The Sunset Connection - Perspectives from SF's Sunset Neighborhood

The Fights That Bound Us: Pat Maguire on Growing Up Irish Catholic in the Sunset


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In this episode of The Sunset Connection, I talk with Pat Maguire, who opened and runs Java Beach Café with his wife, Buffy Maguire. Both Pat and Buffy are San Francisco natives with deep ties in the Outer Sunset. 

We talk about what it was really like to grow up in an Irish-Catholic family in the Outer Sunset—when the neighborhood was close-knit, rough, and far from the calm place most people know today. Pat shares what it was like coming of age here in the ’80s and ’90s: why fights broke out between kids who all knew each other, how those rivalries turned into friendships, and what it means to look back without glorifying the past.

It’s one man’s story that captures a raw, often overlooked piece of the Sunset’s identity. Check out Pat’s book, All Things Beautiful, for more of his reflections—and stay tuned for Part 2 of our conversation.

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The Sunset Connection - Perspectives from SF's Sunset NeighborhoodBy Jessica J. Ho