At Cryan's, St. Patrick Is Leaving the Building

Saint Patrick is leaving the building. Tonight will see a farewell party for the statue before it is moved from Cryan's to the Gates of Heaven cemetery in East Hanover. 

The statue's time at Cryan's was not without controversy. 

Cryan’s owner Jimmy Cryan faced the displeasure of the Archdiocese of Newark, who expressed concern that a six-foot statue of Saint Patrick is in the restaurant. Originally from Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in the Vailsburg section of Newark, which closed, the statue was given to the church by the Cryan family.

Cryan reacted to concerns that the statue might turn off non-Catholics from coming to Cryan’s. When asked about a message board post from Maplewood Online in which a user posted that the idea of a religious icon in a public restaurant made her feel less likely to frequent the place, Cryan said that the majority of feedback he gets from customers and non-customers about the statue is positive.

“People want it to stay here,” Cryan said about the statue. “They think of it now as part of the family.”

Cryan said that since his restaurant opened 28 years ago, it has always been established as an Irish, family-oriented place. That the owners are Irish Roman Catholics come with the territory, he said.  

“That’s all I am – just a little restaurant in a little town,” Cryan said.

Cryan also said he receives positive feedback from non-Catholic customers.

“I’ve received very positive feedback from Jewish clientele about the statue,” he said. “I never put it up to hurt anyone’s feelings. That’s the last thing I wanted to do.”

Cryan was allowed to take the statue when Sacred Heart Church was closed because his father, the late John F. Cryan, had donated it to the Church.

Sacred Heart was closed by the Archdiocese due to dwindling attendance on July 1, 2010. Cryan said he was upset because the Archdiocese had promised the parish, which he had been a devoted member of for 44 years, two years before closing the building, and instead had closed it one month after the announcement.

“The parishioners just wanted time to come to terms with the closing,” he said. “We wanted to have a couple more weddings, a couple more funerals – you know, let the older folks be remembered in their own parish. But we didn’t get that.”

Cryan said the Archdiocese originally told him in March that they would be picking it up from Cryan’s on Monday and transporting it to its new home at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery and Mausoleum in east Hanover. However, that date was delayed until now.

The statue will received a lot of attention over the weekend of the St. Patrick’s Day holiday, as Cryan predicted. 

“I expect there will be a lot of picture-taking with the statue,” he said. “It’s a great thing to have here for the holiday. After all, in history Catholics always went to church on St. Patrick’s Day, and then to the bar. With the statue here, we have a little bit of both for people.”

Friday night will see a send-off party for the statue, featuring a final toast to "Himself."