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My name is Patrick O’Brien. I was born in Newcestown, West Cork and attended national school locally. I went to Farranferris in Cork city for secondary education. I studied dentistry in UCC graduating in 1988. Three years were spent working in the UK followed by a lifetime ambition of travelling through Africa for a year. I came back to Ireland in 1992 and successfully operated dental practices in Dublin, Kildare and Laois.
I am married to my beautiful wife Terri and have five fantastic boys.
My interest in property started in UCC while managing my dad’s UCC accommodation. My first acquisition was a house on Western road in Cork city. This happened barely a year after qualifying from UCC. I have continued to invest in Irish property for my dental business and for rental purposes.
While in London a group of us planned to open an Irish pub . A plan was drafted but the partners got cold feet.
I remained convinced of the viability of a decent Irish pub abroad and teamed up with restauranteurs John Maxwell and Dora Keogh from Toronto and Dubliner Daithi Connaughton who had good connections promoting the Irish pub abroad for Guinness Daithi also had regular employment with Windmill Lane Studios and had involvement with The Chieftains, Clannad and Planxty.
The idea was to open an Irish pub that once you were through the front door you could be back in Ireland.It couldn’t be ‘Durty Nelly’s’. It had to have a real person’s name.
The first pub opened was Dora Keogh’s. This opened in the smart Danfort area of Toronto. This is an area similar in age and style to Ranelagh if you were looking for a Dublin comparison.
The pub was an instant success and still operates successfully twelve years on. It has become an Irish home from home for such musicians as The Chieftains, Frankie Gavin( De Dannan) and Altan, author Maeve Binchey and actors Colm Meaney, Sean Mc Ginley(Gangs of New York) and Bernard Hill(Titanic and Lord of the rings)
Its proved equally popular with the locals with musicians Geddy Lee(Rush) counted as a patron
It still gets accolades such as “cosiest pub” in Toronto.
The second pub to open was PJ O’Brien’s. This is located off Yonge Street in the city centre in Toronto’s theatre district and again proved a great success It opened in a period building which had been used as a refuge by Fenians’ in Canada’s past. It grabbed everyone’s attention with a magnificent copper topped bar.
One of its best customers was the late Pat Quinn who gave the name Quinnsworth to Irish retail. Pat sold Quinnsworth and moved to Toronto in the seventies. He was so taken with this pub that he bought it from our group and became its new owner .It still trades successfully and is operated by his family.
These were the first two pubs that opened a whole new scene in Toronto. It was out with the plastic shamrocks and in with the new found confidence that embraced Ireland at the turn of the century.
The Toronto star quoted at the time ‘Irish dentist PJ O’Brien reverses the trend of the returned Yank and is one of a new breed of Irish businessmen bringing Irish money to North America’.
Now I feel it is time to reverse that trend and keep Irish investment money in Ireland creating Irish business and Irish jobs. With this project we will create a lot of entertainment and do what we enjoy also.
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