John McDonagh: A New York cabby turned internet sensation

A New York “cab driver, comic and political activist” with strong Donegal connections has become an internet sensation.

Over the years John McDonagh has shared his thoughts with anyone who would be willing to listen in the cab, on stage and the airwaves, with his latest streak running through social media.

A  TikTok account called Keep The Meter Running is run by Kareem Rahma and interviews cab drivers across the world and John is featured, proudly showcasing Donegal Tweed.

John pictured with Kareem Rahma while filming the six-part series for Keep the Meter Running

“Taking a page from Sarah Jessica Parker’s book of promoting Donegal clothing in the West Village, I was in the East Village sporting my sweater by Edel MacBride and the cap from Magee in Donegal Town,”  John told DonegalLive from the Big Apple.
“It’s not just brand loyalty - during winter in New York, I rarely go out without them!”

John’s mother Cassie McDonagh (neé Monaghan) was born in Lettercran, Pettigo, and his father Josie a native of Aghayarn, west Tyrone.

An intricate part of the Donegal Association in New York, John visits Donegal twice or three times a year.  

“My father emigrated in 1949 and got a job, then in 1953 he returned and married my mother in Pettigo and then they came over to the States,” John said. “They had three kids and then we all moved back to Donegal.

“I went to school in Lettercran. We spent a couple of years there and then we all moved back to New York again.

“Nearly every summer my mother sent us back to Donegal to keep us out of trouble on the streets of New York. So I would go back, my uncle Jimmy Monaghan had a sheep farm and I was rucking hay, footing turf, dosing sheep, clipping and doing everything like that.

“Then, I would come back to New York with a Donegal accent and everybody in the neighbourhood would make fun of me and I would have to lose it as quickly as possible! I’ve been returning to Donegal since the 1950s. I was even an altar boy at the local church.”

John performed in the Abbey Arts Centre Ballyshannon on his last trip to Donegal in October, where he took to stage for his Off the Meter show, recounting 40 years behind the wheel in a cab.

John, on stage, performing one of his Off the Meter shows

Back at home in  New York, John presents on WBAI - a left-wing non-commercial, listener-supported radio station based out of Brooklyn - for 40 years now, in recent times alongside Frank McCourt’s (Angela’s Ashes) brother, Malachy.

John’s most recent adventures have seen him starring on TikTok’s Keep the Meter Running.

In John’s series, he details some of his life story through six parts. John also takes Kareem to Katz’s Deli and reads a poem titled, What happened to my city?

John McDonagh, pictured with Kareem Rahma from Keep the Meter Running (right) and fellow yellow cab driver and best friend Seth Goldman (left) during their trip to Katz's Delicatessen

“I have entered the world of TikTok by being interviewed by social media star Kareem Rahma,” John added.

“It all started when long-time WBAI listener Uncle Gino from the Bronx heard my show and called his nephew in Brooklyn, who happens to be a cameraman for Kareem.  

“He suggested that he interview me for their show on TikTok called Keep the Meter Running, where they interview cab drivers. As the TikTok world is somewhat foreign to me, I was stunned to find out that his account has a half million followers and he gets up to eight million views for his videos.

“According to Vanity Fair magazine, Kareem is one of the biggest sensations on TikTok. We had a great time filming the six-part segment and the series has already been viewed over 2 million times.

“We drove around for two hours he was asking me all these questions and then we went to  Katz’s Deli.”

John’s adventures don’t stop there, with his TikTok experience meaning constant interviews with various mainstream media outlets.  

“My antics have led me to be on the BBC, RTÉ, CBS Sunday Morning, NY1 and The Daily Show,” John said. “I showed  Richard Hammond from BBC’s Top Gear how to drive a yellow cab and featured in a documentary, Stephen Fry in America.

“His producers in London told me he wanted to see ‘my’ New York. So I live in an Italian neighbourhood in Queens, called Middlevillage and we have these mob clubs where you can go and gamble and bet on football games, so I said, ‘I can get Stephen Fry into this club because I grew up with these guys’ and he couldn’t believe hanging out with them.

“The documentary won a Bafta for the best travel documentary of the year when it came out.

“I have been driving a yellow cab for 40 years here in New York and no one paid attention to what I was doing until the internet and I began posting pictures and videos - because of that, I get contacted now by reality shows and people interested.”