colcannon might be a option. It is more of halloween dish, but it's still irish.

just give him some beer, he'll be fine. :)

that beef and guinness pie suggested by KillaCook looks awesome! and it got tons of great reviews. i second that.

I would also be grateful for any other vegetarian friendly ideas. I am irish and love celebrating but can't do the beef!

I made this lamb and guinness dish in the slow cooker a few months ago. It's delicious!

http://www.food.com/recipe/slow-cooker-lamb-shanks-braised-in-guinness-188853

As an Irish-American raised in the '60s, my mom would add food coloring to whatever we were eating: Green orange juice, green scrambled eggs, green milk (gak), green mashed potatoes. Oh, and lime jello.

Guiness & Beef Stew:
http://themerlinmenu.blogspot.com/2008/10/crockpot-guiness-beef-stew.html

Shepherd's Pie. There are many recipes online. Ground meat, vegetables topped with mashed potatoes. YUM

As someone who is Irish-Canadian I find it really insulting that people equate Corned Beef with Irish heritage.

No one in Ireland eats Corned Beef. The only reason why corned beef exists is because the Irish coming over in boats to The New World needed a way to preserve their meat during the boat ride. Hence the corned beef.

Another assumption about another culture. Get your facts right.

http://www.europeancuisines.com/Why-We-Have-No-Corned-Beef-Recipes

Thanks guys, so many great ideas!

Clara, the Guiness & Beef Stew sounds amazing! Seems rather fussy for a crockpot recipe, but I bet that is just the blogger talking. I'm sure if I set it up before I left for work it would be just fine on Low for 8 - 10 hours.

When we were kids, we'd always green the milk, which made mom's coffee an unappetizing shade of ick. Mom would get us back by using the milk to make green pancakes for dinner!

I don't think it's accurate to state that no one in Ireland eats corned beef. Even the article cited clearly mentions that corned beef is not a staple of the Irish diet because beef was too expensive for the average Irish family, but did become more common in the 20th century.

The article also mentions that Irish immigrants treated corned beef the way they would prepare a bacon joint-- that is, they braised or boiled it with cabbage. That particular preparation is traditionally Irish, and in fact many of my friends and relatives in Ireland are quite fond of corned beef and cabbage. (But we all love pork and cabbage more!)

Speaking of facts right - it is St. Paddy's day. Not (and never has been) St Patty's.

In Ireland we eat bacon and cabbage - not corned beef as Irish_blueeyes pointed out. People prepare it in many different ways, at home we tend to boil it in water and add the cabbage to the same pot once the meat is nearly cooked. Serve with boiled potatoes. Some people make a white parsley sauce to go with it, but that isn't common everywhere.

Lá fheile Phádraig faoi mhaise daoibh! :)

I second the bacon and cabbage since I was raised in an Irish American household and that was a staple weeknight meal.
But if your guy doesn't like cabbage I think colcannon (which is basically mashed potatoes with braised cabbage or kale mixed in). True it's usually thought of as a halloween dish but we had it every halloween and any other time mashed potatoes would be our "vegetable."

Guinness chocolate cake maybe?

IrishBlueEyes and Mariaoc are absolutely right but lets not get too pedantic folks. Corned beef has very old roots in the the Irish immigrant community in Boston. As such I think it is completely appropriate for Irish Americans to eat it as a way of celebrating their heritage.

When I am cooking for a big group on March 17 I make dishes from both sides of the Atlantic. This year brown bread and American style currant soda bread, boiled bacon, corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, onions, and carrots.

Oh, and I meant to suggest champ; mashed potatoes with plenty of butter and milk and green onions.

If you can get it, there is some great irish smoked salmon. That with some brown bread is fantastic :)
Irish stew is a good, warm and filling main course. It is made with lamb generally. Lots of vegetables to make a tasty broth. It takes a couple of hours to cook though.
Nigella has a recipe for Chocolate and Guiness cake (which isn't traditional) but tastes amazing. Oh and anything with Baileys :P

Vegetarian Times has some vegetarian ideas: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/special_occasion_menus/936

St. Patrick’s Day was invented by Irish-Americans in Boston, so eat all the corned beef you want. It’s a historically appropriate munchie.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0317/Five-fun-facts-for-St.-Patrick-s-Day/St.-Patrick-wasn-t-Irish

Just a follow-up here: I made the Beef and Guinness Pie and it was incredible! I didn't have any Guinness, so I used porter; I also reduced the amount of beef and added more onion and a mess of sauteed mushrooms. I served the pie with Colcannon (http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/colcannon/) and we both loved the meal.

http://paddynotpatty.com/

PLEASE.

Every time someone says "Patty's" day, an Irish person cries somewhere, in the world!!