Philadelphia Will Do  
 

Sep

18

Bar Closed In N. Wildwood For (Gasp!) Serving A 20-Year-Old

The Daily News reports today that Keenan’s, beloved North Wildwood Irish pub, will be closed for Irish Weekend. Keenan’s? Closed for Irish Weekend? Be still my Irish heart!

The annual festival, which begins today, brings thousands to the five-mile island to do many things celebrating Irish heritage, like drinking, getting drunk and listening to Timmy Kelly (pictured) while consuming alcohol. (There are events that are about Irish heritage and non-alcoholic fun — and there’s probably a Mass, too — but I’ve never known anyone who attended them. Maybe I only know drunks.)

Keenan’s big sin was (get ready for this) serving alcohol to both a 20-year-old and an 18-year-old. Since every bar everywhere ever in the history of mankind has served underage patrons, the usual maxim with selectively-enforced laws applies: Somebody at Keenan’s pissed the wrong person off.

Keenan says the bar is constantly fighting a battle against fake IDs. He believes that his family is being punished for flaws in New Jersey’s and Pennsylvania’s licensing systems. “That hand we’ve been dealt isn’t 100 percent accurate. Yeah, we served minors. But we confiscated 175 fake IDs from Memorial Day to Labor Day,” said Keenan, 35.

“The bottom line is we have four separate violations, with a total of six underage drinkers in 10 years. Every one of them had a Pennsylvania valid ID with no dupes.”

Hey, only six underage drinkers (in a bar that takes up a whole block) in 10 years! That’s quite a record. Now that the bar is closed for Irish Weekend, no one under the age of 21 will ever drink in New Jersey again. You can lay off now, Richard Codey!

N. Wildwood’s Keenan’s shut for Irish Weekend [Daily News]
Photo by Irish Philadelphia, Creative Commons License
 
dmac | 12:43 PM | 3 Comments
Down The Shore, Alcohol, Drug Policy, Irish Weekend, Keenan's, Underage Drinking, Wildwood
 
  1. irish willie Says: Sep 20 1:14 PM

    we’re having a great time at irish weekend.
    me and my wife was wondering why there was so much room to walk this year then we noticed the keenans werent there with their big wallets and big heads.
    i do feel bad for the kids down here they have no place to go drinking
    hope they get shut down every year

  2. 18/m/philly Says: Sep 20 1:24 PM

    i remeber coming down for irish weekend years ago and going to keenans with my dads “valid pa id with no dupes” and having a few drinks with my friends peeing and throwing up on the side walk and then trying to drive home.
    this year isn’t as good dads id doesnt work any where else guess ill have to go to the arcade
    at this rate i might not get another drink till im 21
    im just writing to let the keenans know me and the rest of the class of 2009 are all behind you and know you got a bad deal

  3. a song for irish weekend Says: Sep 20 1:29 PM

    where do all the kitties meet
    the keenans the keenans
    where dont you need id
    the keenans the keenans
    where does all your kids money go
    keenans keenans
    who’s in philly during irish weekend
    the keenans the keenans

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