From Ireland to Riverdale, Terry Connaughton built a lifetime of community and sport

At St. Margaret of Cortona Church, hundreds gathered April 25 to honor Terence Connaughton, better known as Terry, a longtime Riverdale resident whose influence in New York’s Irish community spanned decades.

Connaughton, who died at 92, built a life that bridged Ireland and New York — through Gaelic sports, public service and a restaurant that became a central gathering place for generations of Irish immigrants and families finding their footing in the city.

His daughter, Eileen Connaughton Montague, described that focus as constant throughout his life.

“My dad’s life was really devoted to Gaelic sport and the Irish community, just first and foremost,” Connaughton Montague said. “We always joked that even before family, it was that.”

Born in Athleague, County Roscommon, Connaughton grew up in rural Ireland during a period of economic hardship. As a young athlete, he stood out in hurling, captaining Roscommon’s minor team and helping secure a Connacht championship, a rare accomplishment for the county at the time.

In 1952, at 19, he emigrated to New York. Within days, he found his way to Gaelic Park in the Bronx, where he joined a team and began a lifelong involvement in Gaelic Games.

Connaughton went on to play hurling in New York for more than two decades, primarily with the Clare club, winning championships and earning selection to the New York All-Stars. As his playing career progressed, he moved into coaching and organizing, working closely with younger players.

Much of that work took shape through the Good Shepherd Football Club in Inwood, where Connaughton coached generations of Irish American players and helped build one of the area’s most enduring Gaelic programs.

His son, Terry Connaughton Jr., who delivered the eulogy at the funeral, said that connection was generational, adding that his father found purpose in developing others through sport.

“He had a real passion for training the kids,” he said. “It was really a community affair that way.”

That commitment expanded into leadership roles within the Gaelic Athletic Association in New York, where Connaughton served as vice president in the early 1970s and later as president. During his tenure, the organization strengthened ties with its governing body in Ireland.

He also helped grow the game in new ways. In 1991, Connaughton played a central role in launching women’s Gaelic football in New York, organizing its first leagues and helping it gain recognition.

Connaughton Jr. said his father was fueled by that growth and the community it fostered.

“He loved when people felt the same way about Gaelic Games that he did,” he said. “He got a lot of energy from that.”

Connaughton served two years in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and later spent 20 years with the NYPD. In 1969, he was selected to blow the ceremonial whistle marking the start of the city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade along Fifth Avenue.

After retiring from the police department, he briefly returned to Ireland with his family before settling again in New York. In 1979, he took over what became the Riverdale Steak House, a restaurant that evolved into a hub for the community.

“It was really a home for the Irish,” Connaughton Jr. said.

The restaurant served a wide cross-section of the community — longtime residents, newly arrived immigrants and visitors from Ireland — many of whom used it as a meeting place tied to Gaelic Park and broader community life.

In his eulogy, Connaughton Jr. described how his father often helped people behind the scenes, particularly those navigating challenges after arriving in New York. His father’s interactions with people, he said, were often brief but lasting.

“He would have a meaningful conversation, but it was a short conversation,” Connaughton Jr. said. “And then he would just kind of move on, but it was always meaningful.”

He said those small interactions stayed with people.

“He remembered things about people that made them feel important,” Connaughton Jr. added.

At home, Connaughton and his wife, Anne, raised five children, often bringing them into the same spaces that defined his public life — games, travel and daily routines centered on community.

Family life revolved around Gaelic Park and regular trips to Ireland, maintaining close ties to Roscommon. Connaughton kept those connections throughout his life, attending All-Ireland finals and returning frequently. In 2023, he celebrated his 90th birthday in Roscommon with family and friends.

The scale of his influence was clear even after his death. More than 1,500 people attended his wake, with lines stretching for hours, according to Connaughton Jr.

At the funeral, members of the NYPD and U.S. Army were present, along with representatives of the Gaelic Athletic Association in New York and Ireland, the Roscommon team and the Ladies Gaelic Football Association of New York.

Following the service, a procession of dozens of cars, led by a police escort, moved through Riverdale and paused at Gaelic Park. In Ireland, a Roscommon match held a moment of silence in his honor, reflecting the reach of a life that connected communities across the Atlantic.