In 1923 Phil Brady arrived in Maynooth from Co. Cavan at the tender age of 16 to serve his apprenticeship as a barman in a pub on Main Street Maynooth. The bar at the time was owned by the widow Mrs. Pitts.

Phil earned 5 schilllings per week in his first year as an apprentice, 10 in his second and by his third year he was earning 1 pound per week. Within a decade he had learned all he needed to know about the business and finally bought the pub from Mrs. Pitts.