Ann was born in June 1945 in Killaned, Glencolmcille, in Co Donegal Ireland. She was one of nine children born to James and Mary Boyle. Ann’s house was always filled with love with all their family and friends. Ann attended school until she was 14 years old, then she started working at the mart. It was a place where the Donegal tweed weavers worked and Ann helped with the daily workings of the mart. She also worked in the local pub while helping the many older neighbors in her village. She loved her home and her village, but America was a place she wanted to be. Both her sister Brid and her Aunt Mary were already living in the United States, so her aunt sponsored her to come to America.
Ann had an interview at the Dublin Embassy to get her visa on Halloween day 1962, and It was there that she chatted to a Mayo man named John Cawley. They chatted about where they were headed to, and soon learned they were both going to Philadelphia. Ann left Cobh, Co Cork on the SS United States mid November 1962, and arrived in New York on the 27th of November. She was so excited and loved meeting other passengers on the ship. It wasn’t unusual for her, always the friendliest lady around. When she arrived in New York, her aunt and sister were already there to meet her. She started working as soon as she came to America, first working as a nanny before working in church rectories, a job she loved. Her catholic faith was established young and is still a part of who she is today.
On Ann’s first night out, at the Shamrock Club in Philadelphia, she ran into John again. That was the start of their 63 years together. She attended many Irish dances, especially at the Irish Center in Germantown. She and her friends loved going dancing and enjoying themselves. She and John Cawley married in November 1968.
In January of 1974, Ann and John had 3 children and one on the way when they purchased Duffy’s Bar in Upper Darby, PA. They changed the name to Cawley’s Tavern and then to Cawley’s Irish Pub. Life for them was busy with four kids: Charlie, Annmarie, Sean, and Brian, and the bar. Their children were their life and everything they worked for was for them. Ann traveled home every year to see her family and friends and brought her children there. The children loved going to Ireland and going to all the Irish events throughout Philadelphia, which installed in her children a love of Ireland. Then the grandchildren came, John, Caroline, Thomas, Grace, Michael, Max and Finn made her life complete. Each of her grandchildren have great pride and love in their hearts for Ireland. They are so proud of their Grannie Cawley from Donegal.
Throughout the years at Cawley’s, many of the staff and customers were from all parts of Ireland. They became like family to Ann, attending their weddings and christenings. Ann did everything at the bar from cooking to tending bar. As Cawley’s grew, so did the staff and the customers. Ann always treated the staff like her own family, always with a smile and a chat for anyone that entered Cawley’s. To this very day, she is still the heart of Cawley’s. Cawley’s is a staple of Delaware County, and Ann always makes sure that if someone needed something, they would get it.
Ann is a true Donegal woman and a proud woman from Glencolmcille.