June 26, 1939 – Aug. 20, 2023
Patrick C. McGinty heard many an Irish singer render “Paddy McGinty’s Goat,” a comic song written during World War I. And having heard it, he figured he should live up to it. For a time, he kept one of the animals in an alley outside a bar and restaurant he owned near what is now Larkinville.
The tale of the goat was one of the many anecdotes about his escapades that endeared him to patrons at Pat McGinty’s, the bar where he presided for nearly 20 years on Swan Street in downtown Buffalo opposite what is now Sahlen Field.
His cousin Meg Wolinski, who worked for him, recalled that the late J. Douglas Trost, chief judge of Erie County Family Court, described him as “the quintessential Irishman.” That, she added, defined him “as a man with humor, imagination, eloquence and belligerence.”
He died Aug. 20 in his Williamsville home after a brief illness. He was 83.
Born in Buffalo, the oldest of three children, he grew up in the city’s Riverside neighborhood and attended All Saints School. He was a graduate of Bishop Fallon High School and studied culinary arts at what is now SUNY Delhi. Employed at various times as a factory worker, teamster and salesman, he worked for Spector Freight and ABF Freight Systems.
He opened his first bar in 1968 at 770 Seneca St. He named it the Sonata Lounge and made it one of the first nightspots in Buffalo to offer live Irish entertainment on a regular basis, including many up-and-coming local bands. For one St. Patrick’s Day celebration, he brought in stars of Irish television to raise funds for the United Irish American Association.
After the…
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