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Business & Tech

Flannery's Brings Irish Spirit Back to the Borough

The pub hosts a St. Patrick's celebration and fundraiser Saturday to benefit local recreation organizations.

Just one week after Fanwood resident David Bell served as Grand Marshal of the Union County St. Patrick's Day Parade, in Fanwood is bringing the spirit of the Emerald Isle back to the borough with a St. Patrick’s celebration of its own.

The pub is hosting a day-long fundraiser Saturday to benefit the Fanwood Youth Organization, the Police Athletic League and the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Little League. From 12:30 to 10:30 p.m. revelers can take in four live bands, Irish dance teams, bag pipes, face painting, a silent auction and a slew of Flannery's favorite food and drinks, including hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, wings, ribs and, of course, Guinness on tap. The first half of the day will be geared more toward families and children. Music and dancing for the older crowd will kick-off at around 4:45 p.m. Tickets cost $5 in advance or $10 on the day of the event. They can be purchased at Flannery’s or from FYO, PAL and Little League athletes. 

Long before Flannery's opened last Fourth of July, co-owners Sean Flannery and Brian Walter said that they wanted their establishment to fill a niche they felt the town was missing. Both Flannery and Walter grew up in Scotch Plains and Fanwood, and they said that by giving Fanwood its own watering hole – a truly community-oriented, neighborhood pub – they hoped to give back to the town and residents that helped shaped them.

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“We’re from the town,” Flannery said. “The real motivation to build this place was coming from here and knowing what we wanted and what the town needed was something we could facilitate.”

Mayor Colleen Mahr said creating a vibrant downtown for Fanwood was one of her greatest priorities, and that Flannery’s Pub has proven instrumental in building toward that goal.

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“When Flannery’s opened last year, that really was a pivotal moment for the downtown,” Mahr said. “Now we have our own pub, where people can hang out, see their neighbors, and socialize.”

Walter, formerly the executive chef at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, is no stranger to large-scale events. With Hamilton Farm, Walter contributed to weddings, birthday parties, bar mitzvahs and more. The St. Patrick’s Fundraiser, however, is a new type of undertaking.

“This will be our first main event, so we’re trying to make it as perfect as possible,” Walter said. 

Flannery added, “We want it to be a fun, successful day for us, for the town, for the kids…. The more we raise, the more donations the kids’ clubs are going to get.”

He and Walter said they also hope the event will contribute to Fanwood’s sense of identity and community. "We’re trying to generate happiness and motivation to get the community involved," Flannery said. "I’ve been here my whole life and nothing like this has been done.”

To this end, the pair received a boost from Bell, who became the first borough resident selected to serve as the Union County parade's Grand Marshal. “When we found out the Grand Marshal for the Union County parade was from Fanwood, that became a building block to actually try to do something to draw attention to Fanwood, and draw attention to Flannery’s,” Mahr said. “From there it snowballed, and we identified youth and sporting organizations that could actually benefit from what we could do.”

Stay tuned for a schedule of the day's events, coming later this week. The St. Patrick's Day fundraiser was made possible in part through donations and sponsorships from a number of local businesses. Those interested in sponsoring or volunteering should contact Flannery by emailing s.flannery@flanneryslounge.com.

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