Michael Dunphy, the longtime owner of the Wantagh Inn and a well-known member of the community, died Friday of natural causes. He was 84.
The Family held the funeral at Charles J. O’shea Funeral Home on Monday, March.
Dunphy, who was born in County Cork, Ireland, opened the Wantagh Inn on Railroad Avenue in 1984 with his wife, Geraldine. Over the years, the restaurant became a local favorite, known for its welcoming and friendly service.
His daughter, Una Dunphy, said her father cared more about people than money.
“He came to America with nothing and built so much,” she said. “It wasn’t about money for him. It was about community.”
Before coming to the United States, Dunphy played Gaelic football in Ireland and helped his team win a championship in 1962. He later moved to England, where he worked various jobs, including as a security guard, waiter, and shipboard bartender.
In 1969, he moved to New York and worked as a bartender in Manhattan. After years of saving money and learning the business, he opened the Wantagh Inn alongside his wife.
Dunphy met his wife in New Jersey in 1971. They married in 1973 and raised four children in Wantagh.
People who knew him said he treated everyone like family.
Maureen Donegan, who worked at the restaurant for many years, said she originally planned to stay only a short time but never left.
“They became family,” Donegan said. “He was there for everything in my life.”
During Hurricane Gloria in 1985, when many places lost power, the Wantagh Inn stayed open and gave food to people in the community, according to his family.
People remember Dunphy as a kind and hardworking man who deeply cared for his family and community.
