Una Neary has just been hand picked for one of the most coveted jobs on Wall Street, she's become the newest partner at Goldman Sachs. Partners start at a base of $900,000 and get to make lucrative income off their deals.
Although she's now a high flying executive there's a part of New York City where, according to CNBC, everybody still knows her name - that's at the tony Upper East Side Irish pub named Neary’s.
Opened on Saint Patrick’s Day in 1967 by Una's father Jimmy (who immigrated here from Sligo in 1954) the founder himself can still can be found greeting customers almost every evening.
Now Una, the eldest daughter of Jimmy, has come up in the world but she's not about to forget her origins.
Neary joined Goldman Sachs from the Federal Reserve in 2009, when she was reportedly brought aboard to oversee the bank’s compliance with a new set of regulations after it became a bank holding company during the financial crisis.
But back at Nearys most customers have no idea that the tall, blond woman who greeted them at the door is a managing director at Goldman. That's fine by her, as it happens.
'Neary’s is a very special place for my family,' she confided.
The bar has been quietly attracting former regulars of Elaine’s, the legendary Upper East Side restaurant that sadly closed after its proprietor died. But Kevin Duffy, a longtime bartender at Elaine’s, now tends bar at Neary’s and the transition has been a smooth one.
Even bestselling thriller writer Mary Higgins Clark has name-checked Neary’s in her books several times over the years. In fact, in one of them, Jimmy Neary himself actually solves a murder.
There's a good reason why real life intersects with her art - Clark is a regular.
Meanwhile Una still helps out at Neary's on the weekends, waitressing, hosting and staying close to her own happy origins. She may command a high flying Wall Street executive salary, but she's wise enough to hold onto the ties that bind.
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