A couple of nice snaps of The Bleeding Horse public house on Camden Street.
The pub, which dates back to 1649, claims to be the second oldest pub in Dublin.
There are many stories on how the tavern got its name. The most frequent one told is that during The Battle of Rathmines (1649), Cromwellian forces brought their wounded horses to the thatched, timber inn that stood here.
From the early 1970s to the early 1990s, it was called The Falcon Inn.
Charlotte Street, to the left of The Bleeding Horse, was demolished in 1992. I plan to write an article on this disappeared street in the near future.
Where’s his hucking felmet?
‘Aving a fag an’ all, crucial relaxation!!
Deadly, the difference now is mad
Some really cool pics. I was only walking Camden St the other day.
http://whackthehippo.wordpress.com/
great spot for a few jars, pics are cool too
I drank a couple of pints there last year. It was the first time in this pub after having travelled past it for a number of decades. Terrible place with useless staff. Its only redeeming point is it’s v picturesque front; inside is stereotypical post-1980s-faux-trad-Irish-pub. Cassidy’s is a handful of shops to the north on Camden St and this is a true classic with a good atmosphere and women who will make proper conversation.
we all know nothing ver stays the same, thank god some things have changed for the better, i grew up in camden street i was born in 1942, the bleeding horse pub was a vocal point for my mother and father separtely of course. women where not allowed to mix with men in pubs then, the women had the snug, they where not allowed to be seen even getting served, there was hatch and a bell, when the woman wanted her bottle of stout or porter, depending how much money she had, the stout was dearer, she pressed the bell, and after a while, the hatch would lift up she gave her order, the hatch would close, and eventually, would lift again, with her drink. i know because my granny used to bring me into the bleeding horse, hidden in her magnificent enormous dress, she was minding me,
[…] photographs, accidentally discovered, remind us just how much our urban context has changed between then and then and now. There is so little scope for change […]
My grandfather worked as a barman in the Bleeding horse pub at 24 old camden street as per the 1911 census. The pub was run then by the Ryan family from Tipperary. One of life’s co-incidences: my son now works as bar supervisor in the Camden Court hotel! Go figure
Gerry, what my story as regards the bleeding horse pub, is my father was a painter and decorator, we lived in Camden street, my fathers firm done work mostly on pubs and hotels, my granny lived in a couple of rooms in Camden court, almost beside the bleeding horse pub, one day I was about 7 year old I said to my da how come that pub has a curse in its name, my da says, sure I gave it its name, hows that says I, well it was called a different name and we where renovating it everything brand new, and I was painting the outside one day and the new owners where outside talking about what to call the pub, when the Guinness dray pulled up and one of the horses slipped on the cobble stones and broke its neck, the blood was pouring from the poor horse, so my da said look at that poor bleeding horse, jasus says the new owners that’s what we will call it, thebleeding horse, of course all my life I believed my da named it, the bleeding liar, I live in Manchester have done for 55 years, put I go home at least twice a year where do we stay, of course the Camden court hotel, had many a drink in the bar at the Camden court, and I always call into the bleedin horse, I think of my da and smile to my self I bet people think theres an other fecking gobshite smiling to himself little do they know,
My Dad owned the Bleeding horse up to 1963 – I spent the first 6 years of my life living upstairs – before we moved out to Co. Wicklow. As regards the name – which offended the purchasers so much — I think it was the Ryans — that they changed it to the Falcon Inn, there were 2 versions known to me – and both related to the pub’s 17th century position on the route to Rathfarnham (then in the deepest countryside) . “Bleeding” a horse was a technique sometimes used to reduce the temperature of horses after a long trip. The other view was that as the cobbles of the city began at or about this location, horseshoes were changed near to this location as different types were used for city streets and country roads.
Incidentally, horse-drawn milk carts were still based around the corner on Charlotte St into the 1960s.
I had childhood friends in the houses just to the right of the pub in the first photo. They still had gas lighting in in 1962!
Hi John
Is it possible I can reply privately, as I would like to explore a Kells link to your family
wow brings back some good times i was born in 43 lower camden st above cassidys cross road from bleeding horse, i used to play with mick ryan from the pub and went to synge st photos are super thanks
My grandfather, James Colman, who was a farrier and Blacksmith, living in Camden Place, shoed the horses and was VERY familiar with The Bleeding Horse Inn.