AMHERST — Annual pre-St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Amherst, where numerous college-age people dressed in green began consuming alcohol early Saturday morning, led to 29 arrests and 23 medical transports to the hospital, according to information supplied by town and University of Massachusetts officials.

The unsanctioned off-campus gatherings in advance of this month’s spring break, known to participants as the Blarney Blowout based on the name given it by a 1990s bar promotion, wound down around 1 p.m.

But for several hours, hundreds of individuals gathered at Townehouse Apartments on Meadow Street and along that road in North Amherst, with Amherst, UMass and State Police, Amherst firefighters and the town’s Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service on scene.

There were also isolated parties elsewhere, including on lower Main Street and the streets connecting to College Street, like Shumway and South Whitney streets, where police had a presence, and on Hallock Street in downtown.

In addition to the 29 arrests, most for alcohol-related and disorderly conduct reasons, eight people were summoned to court. That was fewer than the 50 taken into custody or summoned in 2024.

The first complaint about loud music to police came at 8:50 a.m., with police going to a fraternity home. Police first responded to Townehouse Apartments at 10:42 a.m., when an 18-year-old Newtonville man was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, assault and battery on a police officer and resisting arrest. At 11:48 a.m., a 23-year-old Methuen man was arrested on five counts of assault and battery on police officers, as well as charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Four other people were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct between 12:55 and 1:01 p.m., with three of those involved in a fight.

There was also a report of vandalism at Townehouse, with one vehicle sustaining a smashed windshield.

Amherst Police were busy from Friday through early Monday, with 345 calls for service.

Amherst Fire Department reported 23 medical transports by ambulance, mostly related to alcohol consumption, with most of those going to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton. That number was down from last year, when 37 were transports, and from 2023, when nearly 30 college students were transported.

In preparation for the activity, Amherst Police and its regional law enforcement partners activated regional ambulance support, understanding there would be an increase in volume of calls.

Also in advance of the weekend, there were joint outreach efforts to off-campus residents, with flyers distributed advising people about expectations. Police also did proactive intervention to confiscate alcohol from underage individuals.

After the activity in neighborhoods, people went downtown, with long lines to get into the Spoke in early afternoon. There, at 1:59 p.m., a man claimed he was pushed to the ground, and hit his head on the pavement, after being removed for being underage.

UMass took steps to prevent significant problems, including having a parking ban prohibiting those not affiliated with the university from being on campus. UMass also had its annul Spring Blast event with free field trips and campus experiences, including skiing, snowboarding or snow tubing at Berkshire East; attending “Hamilton” or the “Lion King” on Broadway in New York City; visiting the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut and MassMoCA in North Adams; or hiking Mohonk Preserve in New Paltz, New York.

On campus events included Big Prize Bingo and a performance by Trixie Mattel & Katya with Bob the Drag Queen, the men’s basketball game against Loyola Chicago and the men’s hockey game against Maine.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.