Laughter, tears fill pub on its final day

When Maguires Hill 16 opened for its final day on Sunday, father-and-son owners Jim and James Gregory greeted patrons with hugs, backslaps and stories.

“I’ve got to tell you my favorite,” said Jim, 77. “We had a regular, a guy named Charlie. He drove a Bentley. One day, about six years ago, he says, ‘I need to hold a wake here. It’s going to be about 90 people.’ I say, ‘Sure, who’s it for?’ He says, ‘Me.’ ”

“He was dying, and he wanted to celebrate with all his friends,” said James, 41.

“A living wake,” Jim said. “Two weeks later, he was gone.”

Maguires Hill 16 held a living wake for itself on Sunday, with hundreds of regulars pouring in to pay their respects. There was football on TV, Guinness on tap and final batches of potato soup and shepherd’s pie streaming from the kitchen.

“It’s like losing an old friend,” said Mindy Brown, a Broward County Court Judge. “I just had to come to say goodbye.”

“I had my 90th birthday party here,” said Brown’s tablemate, Elaine Appel, 92, part of a courthouse group that has been coming to Maguires for the past 30 years. “I’m going to miss it.”

Jim and James Gregory, from County Kildare, Ireland, bought Maguires in 1999. The Irish pub on North Andrews Avenue was born in the 1960s, changed ownership several times, and ended up a Fort Lauderdale institution. It was popular with prosecutors, cops, politicians, journalists, locals and tourists, the Irish and honorary Irish.

“It’s been a great run,” James, 41, said. “It’s a very emotional day. We’re a piece of Ireland in sunny Fort Lauderdale, and the people here have been just beautiful to us.”

On Sunday, there weren’t enough glasses to go around, so pints were served in red and green Solo cups, and hard liquor in clear plastic cups. The outdoor bar was no longer serving drinks, and some specialty kegs were already kicked in the side bar.

“I’m going to feel homeless,” said Pia Dahlquist, of Fort Lauderdale. “I’ve been coming here at least once or twice a week for the last three decades. This is a place where you could come by yourself and be comfortable. You just feel at home.”

MARIA LORENZINO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Paul Stampahar, of Pompano Beach, reacts to the game at Maguires Hill 16 in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday. The pub was recently sold and closed its doors Sunday.