Out & About

O'Brien's manager, Cormack McCormick, laid on a top-class spread on the night and we did get a brief glimpse of owner Des O'Brien - Des has a lot on his mind this week as he prepares for a reception in honor of the arrival in New York of An Taoiseach.

Great to see the Central Bar on 9th Street open again after renovations and remodeling. I am sure Jimmy and Gills will invite us down for a few!

Doc Watson's on 2nd Avenue has a great Irish trad seisiun every Sunday night at 8.30pm and down in Slattery's Midtown Pub on East 36th Street there is music on Sunday's with Allen Gogarty and across the street at the Galway Hooker they have live music every Tuesday night at 8pm. Take an evening off and catch some live tunes.

Nevada Smith's are running a bus going to the New York Red Bulls versus L.A. Galaxy football game - the real football known here the USA as soccer - the game is at the Meadowlands this Saturday with buses leaving Nevada's at 3pm.

You can call the bar at (212) 982-2591 xtn 11 or Lyndsey Dore at (201) 583-7043. Hurry up as it is selling out.

The big news this week is the visit of An Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, T.D., to New York. Mr. Cowen is visiting the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning and there will also be a reception in his honor on Wednesday night at the Consulate General of Ireland. On Thursday he will be at the Residence of the New York Consul General, Mr. Niall Burgess and his wife Mrs. Marie Morgan-Burgess together with Mr. Eugene Downes, Chief Executive of Culture Ireland.

This reception is to mark The Gate Theater's Beckett Season and The Abbey Theater's production of "Kicking a Dead Horse" that has opened on Broadway with the very talented actor Stephen Rea in the leading cast.

The Emerald Guild Society held its annual golf outing on Tuesday at the Irish owned Links at Uniondale in upstate New York.

The day was a great success and it was also in aid of the Grace O'Gorman Fund.

It was the 9th Annual Timothy J. O'Connor Memorial Golf Outing, as Timothy J. O'Connor was a founding father of the Emerald Guild Society.

Those of you who were lucky to get tickets for the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday must have had an exciting day for the weather could not have been any better.

Talking about the weather, this weekend you have the Rockland Irish Festival it should be a nice place to go for a day out.

The Dublin City Ramblers will be at the Playwright on West 35th Street this Friday night, July 18th and believe it or not there will be no cover - Frankie is giving away the store - just kidding!

Muldoon's on Third Avenue is the place to be on Tuesday night's as it is Flight Attendants Night - you might just get lucky, you never know!

Up on Second Avenue the Pig 'N' Whistle between 50th & 51st Street with its roof top seating is a nice place to be. There to greet you is the man himself Ken McCoy who always does a great job in welcoming guests.

To all the bar and restaurants on the East Coast give us a shout and we will call in to say hello and more importantly we will have a pint or two.

If you are thinking of taking a trip out to Montauk call in to Ronnie's Deli on Montauk Highway (on the right as you drive into town) to see Longford man Tom McCormick as he serves up the best sandwiches on Long Island - tell him that we sent you.

See you all next week.