Billy Lawless, Chicago restaurateur and former Irish senator, dies at 73
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Friends and family are preparing to say their final goodbyes to Chicago restaurateur and former Irish senator Billy Lawless.
Lawless died on Friday, Nov. 8. He was 73. He was a tireless advocate for immigrant rights, and became Ireland's first-ever emigrant senator.
William Noel Lawless was born in Galway, Ireland on Dec. 24, 1950. According to the Irish Times, he sold his family's dairy farm in the 70s, and went on later to run bars and hotels in Ireland.
Lawless also ran unsuccessfully for Galway City Council in 1991, losing to neighbor and friend Michael Higgins, according to the Irish Times.
In 1998, Lawless moved to Chicago after becoming enamored with the city while visiting a cousin, according to the publication. He opened The Irish Oak, formerly at 3511 N. Clark St. in Wrigleyville, that same year.
Many Irish construction workers would visit the bar, and some were undocumented, the Irish Times reported. Lawless went on to take up the cause immigrant rights and went on to become vice president of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
In 2007, Lawless also funded the Gage Hospitality Group—with the mission, as stated on the restaurant group's website, of "providing a rustic, yet refined dining experience served with genuine hospitality."
The Gage Hospitality Group includes Acanto, 18 S. Michigan Ave.; Coda di Volpe, 3335 N. Southport Ave.; The Dawson, 730 W. Grand Ave.; and The Gage, 24 S. Michigan Ave. Lawless' son, Billy Lawless Jr., now heads up the restaurant group.
In 2016, then-Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny nominated Lawless to the Irish Seanad. Lawless became the first overseas Irish senator representing the Irish diaspora. He served one term.
Lawless' family said he died after suffering from kidney failure. He is survived by wife Anne, sons Billy Jr. and John Paul, and daughters Amy and Clodagh—the latter of whom is the proprietor of The Dearborn restaurant and tavern at 145 N. Dearborn St.
A visitation for Lawless is scheduled for 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 1107 N. Orleans St.