The new Ri Ra Irish Pub in Georgetown is not just a pub; it’s a museum. Or as owner Ciaran Sheehan called it at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday night, where he and his team inaugurated the pub’s upstairs Whiskey Room, “It’s more of a cultural center, and a second home for all of us [Irish].”
That’s because beyond Guinness stew, live Irish music and a 200-plus whiskey collection, the Georgetown Ri Ra location is packed with—and even built of—authentic Irish artifacts and architectural pieces. The downstairs Victorian bar was salvaged and restored from Gerry Nangles Pub in 
Dublin, which was demolished in 1969; the St. Patrick statue overlooking your pints was rescued from a burning building in Cork in 1920; the seating and stage area features paneling and columns from a 19th century theater in Dublin.
As a result, the pub is a perfect match for Georgetown’s quaint sights and historic feel. One step inside, and you wonder how Washington went so long without it.
