NEW York's legendary Irish restaurateur and bar owner, Mr Eamon Doran, was quietly mourned as the St Patrick's celebrations took place this week in his adopted home town.
Mr Doran, a native of Athboy, Co Meath, who died at the weekend, would have been 59 years of age yesterday.
More widely known in Dublin since the successful opening of new premises in Temple Bar, his name graces five premises on both sides of the Atlantic, with three in Manhattan, one in Brooklyn. His first and most famous, Eamon Doran's on Manhattan's Second Avenue, became a home away from home for Irish exiles, artists and actors.
Customers regularly mingled with Irish celebrities such as Richard Harris, Paddy Reilly and members of The Chieftains. It became widely known in the Irish community that if you needed a job, Mr Doran was the one to ask, and if you needed advice he was always willing to listen.
Mr Doran is survived by his wife, Claire, and sons, Dermot and Edward. His funeral will take place in Athboy, and a special memorial service is planned for Manhattan early in April.
Mr Doran arrived in New York in the early 1970s from Athboy, where his family had run a pub. He first worked as a barman in P.J. Moran's, then one of most famous bars in the city.
For 18 years he ran a charity pouting for the New York Foundling Hospital and also raised money for Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin.