President Ronald Reagan. You either loved or despised him. A leading conservative, President Reagan opposed Medicare, the Food Stamp Program, the Peace Corps, and raising the minimum wage. Originally an actor, the 40th President of the United States sought to gain "peace through strength." You can learn all about this and more at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California, and while visiting, grab a pint of Guinness at the Ronald Reagan Irish Pub.
The Ronald Reagan Irish Pub
During the end of his first term, Reagan and his wife Nancy, made a diplomatic trip to Ireland to visit the country his great-grandfather had been born in as well as shake hands with Irish citizens. The President ended up in the small village of Ballyporeen in the county of Tipperary where the US President stopped in at O'Farrell's Pub to grab a drink and meet with a few of the locals. John and Mary O'Farrell were fans of the President and had actually previously named a room in their hundred-year-old operation the Ronald Reagan Salon. Photographs were taken to celebrate their visit.
Shortly after Reagan's death in 2004, Frederick J. Ryan, Jr., chairman of the board of trustees of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation traveled to Ireland and the O'Farrell's Pub as a sentimental trip. However, to his horror, the pub was completely boarded up. John and Mary O'Farrell were getting ready to sell the pub piece by piece when Ryan offered to buy the whole pub for $100,000. The entire interior was dismantled (bar and all!) and shipped to California to become the Ronald Reagan Pub which sits under the wings of Reagan's retired Air Force One.
Along with Guinness, the bar also serves salads, sandwiches, and assorted snacks.
Visit the Ronald Reagan Irish Pub at 40 Presidential Drive, Simi Valley, California.
