A St. Patrick's Day tribute from Tribune guest columnist Mike O'Brien to an old Irish Catholic saloonkeeper who made a name for himself in early 20th century Salt Lake City.
This 27-foot-tall obelisk towers over Salt Lake City's Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery, marking the grave of Irish Catholic saloonkeeper James McTernay.If it’s true, as some say, that God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world, then the good Lord must have carved out an exception for Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Salt Lake City.is one of the oldest Catholic places in Utah.
One day I learned he tended bars. So how did an immigrant Irish American Catholic saloonkeeper acquire what perhaps is the largest monument in the cemetery? This gravestone at Salt Lake City's Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery marks the final resting place of Irish Catholic saloonkeeper James McTernay.
There was a property dispute with the estate of one of Utah’s famous Walker brothers and a lawsuit over an allegedly stolen diamond. McTernay also litigated with a priest over the return of funds said to be due back to an estate he managed. He had been ill, on and off, with lung problems and pneumonia. Chronic gastritis also contributed to his demise April 28, 1910, at the old Holy Cross Hospital.A large crowd attended McTernay’s funeral at the cathedral. One of his pallbearers was William H. Dickson, a former U.S. attorney for Utah who founded the law firm — Parsons Behle & Latimer — where I now work.
The newspaper said the monument was “as handsome a shaft as may be seen in the West” and “probably the most expensive in any of the Salt Lake cemeteries.”says McTernay’s friends collected money to fund the construction and thus to remember a beloved man with no local family. It’s a good story, and it may even be true.
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