Michael Riggs Mahony

1945 - 2024

March 9,1945 –
January 15, 2024
Ask anyone who knew Mike Mahony and they would tell you he was a free spirit and quite a character. His inquisitive mind was always seeking new information, and he knew something about everything, especially history-related. A conversation with Mike was never casual or short.
He was an icon around Palatka, Florida, where he lived from 2016 until his death.
He could be seen riding his black bicycle loaded down with front and rear saddlebags, to and from Publix via back roads from his home near the St. Johns River. On days when he wanted to range further, he would put his folding bike on the bus to St. Augustine or Gainesville.
Before moving to Palatka in 2016, Mike had a varied career centered around boats and bicycles. He was born the first child of W Riggs Mahony and Jean L Mahony and grew up in Coral Gables, Florida, where he learned to ride. Later he rode as an adult in Charleston, using his bike to get around from his live-aboard sailboat near the tackle shop where he worked. Mike was a "Seafaring man" in the words of friend Herb Hiller. In his late 20s, after graduating from the University of Florida where he was president of his fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau, he joined his brother Pat to work in the Thoroughbred horse racing industry, where his family (father Riggs Mahony and grandfather Mortimer) had a long and renowned history. There is even a thoroughbred race named in their honor, "The Mahony Race" run every summer at the Saratoga race course.
But that wasn't for Mike and the sailor in him called. He became a crew member of the Ticonderoga Sailing vessel (America's Cup) and later chef on some yachts in the Abacos. His own sailing boat "Lady Delphis'' was his first love but he was forced to sell her when his eyesight worsened.
In 1973, he moved to Stuart, Florida, and started into the oyster business. After working at Lord Chumley's Pub, he eventually struck out with Sister Maureen to open "Mahony's Oyster Bar'' in the early days of Stuart's resurgence. It became very successful, even being featured in Foder's 91 Travel Guide. It reads "Mahony ensures the personal scale by limiting what he buys to what he can carry on his bike." (The beer was brought in by truck). An interesting side note on downtown Stuart's renovation was related by sister Maureen. "When they had to put planks of wood down along the main streets for people to walk on during the reconstruction, many businesses suffered. But not Mahonys. People still came, saying '' I'd walk the plank to get to Mahony's."
After many successful years, he finally sold the business In 1994. He married and went to Milwaukee for a short time returning to open another oyster bar in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, which he ran for 7 years before he sold it, eventually divorced and headed to South Florida in 2012.
Itching to get back to the water and his beloved small crafts, he headed for Charleston to the small craft symposium on the Amtrak. It was during a train stopover in Palatka, Mike was doing a morning nostalgic walkabout near the Boathouse Marina, where he had hauled out his sailboat for repairs years earlier. He just happened up Kirkland St. where Linda Crider was weeding her Bartram Inn front yard garden, and looked up to see this handsome handlebar-mustached man staring at her. Conversation began and led to a mutual interest in cycling. An immediate friendship ensued and Mike decided to move to Palatka.
When asked what made him want to move to Palatka and call It home, he was quick to remark "Do you know how many cities would love to have this natural feature, this river, running through their town? It's remarkable." Being an emerging cycling "hub" clinched his decision. The bicycle always represented a multi-purpose vehicle for Mike, who dealt with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease, leading to eventual blindness. But he beat the odds, and continued riding and living independently until his passing.
Mike has used his bike to take him to some very interesting places. It might have involved some additional transportation like trains, planes, and buses, but ultimately, it's the bicycle touring experience he was after. Ireland by bike was one of his favorites. He spent a week in his ancestral homeland, cycling to small coastal hamlets south of Galway. "Along the way there is so much to see and experience, including the famous Galway Hookers." Said Mike. These red-sailed vessels, historically workboats, now grace the harbor of Kinvara, where tourists and old sailors come to gaze. Another fun stop Mike recounts was to Tullamore Dew, east of Athlone, where the famous Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey is distilled. "The bike is such a magic vehicle to see the beautiful green countryside of Ireland at a perfect pace" recounted Mike.
This well-loved Irishman will be sadly missed but his wonderful stories will live on.
Many will be related by family and friends on Wednesday, Feb. 7th, at a Celebration of his life, at Westminster Hall near the river at 126 S. Second St., Palatka, Florida, from noon till 2-ish. It is a potluck lunch so bring a dish, any photos you might find to share and for sure a good story. The ceremony will also be live streamed at youtube.com/watch.
Donations can be made to the Waterworks via "Keep Putnam Beautiful" and/or The Bartram Society of Florida.
Mike is survived by his brother, Pat Mahony, and sister, Maureen Mahony.