McVeigh's--among the last of its kind
Aug. 14th, 2023 03:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kathleen_daileyMcVeigh's Irish Pub is, amazingly, still in existence.
McVeigh's is a dive bar in the middle of downtown T.O., and over the years I've spent a fair amount of time there.
When I worked at Macmillan of Canada on Bond Street--after U of T Press and before law school, which means a few decades ago--the usual group of editorial disreputables would stroll down Church as far as Richmond for lamb stew and a pint or several. McVeigh's wasn't always the first choice (that was The Silver Rail at Yonge and Shuter, which was much closer to work). But it offered live non-jazz music, so we'd sometimes make an afternoon and evening of it. (Obviously, this was back in the distant day when book publishing and booze consumption were coextensive.)
Life and work changed radically, and I pretty much forgot about McVeigh's until we moved into the condo on Lombard Street. McVeigh's then became one of our locals (along with P.J. O'Brien's and the Irish Embassy, both of them much fancier and much less fun). Although McVeigh's clientele had changed (fewer working-class heroes, more lawyers and fintech bros from Bay Street), the pub hadn't--it was just as comfortingly seedy as it had always been. Even Jimmy Sr. was still perched on a stool most days when we came for lunch, and I hope he still is.
I don't often get down to McVeigh's these days, but when I have a client meeting nearby I always go there for lunch. The development pressures in the area are fierce, and it's not likely that McVeigh's will stay alive for another sixty years. But I'm very, very glad that it's still right there, right now.
McVeigh's is a dive bar in the middle of downtown T.O., and over the years I've spent a fair amount of time there.
When I worked at Macmillan of Canada on Bond Street--after U of T Press and before law school, which means a few decades ago--the usual group of editorial disreputables would stroll down Church as far as Richmond for lamb stew and a pint or several. McVeigh's wasn't always the first choice (that was The Silver Rail at Yonge and Shuter, which was much closer to work). But it offered live non-jazz music, so we'd sometimes make an afternoon and evening of it. (Obviously, this was back in the distant day when book publishing and booze consumption were coextensive.)
Life and work changed radically, and I pretty much forgot about McVeigh's until we moved into the condo on Lombard Street. McVeigh's then became one of our locals (along with P.J. O'Brien's and the Irish Embassy, both of them much fancier and much less fun). Although McVeigh's clientele had changed (fewer working-class heroes, more lawyers and fintech bros from Bay Street), the pub hadn't--it was just as comfortingly seedy as it had always been. Even Jimmy Sr. was still perched on a stool most days when we came for lunch, and I hope he still is.
I don't often get down to McVeigh's these days, but when I have a client meeting nearby I always go there for lunch. The development pressures in the area are fierce, and it's not likely that McVeigh's will stay alive for another sixty years. But I'm very, very glad that it's still right there, right now.
