LAST CALL?
Mangan’s Irish Hut owner hints end may be near for tavern
You’ve got to hand it to Bill Mangan.
Not very men in their 90s would be willing or able to brave the elements on a chilly March afternoon for the Detroit St. Patrick’s Parade.
But there was Mangan — the longtime owner of Mangan’s Irish Hut in Mount Clemens — this past Sunday taking part in the parade as he has for decades, despite the cold and windy weather. He was displaying his inherent Irish “toughness.”
“It was a great day, a lot of fun, but yes, it was windy going down Michigan Avenue,” Mangan said.
The 65th annual parade stepped off near Sixth and Michigan Avenue and concluded near 14th Street in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood. The marching bands, floats, color guards and more clocked in around two hours.
It typically attracts 80,000100,000 people, making it one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day parades in the country, according to the United Irish Societies, an organization of more than 35 Irish groups around the Detroit area.
Mangan, 92, resembled an old-school politician as he waved to the crowd. He was accompanied by several of his children, 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, who shook hands with various spectators along the way.
In 2018, Sen. Gary Peters attended the event and in a Twitter post, said he was impressed by the one-time saloon singer’s “superb performance” of “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.”
“They had fun,” Mangan said of his grandkids. “They were out there shaking hands, running around. Kids are tough, especially Irish kids. They didn’t seem to mind the cold.”
The parade also served as a forerunner to the big day of celebrating St. Patrick coming up on Friday.
For Mangan, who had his Irish Hut built more than six decades ago shortly after he finished a stint at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, this may be
the last St. Patrick’s Day at his tavern.
He said he recently had two offers to buy the place. He’s considering the possible sale.
He said “since all my friends have died” such as the Rev. Michael Cooney from St. Peter Catholic Church in downtown Mount Clemens, who passed in 2020, and caring for his ill wife for much of the past year, Mangan hasn’t been much in the mood to celebrate.
Still, he will be at Mangan’s Irish Hut on Friday, one of Macomb County’s oldest bars tucked in a corner parking lot off Groesbeck Highway just north of Cass Avenue.
The under-the-radar venue is always a popular gathering spot for March 17 Irish sing-alongs and other revelry.
“It’s been a heck of a good time and we’ll do it again on Friday,” Mangan said.
Mangan’s Irish Hut, located at 49 N. Rose Street, Mount Clemens, is open from 7 a.m.-2 a.m. For more information, call 586-4685105 or visit mangansirishhut.com.