Stalwart of Waterford pub trade retires

Publican Mary Brady Sharpe has announced her retirement, from an establishment which has served the St. John’s Park and further Waterford City community for many years.

Mary, proprietor of Brady’s Bar, comes from a long line of publicans. Her grandfather, Philip Brady notably ran the Clock House in Maynooth.

Mary moved with her parents, John and Mary, to Waterford in November 1968 when she was three.

The bar premises in St. John’s Park had been open for several years when Mary’s parents purchased it.

John and Mary would operate Brady’s with great success until their retirement in 2002.

Mary said: “They traded very successfully here and they worked very hard to get it to where it was.

“At age seven I was put sitting on a high stool on Sunday mornings to wash glasses. My three brothers were all born here and we were all raised over the pub.

“My parents worked hard and built a successful business with the help and support of the community and the Brady family are very grateful for that.” 

When John and Mary Brady retired from the bar in 2002, the business was passed to Mary and her brother Philip. Philip would later move on to pursue other ventures as Mary continued running the bar.

The family bond has remained a key ethos of the business.

“My three kids worked here just like my brothers and sisters all worked here when we were growing up, and there’s been brilliant memories,” Mary said.

The community of St. John’s Park has of course been integral to the continued success of the bar, as Mary says: “There’s been some amazing customers and some really good staff throughout the years. There is and always was a feeling of community and family here, and a feeling that everyone looks out for each other.

“There’s been fantastic people down through the years. We saw many births, deaths and we even had a few weddings, so it’s great memories. The singalongs were very popular, music on weekends, cards and darts, they were simpler times.” 

Reflecting on retirement, Mary says she is looking forward to dedicating more time to Irish Gourmet Butter alongside her husband Billy. The venture has seen considerable success since it was set up in 2017, with butter-making in Billy and Mary’s genes.

Reflecting on leaving the pub trade behind her, Mary added: “I am very, very happy to retire with some amazing memories having grown up in Brady’s, and I’m ready for a new chapter.

“I am looking forward to this next chapter in my life, because this is just closing a chapter. Another chapter for the pub will begin, and another chapter for me will begin, I have great consolation in that, and I’m very happy to see it’s going to go into safe hands.” 

The baton is set to be passed to Garreth McCarthy, an experienced Waterford city publican who knows St. John’s Park inside and out.

Garreth is the proprietor of popular local watering holes Zanzibar, Uisce Beatha and Adega Wine Bar. 

Maurice Hayes will be the new manager of the bar, whose parents, Maurice and Helen Hayes ran the shop in John’s Park.

Mary said she is delighted to see the premises go into safe hands:

“A local boy is buying it and a local boy is going to manage it. That’s very positive and there will be a lovely sense of continuity; that makes me happy, to see it’s going to go into safe hands.

“I wish the incoming crew the very best of luck and I hope they enjoy their time here.”