Out & About

She was a lovely lady and I had the pleasure to meet her with Liam; she will be solely missed, may she rest in peace.

It was an unbelievable Saint Patrick's week for everybody that I have spoken to and they all had a good time, now why wouldn't they?

The parade could not have been better, especially with a great Grand Marshal Michael Gibbons along with the fabulous weather.

Every bar and restaurant was full to capacity with Irish music on full volume and pipers everywhere your eyes could see... now that's a good thing.

Are you all ready for The U2 360 Tour coming your way? They'll be playing Gilette Stadium in Boston on Sunday September 20th and Giants Stadium on Thursday September 24th and I am sure more dates will be announced at both these venues as they will sell out when the tickets are go on sale on Monday March 30th. Now you're warned, book early, you were told right?

Robert Schneider the famous comedian from the Bad Boys of Saturday Night Live was seen spending a few hours at Nevada Smiths on Sunday night watching College Basketball. I'm not to sure who his favorite team was, but he seemed very comfortable drinking pints of Guinness and chatting to all the customers who approached him.

On Saturday Night Live he appeared with Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, David Spade and the late Chris Farley and of course in lots of movies, so he must be famous; what do you think!

When I was roving about town on Saint Patrick's Day who did I bump into? None other than Des O'Brien who was taking a little break from Dermuid Hogan's party where he was doing the catering and a fine job he and his staff were doing too.

Now where was it I met him again? Oh yes, at Eamonn's Bar and Grill upstairs having a quick drink before going back to Dermuid Hogan's party (on 5th Avenue and 46th Street, overlooking the biggest parade in the world).

This party is the Saint Patrick's Day party of party's and you'll find the who's who of the Irish community showing up for it. All I can say is he runs the best Saint Patrick's Day event in New York City.

John Dunleavy, Chairman of the New York St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee and all the other members should be very proud of what they have accomplished with this parade as it is the most talked about parade in the world.

All I can say John, is that you are doing the Irish proud and your country, Ireland, proud with all the hard work that you and your volunteers do. Good on you!

Yes, the time is almost here... what I am talking about? Johnny Logan at the Galway Hooker (on 36th Street between Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue) on Monday night of course!

This is his only appearance in North America and you're going to see a legend performing live. Be there or be square!

My advice is to call ahead for tickets at (212)725-2353 or e-mail johnnylogantickets@gmail.com since space is limited.

Congratulations to Dan Rooney on his nomination for U.S. Ambassador to Ireland.

As you know Dan is the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and also one of the founders of The American Ireland Fund where he does a lot of charitable work for kids in the North and South of Ireland; good man Dan.

NYU'S Glucksman Ireland House will be hosting several events in April. At 7pm on the 2nd they'll have a reading with Brian Lynch and on Friday 3rd at 9pm they host the Blarney Star Concert Series with Father Charlie and Jimmy Coen as guests. To reserve a seat at these events, call (212) 998-3950 or drop a mail to ireland.house@nyu.edu.

Pete Fitzpatrick, Frank Dwyer, Brian Connell and Tony Doyle have done it again with the grand opening of The French Quarters Guest Apartments (at 346 West 46th Street).

These boys are well known in the restaurant and bar business here in New York City with very successful establishments such as The Playwright Irish Pub (on West 35th Street), The Playwright Celtic Pub (on Eighth Avenue), The Playwright Tavern (on West 49th Street), Hurley's Saloon (West 48th Street), Jack Demsey's (West 33rd Street), Bourbon Street Bar & Grill (on West 46th Street) and Legends NYC (on West 33rd).

Now that's a chain of establishments to be proud of and let me tell you that they are great Irish businessmen. Keep up the good work.

The URTO will be holding its 23rd Annual Golf Outing on Tuesday, May 19th at the Dunwoodie Golf Club in Yonkers.

The URTO has announced that this year's honorees are: Eugene Wilson, partner, Channel 4 Irish Pub and Restaurant; and URTO Industry Golf Outing Honoree, Ken Glessner, the General Sales Manager for Manhattan Beer.

Mark your calendars and join them for a great day of golf, perhaps a drink or two, and the camaraderie of your fellow URTO members and friends in the industry. Make your reservations early to ensure your place on the course. You can email maureen@urandto.com to reserve a spot!

See you all next week.