{"id":193631,"date":"2025-11-22T02:26:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T02:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/193631\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T02:26:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T02:26:11","slug":"the-life-and-violent-death-of-sarah-mcnally-an-irish-bartender-in-new-york-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/193631\/","title":{"rendered":"The life and violent death of Sarah McNally, an Irish bartender in New York \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sarah McNally enjoyed her job at the C\u00e9il\u00ed House pub in the New York borough of Queens and was conscientious about her work.<\/p>\n

The Co Longford native is remembered by friends and workmates as a popular employee and colleague wherever she worked \u2013 quick-witted, talkative, smart and, most of all, kind. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe was so much fun \u2013 chatty, great craic and everything, but at the end of the day, she took her job seriously,\u201d said Alicia Walsh, who worked alongside McNally during their time together in the US.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe respected where she worked and had always made time for helping new staff,\u201d said Walsh, who is now back living in Ireland.<\/p>\n

McNally had many regular customers in The C\u00e9il\u00ed House and liked the work, from opening the day\u2019s trading to shouting the last call. <\/p>\n

Nobody in the bar ever expected that this would be where McNally would die at the hands of her boyfriend in a violent attack in front of customers.<\/p>\n

The Grand Avenue watering hole, about an hour on public transport from downtown Manhattan, was one more stop on McNally\u2019s decade-long US odyssey. <\/p>\n

She had worked as a waitress and bartender at a number of popular spots in Manhattan and Queens, including the famed Playwright restaurant in midtown Manhattan, and Dillons on New York\u2019s east side. She eventually ventured over the Queensboro Bridge, finding employment at The C\u00e9il\u00ed House. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur New York adventure began around the same time,\u201d said one friend who didn\u2019t want to be named.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lived close enough back home, but got very friendly [in New York]. She had such a love for life. We both worked in the bar business, as did many of our friends. It was Easter Sunday morning when I heard the news. <\/p>\n

\u201cI got a call from a relative back home, who was close to Sarah\u2019s family. I just couldn\u2019t believe it \u2013 getting such heartbreaking news from thousands of miles away, about something that happened right here on our doorstep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SarahSarah McNally. Photograph: rip.ie <\/p>\n

The C\u00e9il\u00ed House is situated in Maspeth, a Queens neighbourhood once known for its annual influx of younger Irish immigrants. One nearby street in 2016 was renamed \u201cEaster Rising Way\u201d to mark the centenary of the 1916 Dublin insurrection. The area is also known for its thriving Polish, Italian and German communities. McNally lived in Glendale, just a few minutes\u2019 drive from Maspeth.<\/p>\n

Irish bars are strewn across the locality. Taverns such as O\u2019Neill\u2019s, Connolly\u2019s Corner, Glenpatricks and the Irish-owned Bukowski\u2019s, which is right across the street from The C\u00e9il\u00ed House, offer a welcoming atmosphere for those anxious for a taste of home. <\/p>\n

McNally had a loving family, including a close bond with her mother, Dorrie, who had also spent some time working in the US. There was her father, Des, her grandmother Kathleen, many close friends, a full social life and a job she enjoyed. The pretty 41-year-old seemed to have it all going for her.<\/p>\n

Until everything was taken from her on March 30th, 2024. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Killing of Sarah McNally \u2018stopped us in our tracks\u2019, funeral of Longford woman stabbed in New York toldOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

That day had started out for McNally like any other in the Queens bar. <\/p>\n

There were a few regulars around. Sports-wise, it was a busy afternoon. There was excitement over the baseball season, which was just kicking off, and the ever-frenetic annual college basketball tournaments, which were by then heading towards conclusion. <\/p>\n

Weather-wise, it was mild. Typically dull in a late-spring way, with a slight threat of a rain that failed to show up. <\/p>\n

Who did show up at the Queens bar that day was Marcin Pieciak (37), an individual known to most of the customers present. As he was a semi-regular at the bar, and in a relationship with the affable Longford girl behind the counter, it perhaps wasn\u2019t surprising for the regulars to see him walk in. <\/p>\n

Joseph Kenny, the New York Police Department\u2019s head of detectives, set out details of what happened that day at a subsequent court hearing. Pieciak made small talk with a number of customers he recognised, before walking in behind the bar and attacking his girlfriend, Sarah McNally, stabbing her 19 times. <\/p>\n

\"MarcinMarcin Pieciak (centre) was sentenced to 24 years in prison for the manslaughter of Sarah McNally. Photograph: Michael Fitzpatrick <\/p>\n

