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 could sing and clap the loudest.
“You have to clap louder, Mr. President,” he said to Reagan, prompting the president, not used to being given orders, to laugh.
Troy next led the audience in “The Unicorn Song.” While Troy sang the words, the audience mimicked the animals referenced in the song:
“There were green alligators and long-necked geese, some humpty-backed camels, and some chimpanzees. Some cats and rats and elephants, but sure as you’re born, the loveliest of all was the unicorn.”
Reagan turned and watched a group of young women act out the song. His face showed curiosity and delight — he’d never seen this song performed before.
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But that was who he was: At the same time, he was the world’s most powerful man — the man who helped fell communism and restore American optimism — he was also a man of youthful innocence who delighted in the simplest things.
When Troy finished, he handed the president the microphone.
Reagan thanked Troy for having him for lunch. He said it was a great surprise. He talked about his father, an Irishman.
“When I was a little boy, my father proudly told me that the Irish built the jails in this country,” he said, pausing. “Then they proceeded to fill them.”
The crowd laughed heartily.
“You have to understand that for a man in my position, I’m a little leery about ethnic jokes,” he said. The crowd roared. “The only ones I can tell are Irish.”
He talked about a recent trip to Ireland. He visited Castle Rock, the place where St. Patrick erected the first cross in Ireland.
“A young Irish guide took me to the cemetery and showed me an ancient tombstone there,” he said. “The inscription read: ‘Remember me as you pass by, for as are you so once was I, and as I am you too will be, so be content to follow me.’”
As Reagan paused, the crowd eagerly awaited his follow-up.
“Then I looked below the inscription, where someone scratched in these words: ‘To follow you I am content, I wish I knew which way you went.’”
The crowd roared, causing the president to deadpan to his advance men: “Why didn’t I find this place seven years ago?”
Reagan’s pub visit showed how easily he could charm any audience, Republican or Democrat.
Which is why I toast him every St. Patrick’s Day: To follow you we were content and thankful for the way we went.
Find Tom Purcell’s syndicated column, humor books, and funny videos of his dog, Thurber, at TomPurcell.com. Email him at Tom@TomPurcell.com.
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