Twenty-five years ago, Michael Galway and Anthony Clarke looked at a fire-damaged restaurant building at 584 West Central Avenue in Davidsonville and decided it was exactly what the neighborhood needed. Now Killarney House, the Irish pub they built on that site, is marking a quarter-century in business with a monthlong celebration this September featuring live music, special menus, charity fundraisers and tributes to the restaurant's history.
Galway and Clarke saw potential in the former Spring House Restaurant after it was damaged by fire, and they purchased and rebuilt it before opening Killarney House in 2001, according to Eye On Annapolis. The pair had already established Galway Bay in Annapolis in 1998 before setting their sights on Davidsonville, according to Visit Annapolis. At the time, Davidsonville had few sit-down dining options, and the site's proximity to nearby Homestead Gardens made it an appealing spot to plant the county's first authentic Irish pub, per the same account.
The Killarney House team has provided the full schedule of anniversary events on its website, and it plans to celebrate throughout September with live music, entertainment, special menus, promotions, charity fundraisers and tributes to the restaurant's past. Some Irish dishes that haven't appeared on the menu in years may make a return during the celebration month, the Eye On Annapolis report notes.
Charity Fundraisers Return to Anniversary Tradition
Killarney House will hold fundraisers for several longtime charitable partners in September, with the restaurant matching donations raised on each charity's designated day. It's a model the pub has leaned on before: for its 20th anniversary in September 2021, Killarney House sold $25 three-course menus that generated $10 per plate for local charities, with Galway personally matching customer donations up to $5,000 for the month, according to Eye On Annapolis' earlier coverage.
The pub's milestone celebrations have long doubled as community thank-yous. Back at its 10th anniversary in August 2011, Killarney House hosted a block-party-style event with complimentary food and live music, and local coverage at the time described it as Davidsonville's version of Cheers, a place where community groups regularly meet, per Edgewater-Davidsonville Patch.
A Team Built on Two Decades of Loyalty
General manager Kerry Nagle has worked with Galway and Clarke for over 20 years, having started at Galway Bay before helping lead Killarney House. Clarke said the restaurant's team is led by Nagle and built on hospitality and caring, and he credited Killarney House staff, including Nagle, with helping the restaurant reach its 25-year milestone.
Galway said customers and neighbors have provided unending support over the 25 years the Irish Restaurant Company has spent in South County and at the owners' other establishments. Clarke thanked the Davidsonville community and said the Killarney House team looks forward to another 25 years. Galway and Clarke, who both became U.S. citizens, originally set out to bring Irish food, music and hospitality to the Davidsonville community.
Crab Cakes, Craic and a Quiet Environmental Streak
Killarney House is known for its traditional Irish dishes, live entertainment and Irish craic, but its kitchen also carries a distinctly local thread. Its crab cakes are made from a secret recipe handed down by Miss Peggy, a former cook at the historic Little Campus Inn in downtown Annapolis, before Galway Bay took over that site, according to Crab Cake Review.
The restaurant has also built a reputation for environmental stewardship. It has rooftop solar panels that help provide electricity to the restaurant, and Killarney House received a Commercial Stewards Award from the Chesapeake Bay Trust in 2019 recognizing that solar installation alongside its stormwater management practices. That recognition followed a $198,950 county grant approved in 2018 for a community stormwater project spanning five contiguous properties near Killarney House, constructing bioretention swales, forested wetlands and a reforestation buffer to filter polluted runoff before it reaches the South River watershed, according to legislative testimony reviewed by the Maryland General Assembly.
To keep the atmosphere focused on conversation rather than sports broadcasts, the ownership group has deliberately kept dining rooms free of televisions across its venues, an approach Chesapeake Bay Magazine has described as core to the pub's traditional Irish character. Killarney House and sister property Galway Bay have also won Best Irish Restaurant honors in their respective regions for three consecutive years from 2024 through 2026 in What's Up? Media's reader-voted awards.
Killarney House has operated for 25 years at the same Davidsonville address, and the full lineup of September events, including the specific charity days, is posted on the restaurant's website for anyone looking to join the celebration.
