On St. Patrick’s Day, 1988, an unexpected visitor arrived at Pat Troy’s Irish pub, Ireland’s Own, in Alexandria, Virginia — President Ronald Reagan.

The pub, now closed, had been a favorite watering hole for Washington insiders for more than 30 years. Reagan’s advance team secretly arranged the visit.

Just before noon that day, Reagan and his entourage arrived. As news got around, the pub quickly filled to capacity. While Reagan enjoyed a pint of Harp and some corned beef and cabbage, Troy was so busy tending to patrons, he didn’t have time to react to his famous patron.

“He had an energy about him that put you instantly at ease,” Troy told me in 1999. “He made it easy to carry on as though he was just another patron, so that is what I did.”

In the video, Troy took the stage and led the audience in “The Wild Rover.” He directed sections of the audience to compete with each other to see which........

© Townhall