One man \u2013 according to local and official sources, a regular customer from the neighbourhood, who has asked not to be interviewed or identified by The Irish Times \u2013,courageously fought off the knife-wielding Pieciak, as others screamed for help and called 911. He managed to stop him leaving the bar until police arrived minutes later. <\/p>\n

Pieciak did, however, manage to cause self-harm by slashing himself with a second knife in his possession after he attacked his girlfriend before being disarmed.<\/p>\n

Emergency services soon arrived at the location. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think, in all the commotion, everyone immediately realised there were two people involved,\u201d said one eyewitness. <\/p>\n

\u201c[Pieciak] was injured from his own wounds, but poor Sarah was being treated inside the bar. It was just shocking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once he was restrained and his weapons confiscated, Pieciak and a seriously injured McNally were rushed to nearby Elmhurst hospital where Pieciak was arraigned on a number of charges relating to the incident. <\/p>\n

Sarah suffered stab wounds to the chest, neck and back, some of which caused massive damage to her carotid artery. Pieciak severed her spine in the attack. The injuries proved fatal; she was declared dead shortly after her arrival. <\/p>\n

Pieciak recovered and later appeared in court. The case was adjourned more than once, for legal teams on either side to prepare, until a plea deal was agreed between opposing attorneys. <\/p>\n

\"SarahSarah McNally. Photograph: Mary McNally\/Facebook <\/p>\n

On October 30th, the Queens District Attorney said Marcin Pieciak had agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for the killing of McNally.<\/p>\n

On Friday he appeared in court and was sentenced to 24 years in prison to be followed by five years of post-release supervision.<\/p>\n

Speaking in court, in remarks directed at McNally\u2019s family in Ireland, Pieciak said he had no explanation for his actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, I don\u2019t have any answers. I\u2019ve been thinking about her every day and night, about Sarah. I have no answers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it\u2019s too early now, but I hope one day you will forgive me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month, after Pieciak pleaded guilty, Queens district attorney Melinda Katz said: \u201cThis murder shocked the community and McNally\u2019s loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Sarah McNally moved to New York, worked in a bar: A very Irish life, cut violently shortOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

A lawyer read out a victim impact statement in court on behalf of Sarah\u2019s family, telling the judge how her parents, Dorrie and Des, had lost their only child and her relatives their eldest cousin and niece. <\/p>\n

Sarah was \u201cDes\u2019s pride and joy\u201d, the statement said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Sarah got older, their father\/daughter bond grew deeper, sharing the same passion for music and a love of animals, especially their family dogs.<\/p>\n

\u201cSarah was the Lisa Marie to his Elvis,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSarah and Dorrie shared a unique and close bond, like sisters and best friends as well as mother and daughter. Sarah was their future and this has been stolen from them. As a family, we think about Sarah and talk about her every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family said many cousins came along after Sarah and they were \u201call so fond of her and admired her fun, bubbly and adventurous nature\u201d. <\/p>\n

She was \u201cso friendly and kind-hearted to everyone and because of that Sarah had so many friends. Everyone loved her,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery single life Sarah touched, whether you were her parent, aunt, uncle, cousin, her friend, colleague or acquaintance, has been shattered,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

The family said they thought they would see Sarah again, either in Ireland or New York; \u201cit is hard to come to terms with the fact that we never will\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cLosing Sarah, especially in the circumstances we did, has been the most painful, gut-wrenching thing we have ever experienced and not something we will ever be able to get over,\u201d the court was told.<\/p>\n

The family said they talk about Sarah every day \u201cbut there are also the quiet moments, away from the distractions of everyday life, when it hits you \u2013 the evil of it, the finality of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The C\u00e9il\u00ed House has since closed down. <\/p>\n

Grand Avenue is still relatively bustling. The shuttered bar is simply another derelict storefront littered along the way, awaiting redevelopment, though local sources say it will be a different business, not a bar.<\/p>\n

Amid the flyers, construction notices and legal posters plastered over the abandoned front window of the former bar, is one simple sheet of cardboard, covering glass. <\/p>\n

On it, someone has written in large letters with a black marker \u201cSarah RIP\u201d \u2013 a small remembrance for a young Irish woman looking for work and adventures in the US.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sarah McNally enjoyed her job at the C\u00e9il\u00ed House pub in the New York borough of Queens and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":193632,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,10,18,13,14,2215,6,19,17,11,12,15,16,5,7,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-193631","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-breaking-news","9":"tag-breakingnews","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-featured-news","12":"tag-featurednews","13":"tag-for-you","14":"tag-headlines","15":"tag-ie","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-latest-news","18":"tag-latestnews","19":"tag-main-news","20":"tag-mainnews","21":"tag-news","22":"tag-top-stories","23":"tag-topstories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115590986967199893","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/193632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}