February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Mike Doyle, 65, a former Philly policeman and later one of the city’s most noted publicans and Irish American activists, died suddenly on Christmas Eve.
Funeral services were held at St Mary Magdalen Church, in Media, PA, on Tuesday, Dec. 30. Among the 1,000 mourners was Doyle’s life-long friend, former world boxing champ Joe Frazier.
Famous for rolling out the red carpet for visitors from Ireland, the native of Roscommon provided employment for legions of Irish ex-pats over the years.
Doyle’s love for Ireland brought him into early contact with the civil rights movement. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, he remained a close friend and confidante of legendary Irish republican leader Joe Cahill.
Over the past 14 years, Doyle had placed his many talents and extensive network at the service of the Friends of Sinn F