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The Bleeding Horse

Camden Street

There's been a pub where The Bleeding Horse is as long as I can remember. Actually, since 1649. They’ve got a picture of it inside from 1760.

A lot has changed since then. For one thing, the tree in the picture (drawn from an old print) has gone. So has one of the roads to the side – Charlotte Street was taken off the map in the early '90s to make way for, amongst other things, the Camden Court Hotel. At that time the pub was a run-down joint called The Falcon but bar that brief spell it's always been The Bleeding Horse.

There are several versions of how the name came about, but the most likely is from the practice of farriers of cutting a vein in the neck of horses who had arrived from a long ride (the pub was at the end of the road into Dublin through the townlands of Rathmines). Apparently this was a common means of reducing the horse's blood pressure and calming them after a ride.

Today's pub sprawls over three levels (two and a half really, since one's a mezzanine). Refurbished in 1991, whole forests have been used to create an ambience that is almost Elizabethan, with the brick of the original building laid bare. More an English country inn than an Irish pub, right down to the white rose in the diamond-patterned stained glass, it's full of cubby holes and snugs, perfect for a private tête-à-tête or for a group get-together in the larger bar area.

The clientele are drawn from the surrounding offices of Harcourt Street and the nearby Portobello College. Therefore The Bleeding Horse provides a good carvery lunch followed by an à la carte menu till 9 p.m., as well as a late bar with live DJ on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. On Wednesdays there's a quiz night to attract the punters. The rest of the time four widescreen TVs broadcast sport; to the management's credit, the volume is only turned up for big games, so if you want to hide in a corner or snug, you won't even know they're there.

Prices are average. They cater for groups. The Bleeding Horse is well worth a visit and a must if you're staying in The Camden Court, which is next door.

The third level, unusually for a Dublin pub, is an internet cafe, where you can check out www.thebleedinghorse.com.