Longford father-son duo open new bar in New York's Times Square

A Longford father and son duo were very excited as they opened their new Irish-American bar in Times Square, New York City’s vibrant entertainment hub this week.

The doors of Blakes Tavern, run by Ballinalee native Brendan Donoghue and his son Kevin (24), swung open on Tuesday and the GAA stalwart said it will be combine the best of an Irish pub and an American bar.

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Brendan, who has been living in New York for almost three decades, said it will be an ideal location for visitors attending Broadways shows and visitors from home and they will have lots of live music and a great atmosphere.

"I owned four bars and restaurants in New York and this week I'm opening another one with my son, which is his first, in Times Square. We are very excited."

They are expecting a very busy opening four-to-five weeks with the St Patrick's Day festivities fast approaching.

Brendan played Gaelic football for Longford and progressed through the underage teams and he represented the senior county team for two years before moving to the USA nearly 29 years ago.

"I played with Longford in 1997 in the Leinster Championship and then I came out for the summer out here and played with Longford in New York and then I just decided to stay on."

Brendan served as chairman of the Longford club in the Big Apple for 10 years from 2012-to-2022 and he is a well-known and active member of the Irish community.

He learned his trade as a barman under John Mahon and Pat Burke of the famous Pig 'N' Whistle chain of pubs from 1997 until 2012 before he started to open and run his own bars.

Brendan said he welcomes lots of people from county Longford and from across Ireland and their new bar in the heart of Times Square is ideally situated in a 'great location'.

He stated it was formerly a French restaurant up until 2020 when the pandemic struck and Broadway shows were cancelled for 18-months and another Irishman then took it over for about 12-months before he departed.

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When the bar was available again Brendan and Kevin saw a good opportunity.

"It was kind of dingy looking and all, so we did some work and fixed it up and it's really nice now."

Brendan expects it will be a popular with Longfordians living in the Big Apple and those visiting from his home county and across Ireland and he expects lots of customers from the local GAA community.

"I got into the bar business when I came over and I just kept playing a bit of football and then I got involved with the [Longford] club but it folded in 1999 or 2000.

"Then in 2011 there was was good few young lads that had played with Longford over the years living here and a few of us got together and said, 'Let's get together and try and get this team back'.

"We got it back up and running and we went up through all the divisions and we won the senior championship for the first time ever for Longford in New York in 2018.

"I was involved with that and then I had bars along the line."

Brendan, who lives with his family in Long Island, said he has a few Irish bars in that area that he got during the Covid-19 pandemic and the new bar Blake's Tavern will increase his number of bars in the city to two.

He has taken out a 20 year lease on his new bar in Times Square which is owned by a 'small landlord' who has a handful of commercial premises leased.

"The rents are high in Times Square but the people are there so there is still a lot of people investing in that area, not just bars, more restaurants and shows and everything."

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Brendan's late parents Frank and Mary passed on a number of years ago and they are both buried in Ballinalee.

He said his father grew up in Letterkenny and he used to drink in a pub called Blake's Tavern and he always liked the name and they decided to go with it.

"I have a good reputation here, I care about staff and when you do and they feel that they're going to be with you for a long time."

Brendan, who will be flying home in March, said he travels home to Ireland two or three times a year and he gets to county Longford about once a year.

"I'd be good friends with the Fox family in Ballinalee and whenever I'd be home I'd stop out there and spend a few days in the area."

Brendan, who has been with his partner Bridget for over 15 years and who has children ranging from 28 year-old Colin down to four year-old Fiona, has 20-to25 full-time and part-time staff members.

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He stated about half are Irish and he often hires J1 students.

Brendan said life is good and the pressures are different now compared to when his eldest were kids.

"When you're doing a bit better in life you can enjoy these things, the likes of Fiona.

"I try to be home every night to put her to bed.

"Life as they say is too short."