Foley’s bar on 33rd street in Midtown Manhattan is no more. In its stead is the bar named Daniel Murphy’s, or at least until the end of the World Series anyway.
In tribute to the Irish-American New York Mets hero, his record-breaking postseason run, and the starting game of the 2015 World Series against the Kansas City Royals this evening, Foley’s Daniel Murphy’s bar is to bear the name of the Mets’ star second baseman until the end of the Series.
"No one in the history of this great sport has accomplished what Daniel Murphy has this postseason,” said Shaun Clancy, owner of Foley's Daniel Murphy's NY Pub & Restaurant, the bar that once infamously placed a ban on "Danny Boy".
“Renaming our restaurant after him is a way of tipping our cap to him in honor of his achievements and to the excitement that he has brought to this city.”
“To a non-baseball fan it’s hard to describe it, but to a baseball fan, what he’s doing has never been done before.”
To put it in an Irish perspective: “This is like a guy who scores five goals in the All-Ireland. He’s probably afraid that he’s going to wake up in the morning and this would all have been a dream.”
And so at noon on Monday, October 26, on the eve of the World Series, the new sign was hoisted high outside the bar to officially announce their record-breaking new moniker.
READ MORE: Danny Boy! Mets sensation Daniel Murphy is close to his Irish roots.
“What better way to honor an Irish-American!” Clancy said.
Not only is Murphy now lending his name to one of New York’s top baseball bars, but Foley’s Daniel Murphy’s bar have added the 30-year-old Florida-born Irish-American to the ballot for possible 2016 Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame induction at the bar – an accolade which began in 2008.
“We started the Irish-American Baseball Hall of Fame to honor the contribution of Irish-American people to baseball,” said Clancy.
“How cool is it when you go to Cooperstown and you see among the founding fathers of baseball so many Irish names. You have Kellys and Duffys and you have Galvins.”
“One thing I’ve noticed with the Hall of Fame, you suddenly realize how proud they are of their heritage and what it means to them … Every year since we started the Hall of Fame we’ve had at least one person crying when he says, ‘I wish my grandfather John’ or ‘my parents could be here to see me get this’ because they may not have been baseball fans but they appreciate that they’re being honored not just for what they’ve done as a baseball player but because of their Irishness.”
As well as honoring those in baseball such as Murphy who quite obviously have Irish names and a strong link to their heritage, the hall also looks to commemorate those Irish who may be overlooked.
“We were meeting with so many people who you would never think for one second were Irish,” Clancy admits, “and that’s why we started the ‘Pete Caldera Duke Castiglione I Didn’t Know They Were Irish Award’ and the first guy that got it was a guy called Don Wakamatsu, which is funny because Don is now the bench coach for the Kansas City Royals!”
“You’re going to root for the guys that have the Irish connection or you’re going to find the Irish connection but you’d be amazed when you do.”
And how does the owner of Daniel Murphy’s bar think the big-hitter’s team will finish up at the end of this fall’s Series?
“Their chances are very good,” Claney said, although admitting that he wouldn’t call himself a Mets fan per se.
“It’s going to be a great Series because you have two great line ups … it’s going to be good for baseball, it’s going to be good for the city and it’s going to be great for the Mets fans!”
Foley’s Daniel Murphy's NY Pub & Restaurant (18 W. 33rd St.), home of the Irish-American Baseball Hall of Fame, features walls adorned with more than 3,200 autographed balls, hundreds of bobbleheads, game-worn jerseys, stadium seats and other interesting artifacts.
The impressive list includes baseballs from Bono, the Edge, Harry Potter-actor Daniel Radcliffe, Kirk Douglas, Tommy Hilfiger, soccer star Pele, Ivana Trump, country star Garth Brooks, former Irish President Mary McAleese; of course, baseball legends such as Joe DiMaggio; the signed speech that former Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Bertie Ahern gave to the joint US Houses of Congress, as well as a sliotar signed by our very own favorite fiery redhead, Maureen O’Hara.
What are your predictions before the first game of the World Series tonight? Let us know in the comments section.
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