John J Hanley
John J Hanley was an Irish-American bartender, speakeasy owner, and landlord in the early 20th century, most notable for his attempt in 1950 to purchase Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and then present it to the Republic of Ireland.
John Hanley | |
|---|---|
Hanley waving the Irish flag, presumably during his visit to Northern Ireland | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 May 1893 Monagea, County Limerick, Ireland |
| Died | 2 December 1956 (aged 63) Detroit, USA (car accident)[1] |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Scanlon |
| Nickname(s) | The Baron of Broadway |
Early Life and Emigration[edit]
John J Hanley was born in Monagea, County Limerick, on the 6 of May 1893, and moved to New York in his twenties via England, where he spent a short time working as a bartender in London. Those who knew him said later that he shed his Irish accent very quickly after emigrating. The exact date of his move to the United States is unknown, but it is normally established to have taken place sometime in the early 1910s. After immigrating, he found a job as a bartender at the Waldorf Astoria New York, where he made several connections that would help him in later life.
Prohibition[edit]
Speakeasy Management[edit]
During prohibition Hanley opened a speakeasy called the Broadway Cafe on 92nd Street, which he ran with experience from the Waldorf Astoria and his time in London. It is unknown exactly how he acquired the premises, but it is believed that some of his former clientele from the Astoria may have assisted him in securing the funds for the establishment. The speakeasy and its owner were reported in the New York Times on two separate occasions, firstly on the 7th of October 1919 when Hanley was fined $500 for violating the wartime prohibition act (this was his second offense, the first having cost him $50), and secondly on the 29th of September the same year, this time after "automobile bandits" robbed $1400 from the Broadway at gunpoint.
During his time at the Broadway Café he started to earn the nickname "The Baron of Broadway", a name speculated to have come from the Barony of Glenquin, a village near his hometown of Monagea marked by an old castle.
Bootlegging[edit]
It was suggested to Hanley at some point during his ownership of the Broadway Café that he try his hand at bootlegging. Instead of making his own liquor, he organised a supply ring of poitín from known brewers in Connemara and smuggled it in barrels from Spanish Point, County Clare to Montreal aboard grain ships. They were then brought across the border on trucks and distributed to speakeasies across the USA. This distribution ring is believed to have been the source of a large percentage of Hanley's income, and one of the reasons he survived the Great Depression and emerged a rich man.
At this time, Hanley married an Irish-American woman called Margaret Scanlon. They had a daughter together who died young of meningitis.
Wealth and Philanthropy[edit]
Hanley had by now amassed a massive fortune through the ownership of a high-class speakeasy and the distribution of foreign high-strength alcohol, and was living a very luxurious life for a first-generation immigrant. It was said that he had a stable full of cars (he is believed to have owned 13 Packard limousines), each with its own chauffeur. He was rarely seen without a silk top hat and his trademark diamond-encrusted cane, said to have been purchased for $7,680. He lived in a 9-room penthouse in Manhattan with his wife and regularly toured the USA by road. Having now established himself as a made man, Hanley turned his sights towards philanthropy.
Hanley donated $1,000 every year at Christmas for 20 years to an unnamed New York orphanage run by an order of nuns, and contributed $50,000 to the De La Salle Brothers seminary in Manhattan for equipment and repairs. He also commissioned a statue of Saint Patrick to be sculpted for the seminary, upon which there is a plaque dedicated to his generosity.
Hanley was notably generous towards his home country of Ireland. He assisted the GAA frequently through donations, and would often arrange for Irish teams, particularly from Kerry, to come to America for exhibition matches. This resulted in John Hanley hosting and being the guest of honour at a number of luxury GAA dinners and parties.
Wall Street Crash[edit]
Hanley is said to have survived the Wall Street Crash better than most, but still lost a substantial amount of money, which resulted in his wife leaving him. He also began buying up property that had plummeted in value to become a slum landlord. He was brought before the court in 1932 to defend the lack of hot water in his flats, but got away on the grounds that the tenants had all been told about the lack of hot water after signing the lease to the apartments. It was during this time that Hanley began his visits to Ireland.
- ↑ "John J "Baron" Hanley". Find A Grave. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
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