The Larkin Family’s Sea Isle Story
Clancy Larkin, a lifelong Sea Isle City resident, was the winner of the Sea Isle Times wreath from the Chamber of Commerce & Revitalization’s wreath auction held over Thanksgiving weekend. As part of her prize, the Larkin family was invited to share its “Sea Isle Story” in this issue. We sat down with Clancy and her mother, Kathy, to talk about their family’s deep roots and lasting connection to Sea Isle City.
Kathy and Michael Larkin outside St. Joseph Church, married March 15, 1991.
The Larkin family outside their house in Sea Isle.
Clancy’s parents, Kathy and Michael Larkin, both grew up in Pennsylvania but spent their summers in Sea Isle City. After graduating from high school, Michael moved to Sea Isle in the 1970s. He is one of 14 children, and a few of his family members moved with him. He became a Sea Isle City police officer and served the town for 25 years before retiring in 1999. Michael’s father, Dr. Joseph Larkin, became the town doctor and worked independently out of an office on 50th Street and Landis Avenue until the late 1990s.
Says Clancy: “I still get people from Sea Isle who come up and tell me, ‘I know your PopPop! He was my doctor when I was a little kid.’”
Kathy’s family has been coming to Sea Isle since the early 1900s. Her father’s family bought a house at 39th and Landis.
“That is where my father and his siblings grew up in the summers,” she says. “Now it is the location of O’Donnell’s Pour House, where we all work. So, it is a cool little bit of history there.”
Her uncle sold the family home to the owners of Ocean Drive Bar & Restaurant, who eventually built O’Donnell’s Pour House on the exact property where Kathy’s father grew up. “The lights flicker sometimes,” Kathy says, “and I’m like, ‘That’s just my grandmother.’”
Kathy’s mother’s side of the family had been summering in Sea Isle since the mid-1900s. Her grandparents eventually purchased a house on 45th Street and moved to Sea Isle full-time. Growing up, Kathy spent each summer with her grandparents and worked her first job as a server at the Sea Dale Restaurant.
Kathy moved to Sea Isle in the 1980s and worked at the 1st Bank of Sea Isle City for 20 years. She then became a manager at Ocean Drive Bar & Restaurant and O’Donnell’s Pour House, a position she has held for 27 years. She is also involved with St. Joseph Church as a member of the parish since the 1980s and the council for the past 10 years.
Michael and Kathy were married at St. Joseph Church in 1991 and had two daughters: Clancy and her younger sister, Delaney. Both girls attended grade school at Bishop McHugh Regional Catholic School and graduated from Cape May County Technical High School.
“I loved growing up here,” Clancy says. “I could not imagine growing up anywhere else. I always loved the variety of big crowds in the summer and the small community in the winter. I know that I can go anywhere in town, and I always see someone I know; there is always someone to say ‘Hi’ to.”
Michael with Captain D’Intino in 1973. He served on the SICPD from 1973-99.
Clancy and Delaney with the Eagles' Landon Dickerson at O’Donnell’s Pour House for the Eagles Autism Event .
Michael and his children Christian, Ryan, Shannon, Delaney, and Clancy in 2024 .
Clancy and Delaney on the beach posing for their family Christmas card.
Clancy noted that the community of year-round residents is very tight-knit. “One of my favorite memories growing up in town was my dad coaching my sister and me on the rec teams,” she says. “Weekend rec games meant everyone was together in one place, and I always liked seeing and hanging out with the other kids my age in town.”
Clancy and Delaney each graduated from Stockton University and moved back to Sea Isle to live here full-time. “Neither of us ever wanted to move because the community here is just so strong,” Clancy says.
Delaney works for the Sea Isle City Recreation Department at the new Community Center. Clancy has served on the Sea Isle City Recreation Committee for the last five years and works full-time as a manager at Ocean Drive Bar & Restaurant.
Ocean Drive Bar & Restaurant and O’Donnell’s Pour House have been a big part of all of the Larkins’ lives.
“I started working at the Pour House and Ocean Drive at 16, and the same with my sister,” Clancy says. Clancy began her restaurant career as a busser and then became a bartender before becoming a manager at The OD.
She noted that Delaney “still works there as a part-time bartender, and my mom works there, too. So, my mom, sister, and I all now work together!”
“O’Donnell’s and Paddy’s Green, that’s where you can find us,” Kathy and Clancy teased.
Both Clancy and Kathy expressed their love for the town and the beauty of the beach.
“I walk on the Promenade and the beach every day,” Kathy shares.
Adds Clancy: “If you get a chance to sit down on the beach until sunset, do it. We always used to do that with our family growing up till after the lifeguards got off. Those are some of my favorite memories with all my cousins.”
They both urged visitors of Sea Isle to walk along the Promenade and for residents to check out the new Community Center. The center opened in March of this year and “is really beautiful,” Kathy says.
Clancy says she never plans to leave Sea Isle: “I always loved that you could go anywhere and see someone you know. I am not sure if you are able to get that anywhere else, like in big cities or bigger towns.”
We appreciate the Larkin family’s dedication and love of Sea Isle City. They truly embody what it means to be a “Family of Sea Isle.”