What makes O’Brien’s so unique is that it is authentically Irish. The two partners are Irish, as is their manager: Garvin McCloskey, a cancer survivor and marathoner who just moved to New Paltz last week from Donegal to help with the business. “He’s my brother, and I can’t tell you how happy I am he’s here,” said Murtagh of McCloskey, who was featured in the Donegal newspaper when he announced that he was heading to the US. “We’ve been through so much together, and seeing him come through third-stage lymphoma, coming back and getting his best time in the New York City Marathon, made me so proud and grateful. He’s raised hundreds of thousands for the Ireland Cancer Society, and wants to do the same here with the American Cancer Society.”
The two men could not be more charming, and meet and greet everyone who walks into the door as if they’re old friends — and quickly, their patrons are becoming their good friends. “Kevin called me and said he needed help, so the cavalry has arrived!” said McCloskey, whose wife and children are on their way in a few months to join him. “I was telling the wife that I can’t believe how welcoming everyone is, how friendly. It’s actually choked me up, to be honest.”
“These are all repeat customers,” said Murtagh. “That’s the greatest thing we could hope for. They came once, and kept coming back. The guy that did the mural, Howard Miller, and I have become good friends. He’s a character, and I really enjoyed getting to know him.” The mural depicts a turn-of-the-century traditional Irish pub scene, with people sipping on their Guinness, playing instruments, swapping stories — and then, of course, there is Mr. James Joyce pondering the world.
That’s only one element that Murtagh and Mahoney put into the building. “Mickey can do anything, and the two of us put in this pot-bellied woodstove. Then he built this rock wall; we redid all of the booths and commissioned a wrought-iron fixture with Celtic knots on top that we anchored to four whiskey barrels.”
