Memories From Home ~ In Ireland

One evening while I was in Ireland, Emily and I were on our way over to the church just around the corner from Murphy’s. We were going to attend a recital of sorts put on by the Kerry Girls School of Music, but we stopped for dinner first. 

We were both wanting lamb and as we were walking over to the church we came across The Flesk Restaurant. We went in and was seated near a window where we could watch people hustle by in the pouring rain. On the one wall were beautiful scenes of Killarney’s mountains and lakes, complements of local artist Paul Downey.  

The waitresses were very attentive; fresh bread and water, we ordered a glass of wine and get this, Pinot Noir was one of the house wines. With lamb and mashed potatoes on the menu, how could things get any better?

 Emily noticed on another wall behind us, plates, like license plates that said American Legion on them. They were from different states, AZ. N.J. MA. Etc. When the waitress came back over, I asked her about them.  

 She very enthusiastically told us about Dermot O’Leary, the owner of the restaurant how he had served in Vietnam in the late ‘60’s, and how he wanted to have an “Irish Post” here in Ireland.

 I don’t know if it was the Pinot, the pouring rain out the window or maybe just the American Legion plates, but I had to fight back tears as I thought of my brother Tim who had also served in Vietnam in the late ‘60’s and passed away just two years ago now from Lymphoma.

 I’ve attached a little bit from the internet that I found about Dermot and his restaurant. 

One major event each year, not surprisingly, is St. Patrick’s Day. Legionnaires from across Ireland gather in Killarney and carry the colours through the city, typically winding their way to the Flesk Restaurant, home of Father Francis Duffy American Legion Post IR-02. “The reception we get in Killarney is unbelievable,” Kane says. “American visitors want to get out and walk with us.”

The Flesk is not an ordinary Irish eatery. Its walls are strikingly similar to many U.S.‑based American Legion posts: they are adorned with license plates bearing the names, towns and numbers of other Legion posts around the world. U.S. tourists who happen upon the Flesk are astonished to find The American Legion’s emblem hanging on the wall along with all the license plates.

“They can’t get over it,” says Flesk owner Dermot O’Leary, a Vietnam War veteran and Legionnaire who was drafted into the U.S. Army after he went to New York looking for work in the early 1960s. “It happens all the time. They can’t get over the fact they have found an American Legion post in Ireland.”

 His restaurant is named after the beautiful Flesk River, that can be seen from Muckross Road. I just happened to have taken a picture of it last year when I was walking along Muckross to the Abbey. Now it’s nice to know its name and have some history.
 Dermot O’Leary passed away last year.