Country memorial housing a tavern (8)
I believe the answer is:
republic
'country' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'memorial housing a tavern' is the wordplay.
'memorial' becomes 'relic' (object kept to remember a holy person).
'housing' indicates putting letters inside.
'a tavern' becomes 'pub' (pub is a kind of tavern).
'relic' placed around 'pub' is 'REPUBLIC'.
(Other definitions for republic that I've seen before include "Nation with a president as head of state" , "France, for example, is one" , "Pub relic found in a type of government" , "The political system is an epic blur" , "Cuba, say" .)