Killarney Rose
127 Pearl Street
212-422-1486
Killarneyrose.com
Of the many institutions which represents the local Irish community, the Irish pub has both staying power and the ability to adapt to changing times. It was hard to walk down any block in Manhattan without seeing one — there are some 2,000, by one count. With the most concentrated Irish population in the United States — nearly 13% claimed Irish ancestry in 2013 — New York City has had an Irish pub culture for more than a century or so.
At one time, Lower Manhattan — the section that was once New Amsterdam — which includes the Financial District, South Street Seaport, Battery Park City and City Hall — was also a center for the Irish bar scene. Though many have come and gone, Killarney Rose has survived the numerous changes downtown including a generational shift from the late father Francis (Frank) Moran, who launched the pub in 1968 to son John who now captains the ship on Pearl Street down the block from Hanover Square — 51 years later.
An oasis of trees and benches just off Wall Street, Hanover Square was named after George III’s family and has been a public space in the city since the days of the Dutch settlement; it’s also one of the few city places that retained its royal place name after the Revolution. A couple years after 9/11, it had a facelift that symbolized lower Manhattan’s survival after devastation and rejuvenation.
John, then running the now closed Mercantile Grill — sandwiched 
between a Goldman Sachs office and Dresdner Bank on Hanover Square, said to a downtown publication about its effect: “Businesses down here? Those that have survived so far, well, if they can just hang on for the next year I think they will make it. But it’s been tough.”
He had acknowledged that in the two years past 9/11 the high rollers hadn’t been spending like they used to on simple things such as eating and drinking after work — symptoms that each business downtown had been affected by lower Manhattan’s enormous crisis. But Moran survived all that and reopened Killarney Rose, the Irish bar opposite it, which had been closed for renovations and been in the family for 35 years (at that time).
As its owner, boss and chief bottle-washer, the younger Moran explained that the origin of Killarney Rose’s name had an unexpected but oddly prosaic beginning. “My dad called it that because he like the sound of the name — really felt Irish. Then he just added the rose — maybe for my mom [Kathleen (Nee Callaghan)]. We had others but this just seemed to fit this place.”
It may not be the oldest Irish bar in Manhattan or the best known, but it fits into the great historical matrix of New York’s Irish bar scene — its classic story, and also one that tells of coping with shifting clientele, changing tastes and new generations. As John mused, “It’s not the same old saloon business as it used to be. People don’t drink as much or the same things; their taste in food is different and, thanks to social media apps like tinder, they don’t come to bars to pick each other up like they used to. They come in groups — sometimes a pack of women or gang of guys — to get a drink or two before they go somewhere else. So I have to come up with new ideas that cater to the new crowd while still satisfying other generations.”
His father had come from County Leitrim/Roscommon in 1946 and began Killarney Rose, Downtown’s Local, two decades later in ’68. Situated on Pearl Street, it runs from one side of the building to the other with an upstairs for private parties. On the main floor, there’s a long bar, a line of table for drinking and eating some tables on each side for more intimate conversation among groups.
“We used to have guys here at 7am, waiting to get in the door and have their first pint. But that’s all changed. We still have our regulars and barflies, but now it’s a millennial crowd that comes in as well. And their tastes are different. They don’t drink as much or what people used to drink. As long as I had Pabst Blue Ribbon or Coors or Budweiser — and of course Guinness — I was okay. But nowadays, I have to have different craft beers and try out new ones. To do so we now have Tin Can Tuesdays we offer a select bunch of craft beers from 5-9 pm.”
When his dad died July 18, 2014, he was committed to maintaining his family legacy. Though a devoted father to all his kids — Mary, Frank, Kathleen, John, Tom, and Kevin — it fell to middle child John to carry on the business. And no wonder he did. “I grew up in bars and pubs as far back as I remember. When I was a kid, I would come in on the weekends to help my dad, sweep and learn the business. I wanted to learn it from the ground up. And that I did.
“One time, I must have been 12 or 13, one of the managers called me to the basement to help him. The was an ugly and smelly big black mass clogging things up. I have to stick my arms in up to my elbows to pull it out and clean it up. It sure stank and so did I. But I did it. I certainly learned some shit that day.”
Thankfully, his dad had the wisdom some time ago to have bought the building 40 years, which Moran acknowledged “was such a smart move. I don’t if we could have survived otherwise.” In fact, pre-9/11 when Wall Street was flush, the millennial habits not so dominant and a lot less chains fill building sites, the family also had that traditional restaurant sharing the spot — The Mercantile Grill. “As things changed downtown we closed for a revamp year after 9/11 and found it easier to consolidate so we closed the Grill ad re-opened The Rose.”
But even with the restaurant closed, they still apply a restauranteur’s skill to the food there. As one reviewer described it: “If every Irish venue served cuisine like Killarney Rose, we might be only writing on Irish restaurants. We began with a house salad which was fresh and had a lovely arrangement. They listened and put the dressing on the side, and we were off to a good start. Under the starters, we selected for our appetizer the Potato Skins. They were hearty and delicious enhanced with cheese, bacon and scallions and joined by sour cream of course. This is of course a classic that’s done well [there] and it totally hit the spot. Of course you ought to be eating potatoes at an Irish place. The entree is what makes Killarney Rose stand out, in addition to John’s Irish hospitality. We’ve never seen such a sophisticated poisson in an Irish casual spot until now. The sesame crusted rare tuna steak was incredibly flavorful with just the right amount of wasabi dressing. The texture and thickness of the entree was incredible and definitely we would order this again.”
At one time, Moran had worked for others, but was drawn back home and doesn’t look back. Now it’s just a matter of looking forward, gauging the changes one day at a time.