Sean & Paula McNamara

Owners

Sean "Turk" Patrick McNamara is the great-great grandson of John McNamara, an Irish Immigrant who came to America from the county Kildare in 1848. Sean moved to here in 1995 and began his career in the restaurant business working as a server at Mulligan’s Pub.  As a server, bartender, and eventually singer, Sean fell in love with the Irish pub culture. For the past fifteen years, Sean has made his living performing Irish music in every Irish pub in Nashville as well as various music festivals through out the mid south. It is this experience as well as his time in Ireland with his wife Paula that has given Sean the vision and the passion to create McNamara’s.

Paula McNamara was born and raised just outside of Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. She began working in restaurants at the age of 18, and fell in love with the hospitality trade. After spending time living in Australia, Paula traveled back to Ireland and in 1996, earned her degree in Hotel, Travel and Tourism management from Newry College. In 1997 Paula moved here when she was offered a job by the Opryland hotel, where she worked for over a year. Paula’s experience and gift for true authentic Irish hospitality is a major reason why people feel like they are back in Ireland as soon as they walk through the door of McNamara’s.