Cranford Rotary Welcomes Barry O’Donovan

Barry O’Donovan was inducted as a member of the Cranford Rotary at the Rotary meeting on July 11.  O’Donovan is the owner of Kilkenny House Restaurant & Pub in Cranford.   

O’Donovan, who is known for always putting family and community first, exemplifies Rotary’s slogan “Service Above Self”.   He was honored by the U.S. Small Business Administration with the Phoenix Award for Outstanding Disaster Recovery for reopening Kilkenny House just six weeks after  Hurricane Irene hit.  At the time O’Donovan said he was proud and humbled by the honor, and insisted the award wasn’t just for him, but for all of Cranford.   He continues to be a fixture in the community, always willing to support local causes. 

O’Donovan came to America from Kilkenney, Ireland in 1979.   He worked at Joyce’s in Manhattan and owned Henry Grattan’s Restaurant & Bar and the Judge & Jury in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.  In 2002 when his children were born he decided to move to Cranford.  He opened Kilkenny House on Sept. 10, 2008, as a place where families could come for dinner.