By Paddy McCarthy
My Out&About this week is dedicated mostly to a friend, who had lots of friends and that was the late great Rick McDonald, RIP. Rick put up a great fight to beat the terrible colon cancer that he was diagnosed with for a couple of years. He would the first person to say to me, “talk about the fun times and that will make me smile”, I know he would say that as he was one gracious man and a living legend! I am going to tell you of a few happy times I was lucky to have in Rick’s company at some of his gigs that I will remember forever.
The first time I got to meet Rick was at the Green Derby saloon on Second Avenue back in the 80s. Rick was the resident piano player and in my single days it was my local as it was for a lot of friends – it was the place to meet and have a pint or two. Rick was the entertainer and no matter what request anyone made Rick played it so professionally and never missed a note. I remember one night after a concert in the famous Carnegie Hall where world-famous Phil Coulter was performing in a concert that was sold out, the after party was held in the Green Derby where we all headed back after the concert as the place was packed and the who’s who turned up as well. The star of the concert made his appearance and the place went wild at his presence. Now I knew this was going to be the party of parties with Rick on the piano and the world-famous pianist in the same house as well, wow! And it was, believe me, a hooley that went on for hours or should I say to the early morning hours. The best part of the night was the respect he had for Rick -he was not going to play he said, as he was going to just have a cocktail and leave early… well, that did not happen. Rick, the gentleman that he was, persuaded Phil to come up and play and yes he said, but only if Rick stayed on as well and yes he did and the two of them played together on the piano and brought the house down. You can just imagine the playing and the singing that went on that night was just brilliant and will never be seen again.
Rick played all over and there were so many parties that he was booked for you could not count. After the Green Derby lost its lease, Rick was hired instantly by the famous Bill’s Gay Nineties where he played for many years. A lot of Broadway entertainers frequented that restaurant after their performances and some late night television personalities were also regulars there as well. A great friend of Rick’s, and again he had many, James Houlihan sent me these pictures of Rick performing that I know you will like. He said that, “I thought you might like this pic of Rick and Jimmy Fallon at the piano, I took it the closing night of Bill’s.” Thank you James, I do.
James wrote: “I’m so sorry Rick lost his battle and pray he’s at peace. Our good friend, Rick McDonald, passed away last night after a long battle with cancer. He was a wonderful entertainer, always lifting everyone’s spirits and putting smiles on all our faces. He was a gentleman and always pleasant when dealing with song requests. Pat introduced me to Rick one Saturday night, a long time ago, at a restaurant in Tudor City. She said, ‘It was love at first sight’ and she wasn’t wrong. I think about all the remarkable memories: Rick playing for about 4 hours at the after party at our wedding reception at the New York Athletic Club, I think of many great nights at Bill’s Gay Nineties on East 54th Street and then later at a place on 3rd Avenue in the 40s. He played at parties in my town home at St. Andrews Golf Course and then at our home at 26 Northway. He performed at our friend’s house (the McCrossin’s) Christmas parties and at the Houlihan Parnes holiday celebrations. He played at many Houlihan family events at Siwanoy and also recently played at Underhill Crossings in Bronxville. He was “one of a kind” and will be sorely missed. We will be warmed by all the great memories he has given us to keep and cherish.
“We are all better for knowing such a beautiful human being. May he ‘Rest in Peace’. With sincere admiration and love, Jim Houlihan.”
I had to include this in my Out&About as Jim’s words are so sincere.
One of our feature writers Eileen Cronin has just launched a new book with a title called “You, Me, the Irish Music and a Grand Cup of Tea” which contains stories of her family and their struggles and hard times after leaving their home in Ireland to find the “Gold they were told that was lying in the streets of America” just waiting to be picked up. After arriving and finding it wasn’t true and it was hard to get jobs. through it all they managed to find friends that helped them get started, always staying together taking care of each other, never forgetting the mother and those at home or their Rosary at night time. God bless us all Eileen. I can see already that it will be a big seller as the readers of The Irish Examiner USA loved her weekly feature, I think she will be back again, I hope. You can contact Eileen by email at eilcronin@aol.com or by calling (516) 428-6672 or (516) 334-1801 and the book is also available from her Facebook page.
Now for a couple of events that you should not miss so here we go: The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick on Long Island will be holding their 36th Annual Emerald Ball and Banquet on Saturday, March 5th from 6 pm at the Carltun on the Park in East Meadow, New York. Cocktails begin at 6 pm with dinner and dancing following at 7 pm. Tickets are $225 per person and entertainment will be provided by the FDNY Pipe & Drum Band. A portion of the proceeds will benefit The Down Syndrome Advocacy Foundation. The 2022 Favorite Son Award will be presented to Michael Francis Kelly, President of Kelly Development Group. For tickets call Frederick Dinkelacker at (516) 375-4442 or (516) 376-8343 or visit www.fsspli.org/event/36th-annual-emerald-ball.
Here is some updated news on the United Irish Counties Association Dinner Dance. Due to the uncertain times we are in, and especially just after the Christmas season, The UIC Board of Directors and the Dinner Dance Committee have decided to postpone their 117th Annual Dinner Dance that was to be held on Friday January 28th to Sunday March 27th from 3 pm to 8 pm. The event will be held at Antun’s (96-43 Springfield Boulevard, Queens Village) with a Deluxe Cocktail Hour kicking off the evening at 7:30 pm, followed by dinner and dancing. Music will be provided by Rumor Has It and tickets are $100. Gael of the Year is Joseph Kenny, Assistant Chief, NYPD, the Rose Cosgrove Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Catherine T. Hogan, Delegate – Co. Clare Association NYC.
As you can see, we have a lot going on and its great to see that we are finally getting back to normality. There’s a lot more coming next week so I hope to see you all when I am Out&About again…