Danny McDonald is one of America’s top culinary business owners and one of New York City’s best-known restaurateurs. He is the owner and designer of the city’s most successful restaurants and pubs, including Swift Hibernian Lounge, Puck Fair, Ulysses’ Folkhouse, and most recently Pier A Harbor House. Swift was said by Crain’s to have “revolutionized the Irish Bar scene” when it opened in 1995, and The Dead Rabbit was recognized at the 9th Annual Spirited Awards as Word’s Best Bar 2015. Most recently Danny has focused on Pier A Harbor House, which as an immigration hall played a major part in the Irish-American experience, including welcoming, in 1888, Danny’s own great-grandmother, Anna McGary,  as a four-year-old from Rooskey, Co. Roscommon.

A leading figure in the Irish American community, Danny has created many cultural events including the NYC Oyster Festival and Bloomsday on Stone Street. For all his success, Danny says he is most proud of his daughter, Molly, a journalism junior at Boston University. Danny was born in the U.S., raised in Laois, and has a B.A. in economics and geography from Trinity.