Owners of Pittsburgh Irish pub destroyed in fire issue warning about fake fundraisers

The owners of Riley's Pour House, an Irish pub in Carnegie, Pennsylvania that was destroyed in a fire on November 12, have warned their followers about a spate of "fraudulent" fundraisers.

Riley's Pour House has been a staple of Carnegie, a suburb of Pittsburgh, since its inception in 1979. Founded by Dan Sweeney and Dennis Murphy, the Irish pub is currently run by Joseph Riley, Dan Phillips, and Eric Kraemer, according to Pittsburgh Magazine.

The award-winning Irish pub known for its live entertainment is also seen as a community hub. Just last month, it hosted an Irish Americans for Harris-Walz rally which featured Joe Kennedy III, the US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland, as a speaker.

On Thursday afternoon, the popular Irish pub was destroyed when a fire tore through the building. There were 24 people in the pub at the time having lunch but thankfully, no one, including the firefighters who responded, was injured in the blaze.

Riley's Pour House issued this message to their followers on social media on Thursday after the fire: "Thank you all for reaching out.

"We want to assure everyone that all of our staff and guests are safe.

"We will share a full statement soon.

"Thank you for your patience and support during this time."

A sign of just how beloved the Irish pub was, the post was flooded with hundreds of comments - some people expressed their sadness over the tragedy, and others posted supportive messages inquiring about how to help rebuild.

However, in a follow-up post later on Thursday, Riley's Pour House wrote: "We have received reports of fake accounts posing as fundraising pages for Rileys.

"Please be cautious and know that any official updates about fundraising efforts will be shared directly on this page.

"We kindly ask that you avoid donating to these fraudulent pages, as they are attempting to exploit our tragedy for personal gain.

"Thank you for your support and vigilance."

As of Friday evening, Riley's Pour House has yet to share an "official update" about fundraising efforts, though some smaller-scale efforts to support the Irish pub have popped up.

Pittsburgh Magazine reported on Friday afternoon that a local food truck, Fat Cat Mac Attack, has pledged to donate the tips it collects over the weekend to the staff at Riley's who are now jobless just before the holidays.

“An Irish pub is more than a restaurant or bar, it’s a gathering place,” owner Joe Riley told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“Every day we have customers from 21 to 91. I’m thinking about them now — where are they going to go?”

On Friday, Riley told Pittsburgh's Action 4 News: "This place has been a gathering place for 45 years.

"People have their birthdays, their retirements. We're a pub. We have wakes. And so this is a fabric of a lot of people that have grown up here in the area, in the surrounding areas.

"So we realize what we mean to the community, and we have all intentions of coming back stronger than ever."

When asked if he plans to rebuild, he answered quickly: "Absolutely."