Funeral service for Downriver bar owner Brian Dunleavy, who died at age 66
As a cornerstone of the Irish community in metro Detroit, Brian Dunleavy knew how to raise money for the churches and charities he cared about.
He enjoyed it.
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For years, the longtime Allen Park bar owner invited friends to a cottage up north to take ice baths in a frozen lake, and he continued to do so even as he grew older.
“He went in the water anyway,” said Mike Kelly, president of the United Irish Societies, which sponsors the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Detroit. “He said, ‘It might kill me, but I’m going in for real, boy.'”
Dunleavy died on August 16, 2024, after a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 66 years old.
Dunleavy was born one of eight children in Detroit into a family that cherished its Catholic faith and Irish heritage.
His father and uncle both ran Irish bars in Detroit, and the family learned early on to raise money for their churches and schools.
His brother Brendan, said another brother, Mike, put it best.
“He said he was probably the best of us,” Brendan Dunleavy said. “Because he was more generous, more volunteered, and more friendly. He just had more friends and was the funniest.”
Dunleavy had an Irish wit that was so funny it made you spit your beer and was often unfiltered.
Brendan recalled a time when he and Brian were introduced to an elderly gentleman who began the conversation by mentioning that he had recently buried his third wife.
Without pausing, Brian joked, “I bet you have luck at cards too.”
If you have spent much time in the Irish community in the greater Detroit area, you have certainly encountered Dunleavy.
His Irish pub in Allen Park bore his family name, and he was a constant presence at the St. Patrick’s Day parade, the Motor City Irish Festival, and countless fundraisers for Irish and Catholic causes throughout the Detroit metropolitan area.
“Brian was involved in everything related to Ireland,” said Father Brendan McCarrick, a native of Sligo, Ireland, who leads the Irish Pallottines and serves as pastor of St. Vincent Pallotti Parish in Wyandotte. “He did not leave this world without instilling in his sons the value of charitable work.”
Dunleavy led the Pallottines’ golf outing. He raised money for Msgr. Charles Kohler’s Children’s Cancer Endowment Fund. He manned the beer tents at the Motor City Irish Festival and the annual Spring Festival benefiting St. Patrick Senior Center in Detroit. He spent entire weekends at the festivals, fixing beer taps and making sure the beer and donations kept flowing.
“He made sure people didn’t reuse their drink coupons, and he also made sure the staff weren’t their best customer,” Brendan said. “He told a few guys, ‘No, you can’t bartend, you drink too much.'”
He also used his own bar to raise money by selling raffle tickets there, often buying the tickets he didn’t sell.
While some of his brothers were more stuffy accountant types, Brian had a big head of flowing hair and a bushy moustache. He was happy as a working man.
He drove a delivery truck for Pepsi for years. One of his stops was a bar in Allen Park. He told the owner that if she ever thought about selling it, he would gladly buy it.
Eventually she did. Brian and his brother Tommy bought it in 1989 and renamed it, incorporating the family name. The bar on Allen Road became famous for its burgers and Friday night seafood specials, which were often among the best in metro Detroit.
Over the years, his work has been recognized with awards, including the title of Grand Marshal of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and induction into the Michigan Irish American Hall of Fame. In 2013, the Irish Pallottines named him Man of the Year.
“He didn’t want recognition,” McCarrick said. “He said, ‘I don’t deserve this. There has to be someone more deserving than me.'”
Despite all the things he was known for, there were countless other things he did quietly and secretly, McCarrick said.
“I would say we only know the tip of the iceberg in this regard,” McCarrick said.
In the spring of 2021, Dunleavy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that had already metastasized. Doctors told him he had about three months to live, so he was determined to get through it.
Dunleavy continued to run his bar and even started a renovation project. He had new windows installed to let in more natural light and give the place a more traditional Irish pub look. The project was recently completed.
In addition, he continued his volunteer work and faced his illness with optimism.
“He was joyful, but at the same time he had a great spiritual side,” McCarrick said. “He gained strength through his faith, especially in his last years. It gave him the strength to keep going and keep fighting and keep persevering, knowing that when the time comes, God’s time comes.”
Dunleavy is survived by his wife of 36 years, Pam; his sons Marty, Kyle (Alexandra) and Ryan (Samantha); and his grandchildren Ian, Ava, Kaden and Jack; and his siblings Maureen (Thomas), Lesondak, Patrick (Susan), Shelia Mund, Kevin (Beth), Brendan (Eileen) and Michael (Maryanne).
Visitation is scheduled for Monday, August 19, 2024, from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., with a rosary at 7:00 p.m. in the Allen Park Chapel of Voran Funeral Home, 5900 Allen Road. A funeral mass will be held at 10:00 a.m. in St. Vincent Pallotti Parish at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 344 Elm Street, Wyandotte.
