The daughter of a Sligo man, who has had a street named after him in New York City, said her father was colloquially known as the 'Mayor of 57th Street'.
The street in Manhattan has been named after Jimmy Neary, who emigrated to America from Co Sligo in 1954.
It is near the Irish man's namesake restaurant, Neary's, which opened on St Patrick's Day in 1967.
Jimmy worked there for 54 years, up until his death last October.
An official naming ceremony was held in the city earlier this month, featuring New York Mayor Eric Adams.
Mayor Adams said: "Jimmy lived the American dream. He came here from Ireland and became an NYC institution.
"His customers came for the food but stayed for the man."
Jimmy Neary. Picture by: nearys.comJimmy's daughter Una Neary told Moncrieff her father always wanted his own restaurant.
"When he was a young boy in Tubbercurry, he used to go into town with his mom when she would go do the grocery shopping.
"Back in the day the grocery shop was up-front, and there was often times a lounge in the back.
"He would always go to the back and watch what was going on, and he was fascinated with the bartenders behind the bar and the conversations that were going - he was in awe of it.
"So when he came to America, he first started out as a towel boy at the New York Athletic Club."
Jimmy was then drafted into the US Army, and returned to his job as a towel boy after his service.
"And one of the members at the Athletic Club was a gentleman called PJ Moriarty - a very well-known Irish restaurateur.
"And he said to the manager of the pool 'I want Jimmy to come and work for me'".
'There's no place like it'
Una said her father then worked at the pool in the morning, and worked at PJ Moriarity's restaurant at night.
"That's where Dad really learned the restaurant business from the inside - PJ taught him the ropes.
"He was a bartender, he did ordering, he did whatever was needed - and he just knew, his instincts were 'I want my own place one day'".
The Jimmy Neary Way naming ceremony in New York City. Picture via @NYCMayor on TwitterUna said this came about in 1967, with the opening of Neary's restaurant.
"It is very much old New York, there's no place like it I think [it's] one of the few remaining places, if any others.
"He loved the feel of New York and he never wanted that to change.
"He didn't want it to be more pubby, he wanted it to be more fine dining - so he wanted to have a little bit more sophistication and formal dress code.
"Dad was always in a suit, seven days a week", she said.
'A life-changing decision'
She believes the restaurants longevity is down to her father.
"Everybody came in to see my father, he had just this tremendous warmth - whether you were a long time customer that came in a couple of times a month, or you were a first time person in the door.
"He welcomed you with his gorgeous smile, and his brogue and his warm charm - and people just kind of were drawn to him.
"That was the main reason - the second reason is my father was very blessed that in 1986, he was able to buy the building.
"If he did not own the building, he is told many a story, he'd be out due to rent".
The Jimmy Neary Way naming ceremony in New York City. Picture via @NYCMayor on TwitterUna said the price tag of US$1,375,000 was too much for her father, so he reached out to a fellow Sligo man.
"Dad called a gentleman named Bill Burke, who was president of the Bank of Ireland in New York - and he was a Tubbercurry man.
"He said 'Bill it's Jimmy Neary - I need to borrow $1,375,000' and Bill obviously laughed.
"He said 'Jimmy, is it to buy the building on 57th Street? And Dad said 'It is', and Bill said 'You've got the loan'.
"It was definitely a life-changing decision", she added.
Jimmy Neary with his daughter, Una. Picture: SuppliedAnd she said her father would approve of the naming of his street.
"I can see him up in heaven folding his arms: 'Of course there were going to name it Jimmy Neary Way, what else would they have named the street?'
"He owned that street, everybody on that street knew my father... the joke was he the mayor of 57th Street.
"But the naming only happens when someone passes away - it doesn't happen when they're alive.
"But he's in heaven saying 'Of course they should, why not?'"
