The days of grabbing a pint at the last Irish bar in Norwood might be numbered.

A dispute between McDwyer’s Pub and its landlord, 3120 Hull Realty Corp., has been working its way through Bronx Housing Court all this summer. A trial to determine whether Eamonn McDwyer’s neighborhood saloon can stay or go is scheduled for Sept. 15.

McDwyer’s Pub opened at 331 E. 204th St. at the corner of Hull Avenue in 1966. McDwyer’s attorney, Jeffrey Frank Cohen, said that the landlord is claiming that the bar is on a month-to-month lease.

Cohen, who agreed to discuss aspects of McDwyer’s case that were public record, said that McDwyer had previously been served with a notice to terminate the lease and vacate the building. The bar remains open, and court records show that McDwyer has appeared in court in May, June and July.

McDwyer, who celebrated his 50th year in business this past March, declined to comment for this story other than saying he’s not yet sure how long he will be able to keep the bar open. McDwyer, who’s regularly served drinks since the joint opened, told Norwood News at the time of his 50th anniversary that there might be older bars in the Bronx, but they can’t boast that they’ve had the same barkeep behind the counter for five decades.

Calls to 3120 Hull Realty Corp. were not returned by deadline.

McDwyer’s Pub became the sole Irish bar in Norwood about six years ago when McMahon’s Bar on the same block of 204th Street closed up shop. Bainbridge Avenue and 204th Street were once home to many Irish bars that catered to a wave of Irish immigrants who settled in Norwood and Bedford Park in the 1970s and 80s to escape violence in Ireland and work in the construction industry.

The Irish population in Norwood, large enough that Ireland’s then president Mary Robinson visited the neighborhood in 1993, dropped off in the 1990s, with some immigrants either heading back to Old Sod or settling in neighboring Woodlawn Heights. McDwyer himself has moved out of the neighborhood to Yonkers.

“I would think that this would be a loss for many people in the community,” said Barbara Stronczer, a member of Community Board 7 who also chairs the Bedford Mosholu Community Association. “You always hate to see the old owners go.”

admin

Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.