McSorley’s, like the AIHS, is a New York institution
By Irish Echo Staff
“Success in the City” bills itself the young professionals’ wing of the American Irish Historical Society.
Well, this Thursday the members will be hosting what is billed as a Summer Mixer - Midsummer with McSorley’s.
The gathering, in conjunction with McSorley’s Ale House, is a chance for members and friends to indulge in a little beer and whiskey tasting, listen to live Irish music, learn a little about the Irish in New York and, according to Sophie Colgan of the AIHS, learn a little about what “Success in the City” is all about.
“For anyone who has never ventured downtown to McSorley’s Old Ale House, it is a landmark tavern in New York City,” said a release.
“McSorley's has been a gathering place, a watering hole, the subject of art and literature and even a supreme court controversy since 1854, and can boast of being New York City’s oldest continuously operated saloon.
“Today it is an East Village icon, a tourist destination as much as a local hangout, and home to some of the city's biggest bar crowds.
“In addition to its "Be Good or Be Gone" motto, one of the original slogans at McSorley’s was "Good Ale, Raw Onions, and No Ladies."
That, happily, is no longer the case for the third part of the slogan which was put out to pasture in 1970.
The host AIHS, meanwhile, is located at 991 Fifth Avenue has been a center of Irish culture and knowledge since 1897, this in a Gilded Age townhouse across the avenue from the Metropolitan Museum.
“On Thursday, July 27 at 6.30 p.m. these two landmarks will come together in the AIHS on 80th Street and 5th Avenue,” said Colgan.
Tickets are $25 for the gathering and $75 will over admission and membership of both “Success in the City and the AIHS for a full year. More at www.aihs.org
