Out & About

Sean McCarthy and John Kelly and partners have opened this beautiful bar and restaurant right in the middle of 30th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues) and right from the get-go the place is hopping.

On the walls of the restaurant you have huge paintings of some great Irish writers and entertainers like my friend the late Ronnie Drew, Bono, U2, Brenda Behan, Oscar Wilde, Shane McGowen, James Joyce and many more (though I did not see mine up on the wall!)

On a serious note, The Parlour is brilliant, with very high ceilings and the color texture has to be seen to be believed; so you've just got to go in and have a pint like I did and you will feel right at home.

I can't keep up with all these new Irish establishments opening... I wonder, what recession are they talking about? Well, I don't see it.

Thursday night rolled around and I was out and about and you would think I was in South Beach, Florida as everywhere was packed and all the bar's windows were open.

I stopped at the Galway Hooker on 36th Street to see some of the gang and lo and behold it was wall-to-wall; you had to fight to get to the bar and I had two friends down from Toronto who were here for the Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann Convention in Parsippany New Jersey: Eamonn O'Loghlin, Publisher/Editor of Irish Connections Canada our sister magazine and the photographer William Smith (Smitty) who could not believe their eyes at the size of the crowds.

We then headed across the road to visit Slattery's Midtown, which was again packed. I could see Justin - one of the owners - pushing and shoving tables to make room for the customers and the place was hopping. I wonder, was he giving something away free? Just kidding.

The great Tommy Smyth was taking part in a new show on Saturday at 5pm on ABC called ESPN Saturday Sports and let me tell you, he stole the show as he's got all the talent.

Tommy is now a well regarded sports personality at ESPN and I am sure we will be hearing a lot from him over the next few months with the World Cup coming up in June. I wonder, will he need anybody to carry his bags to South Africa as it is hard to get tickets; good on you Tommy, you're the best and we should all be proud of you as it never went to your head.

The Kildare Association of New York's Annual Dinner Dance is on this Saturday (April 17th) at the Visitation Church Hall (on 240th Street near Broadway in the Bronx).

They'll be serving a hot buffet from 7 to 8pm and dancing from 8 to 12 midnight with music by Joe Burke and the Voyages.

Donations are only $40 so call Garrett Doyle (917) 656-0674 or Chris Burke (516) 352-5858.

The Cork Gaelic Football Club of New York Dinner Dance will be held on Saturday April 24th at the Royal Regency Hotel (165 Tuckahoe Road, Yonkers). Music will be provided by The Black Velvet Band. The Guest of Honor is Pat Kiely from Kiskeam, Co. Cork, their Player of the Year is Alan Raftery from Oranmore/Maree in Co. Galway, and their  Club Man of the Year is Diarmaid "Smart" O'Sullivan from Eyeries, Beara, Co. Cork.

To order journal ads contact: Breda Carroll on (914) 602-4277 or by e-mail at  bredacarroll@yahoo.com. The deadline for journal ads is April 16th, so you'd better be quick. For dance reservations contact Noel on (914) 980-5320 or Colm at (646) 316-5832.

Well, it was a sad day last week for all the Manchester United and Arsenal fans as they both crashed out of the Champions League. Both of these teams have a great Irish history to them going way way back and they are great business in all the bars and restaurants for the ex-pats all around the country... maybe next year.

The Social Bar is one of the hottest bars in Hell's Kitchen (798 8th Avenue, between 48th and 49th Streets;  (212) 459-1323) and they hold great party nights where you can actually bring your own music, believe it or not. Now where else can you get that kind of service?

The newest culinary experience in New York is O'Casey's (on 41st Street just off 5th and Madison  Avenues) which is shaping up to be the Jewel in the Crown of dining experiences.

It is now open daily for lunch and is also the perfect venue for corporate lunch meetings or casual get togethers. Whether you're celebrating a birthday, an anniversary or just having dinner, O'Casey's is a memorable place that will make any occasion special... That should keep Paul Hurley happy... what you think?

I went over to an event called Whiskey Night last Wednesday evening and who did I meet? Only Mark Whelan from St. Andrews Restaurant & Bar (on West 46th Street) serving up some nice homemade Haggis.

We also me up with Emer Kelly from Enterprise Ireland and we tasted a few new products from Ireland like Danny Boy Premium Irish Whiskey and some Slane Castle Irish Whiskey that are both new in the American market and are very good. Somebody has to do it, why not me?

See you all next week!