Finn McCool's Irish bar located in the heart of New Orleans' Irish community re-opened its doors six months after Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, only to have them shut again on Sunday, August 31, as Hurricane Gustav approached.

This time, however, no damage was done and proprietors of Finn McCool's in the Mid-City area of New Orleans (mostly residential) are hoping to have their doors re-opened by the weekend, just in time to see Ireland play Georgia in a World Cup qualifier and Kilkenny hurlers take on Waterford hurlers in the All-Ireland final.

Finn McCool's was busy on Sunday evening when Stephen Patterson and his wife Pauline, both from Belfast, were told they had to shut up shop and evacuate the town immediately, as Gustav was on route.

Police drove through the neighborhood, advising people through a loudspeaker to get out immediately.

"If anyone decided to stay they wouldn't have running water, electricity, they could not call 911 and all hospitals were closed," explained the Belfast man, who came to the U.S. 18 years ago with Pauline.

"Some of the customers didn't want to leave but we had to board the place up and get out of town," Patterson, who co-owns the bar with his wife and friend from Co. Armagh Stephen Collins, told the Irish Voice on Tuesday.

Furniture was secured, windows and doors were boarded up and the Patterson's (Collins was in Ireland) began their journey to a friend's house outside of New Orleans.

"A journey that would be the same distance from Belfast to Dublin (two hours) took us nine hours," said Patterson.

"Everyone was leaving town and the highways, both sides going out of town, were crazy."

As Patters-n spoke to the Irish Voice, the city of New Orleans was still closed down.

"We are hoping that they will let business owners back in by Wednesday or Thursday," he said.

Weekends are one of Patterson's busiest times. Irish, Irish Americans and British people all gather together to watch English and Irish sports from across the pond.

"We are hoping to be back opened for business this weekend," he said.

The Pattersons were gone from New Orleans for nine weeks in 2006, and when they finally returned to Mid-City, they were heartbroken to discover that Finn McCool's, their pride and joy, was unsalvageable. Katrina's ferocious winds and raging floods destroyed their livelihood inside and out.

"We had to gut the bar," said Patterson. "Finn McCool's means a lot to us and we wanted it back."

It never occurred to the Belfast couple and their partner Collins not to rebuild, and with the help and loyalty of their customers Finn McCool's was back on its feet and busier than ever six months after Katrina's rampage.

"The bar is a focal point in the community. It brings a lot of ex-pats and British together," said Patterson proudly.

Not only is Finn McCool's a bar to view sports, it also has it's own football team with the same name.

"One of the players actually on the team just published a book that tells the story of how all the players were scattered throughout the country during Katrina but how they all came back together again," he said.

Patterson's cell phone has been abuzz with text messages from Texas to Florida, asking him when the bar will be re-opened. People are eager to get back to their local, share their evacuation stories and most of all once again feel that sense of belonging that is so much a part of Finn McCool's.

Finn McCool's bar is located at 3701 Banks Street in New Orleans.