Sepia Saturday

Challenge and image source from Sepia Saturday.

This photograph of the entrance to the Wombeyan Caves comes from the 'Caves' set of the Powerhouse Museum Collection on Flickr Commons.  It could take you into grottoes, tunnels, caverns, potholes or mines. Or it may leave you completely in the dark, so remember to bring a torch! Dig deep and see what you can discover down there! Of course there's no need to match the theme at all and our only request is that you post your response to SS 183 on or around Saturday 29 June. Please link back to this Sepia Saturday page, and there is a mini-banner to add too if you choose.

After you've published on your blog, don't forget to add the link to your actual post (by clicking on its title within the post and then copying the URL which this generates) to Mr Linky below, and then leave a comment please. After a deep sigh of satisfaction at a job well done, put the kettle on and set off to visit as many other contributors as you can. If the mood takes you leave them a comment as well; we Sepians thrive on comments - it makes it all worthwhile!


I couldn't think of anything that would match this theme. I started looking through photos in my family album and found this picture, taken in 1989 when my parents went back to Dublin for a wedding. They had a great time catching up with family at their local watering holes. My mother was dead within two weeks of returning from that trip.
This photo was in colour so I converted it to black and white.

The information and video are from the Dublin City Libraries website.

This pub is located in Phoenix Park, Dublin. In Medieval times Blackhorse Avenue was one of the main roads into Dublin City. People travelling to Dublin by horse or by coach would stay overnight outside the city in an inn called 'Ye Signe of Ye Blackhorse'. Its name came from the fact that in those days inn owners would hang up the picture of an animal, such as a horse, outside their pub instead of a name as only few people could read. This picture would give the Inn its name.



When roads were improved, people no longer needed to stay overnight at the inn and the inn was changed into a tavern, a place where people could eat and drink. As the tavern was right beside the Phoenix Park and there were many public speeches given in the park in the 1800s it became a popular spot for a drink and a bite to eat. One of the speakers was Daniel O’Connell; in fact, Daniel O’Connell brewed the ale which was sold in the Blackhorse Tavern.


When the British Army was staying at McKee Barracks in the Phoenix Park from 1891 to 1922, the soldiers would sometimes sneak off and go to the tavern for a pint of beer! The owner of the pub at the time, Levinus Doyle, served the men through a hole in the park wall, and this is why it is called “The Hole in the Wall”.

The name was changed from Blackhorse Tavern to “The Hole in the Wall” in 1970, by PJ McCaffrey and his wife, Margaret. They wanted to remember the history of serving the army through a hole in the wall.

Over the years many extra bits were added and many people believe that this is the longest pub in Ireland.