My memories of Cafe Sin-e (pronounced, “Shin-Nay”, Gaelic for “that's it”).
Shane Doyle, the Irish expatriate who founded Sin-é, a matchbox of a cafe and music venue in New York City that in the 1990s became a retreat for the likes of Sinead O’Connor and Shane MacGowan of the Pogues and a springboard for the shooting-star career of Jeff Buckley, died on April 22, 2025 in Manhattan. He was 73. source: NYT
I lived in a warehouse loft at 235 Berry Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in the early 1990s. The Williamsburg Bridge and Domino's Sugar plant loomed over this enclave on the East River. There was a chicken processing plant across the street (where on a hot summer's day the rankness was almost enough to make me want to move back to Virginia), and that corner was an outpost for the local hookers. The neighborhood was a mild warzone. Today, it is luxury living high-rise penthouses complete with a Hermes store. Times have changed, and we early settlers are responsible, I suppose, for the gentrification.
I was an actor and musician, and I worked as a soundstage manager at Mother's Film Soundstages in the Lower East Side. Our clients were local bands and major brands. One band, Native Tongue, shot a music video on my stage, and post shoot, they invited me to their gig at a venue nearby called Cafe Sin-e. I went and fell in love with this small Irish cafe that jammed patrons in and served only espressos and Rolling Rock beer. It was no frills, no cover (the musicians got tips), and the musicians performed mainly acoustic, pinned up against the brick wall, playing to very attentive crowds.
I continued to pop in at Cafe Sin-e over the coming months, catching different acts. Jeff Buckley put Sin-e on the map with his 1993 Columbia recording “Live at Sin-e”. There is a good chance I saw Jeff play at Sin-e, but I just can't remember. I started following the duo, Once Blue, and used them as inspiration for my own duo at the time, Girlfriend (with my now wife, Robin Cryer Hyland).
Jesse Harris was one half of Once Blue, and he later went on to write the Norah Jones hit, “Don't know Why”.
Once my duo, Girlfriend, started taking off, we were keen on playing at Sin-e. We tried, for months, it seemed, to get a gig there. We dropped off our cassette demo and endlessly called Shane or popped in to see if he'd give us a slot. One fine day, we got the call and booked a gig! We felt like we had made it in the music industry. Playing at Sin-e was validation. You were part of the tribe. It felt great to be part of the Irish art scene (celebrating my own Irish roots). I learned that Jeff's ancestors were from County Cork, Ireland, as were mine. It was meant to be.
Photo left, the author, Phil Hyland, performs at Sin-e
Photo credit of Cafe Sin-e exterior circa 1995, Irine Le (click Irine's name for link on her take of Sin-e, which is excellent).
“This place is a sanctuary from the hype of the music business,” Mr. Doyle said in a 1993 interview with Billboard magazine. “I mean, where else could you hear Sinead O’Connor play every night for a week without waiting in a line a block long?”
One night, Bono and the Edge of U2 unexpectedly showed up. “We were floating a bit after that,” Mr. Doyle said in a 2016 interview with The Irish Daily Mail.
“Bands are always looking for a place to hang out after a gig,” he told Billboard. “I opened this place for them to feel at home.”
That low-key approach was the secret to his success, Lenny Kaye, the guitarist and rock savant, said in an interview: “He quietly encouraged anything to happen there. To me, that’s a mark of a great club owner. Hilly Kristal” — of the hallowed punk club CBGB — “had it. You don’t try to guide it, you don’t try to mastermind it, you give it a place to happen.” - credit, NYT article
Our friend, Juliana Nash, and her amazing Boston-based band, Talking to Animals, began performing at Sin-e when Jeff Buckley was on the scene. Juliana spent time with Jeff and his girlfriend/fiancée, Joan Wasser. Robin and I caught many of the Talking to Animals shows at Sin-e. The band was SO good and always played to a packed house. Check out their music: Talking to Animals on Spotify. Photo below of Talking to Animals courtesy of Juliana Nash.
Below photo of Robin Hyland of Girlfriend, performing at Sin-e in 1995. Photo by Tom LeGoff.
Sinead O'Connor at Sin-e. Photo by Allen Ginsberg.
Be sure to watch the new documentary, “It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley.”
During one of our final Girlfriend gigs at Sin-e the power went out. The tea candles on the tabletops and the street lights outside on St. Mark's Place were the only illumination for the rest of our set. Robin and I went on with the set and it went down as one of our fondest memories at our beloved Cafe Sin-e. May she and Shane always be remembered. Thank you, Shane Doyle, the entire Sin-e staff, and all the artists that performed there.
After Sin-e closed due to rising rent costs, Shane went on to open Arlene's Grocery, which is still flourishing. Our youngest daughter, Grace Lou, and her friends perform there often. What a blessing.
For those who want more on Shane Doyle, Jeff Buckley, and Cafe Sin-e, please visit the below excellent articles linked below: