Michael Dunphy, Wantagh Inn owner, dies at 84

Mothers and grandmothers always received a warm welcome at the Wantagh Inn when owner Michael Dunphy was around: An outstretched hand, and a walk to their seat.

Dunphy, a native of Macroom, County Cork, Ireland, wanted his restaurant on Railroad Avenue to feel like home. He died on Friday of natural causes, leaving behind a legacy as a steward of the community and a family man quick to serve others. He was 84.

"For someone who didn't go to college, left his country and came to America with no money, he accomplished so much," Dunphy's daughter, Una, said. "It wasn't about money for him. It was about community."

Born April 4, 1941, Dunphy excelled in Gaelic football and played goalkeeper for the Macroom team that won the Cork Premier Senior Football Championship in 1962. His father, Matthew, was one of Ireland's first police officers after the country broke away from the United Kingdom.

In 1963, he moved to England, where he got a job as a security guard for candy giant Cadbury, and then for the British merchant marines as a waiter and bartender on boats that bounced around the globe, to Africa, South America and more. 

Dunphy relocated to New York in 1969 and worked as a bartender at the Red Blazer, a sports bar on Manhattan's Upper East Side. He studied the industry and saved up, opening the Wantagh Inn in 1984 with his wife, Geraldine.

He had met Geraldine, from County Cavan, Ireland, at a mutual friends' party in New Jersey in 1971. They married in 1973 and raised their four children in Wantagh. 

Maureen Donegan, of Seaford, had planned to work at the Wantagh Inn as a server for two or three months when it first opened. She had just graduated college with a business degree and wanted to get a job in her field.

But she never left. 

"They became family," Donegan said. "He was there through breakups, my marriage, my children's' births, my parents' deaths, he was always there. Always there."

Dunphy would tell Donegan he couldn't retire until he got her kids through college.

"And then we got my kids through college, and he still didn't retire," she said. "He was so appreciative of everyone that walked through that door."

When Hurricane Gloria hit Long Island in 1985, the Wantagh Inn was one of the few places in town that didn't lose power. Dunphy's son Brian, recalled his father giving food to members of the community. 

Una Dunphy remembers her father sweeping the sidewalk in front of the restaurant and helping him plant impatiens flowers as a kid. He also maintained tomato and herb gardens, as well as canna lilies, from which he would gift extra bulbs to patrons. 

That attention to detail spilled over to his family. Una recalled her father standing in the street in front of her Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, brownstone, holding a parking spot for her when she returned home from the hospital with her newborn daughter.

"He just showed up," Una said. "I could call him, which is part of what I'm mourning. He was always my backup plan. If anything went wrong, he was who we would all call."

Michael Dunphy stood 6 feet, 4 inches, but he did not seek attention, his loved ones said. Still, he took pride in being named grand marshal for the 2023 Wantagh St. Patrick's Day Parade.

"He didn't like attention on himself," Brian Dunphy said. "But he was very proud to honor Wantagh."

Michael Dunphy could not attend the parade this year. He instead spent St. Patrick's Day at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, surrounded by family. He died three days later. The next day, the Wantagh Inn was open.

"It was tough, but he would want it that way," Donegan said. She recalled Dunphy walking through the back door every day around 5 p.m. "That'll never happen again, and it's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking."

"But we'll keep it going. It's a great place. It's family."

Dunphy is survived by his wife, Geraldine; his children, Brian, Conor, Ronan and Una; and 10 grandchildren.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Tuesday at St. Frances de Chantal  Roman Catholic Church in Wantagh, followed by interment at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale.

By Joshua Needelman

joshua.needelman@newsday.com

Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.