No truer words were ever scribbled than the ones that greeted visitors at the late, great O’Malley’s Pub.
Take it from ’90s regular, two-degree UI grad and future attorney Ramona Sullivan.
“Prominent graffiti at O’Malley’s Pub said ‘You’re only a stranger here once,’ and ‘O’Malley’s Is Home.’ That was true for me, and for almost everyone I knew in college,” says Sullivan (BA ’93/rhetoric; JD ’96), now an attorney with the Champaign County Public Defender’s Office.
“During the day, I went to class. In the evening, I went to work at Mr. Steak. And almost every night, I went to O’Malley’s.
“We recognized most faces and welcomed the new ones. We met spouses and lifelong friends. We knew the words to all the songs.
“At midnight, we put our arms around each other and yelled the real and our extra lyrics to ‘American Pie.’ We were home.
“I smile every time I hear Don McLean and every time I see a shamrock.”
