Blakes of the Hollow — Days Out NI

What you are actually looking at

The front bar is the reason to come. The walls and ceiling are panelled entirely in wood. Four large spirit casks are set vertically into the bar-back, a fitting that has almost vanished from Irish pubs. The counter is panelled with a white marble top, which is rare. The layout is the original Victorian one, with snugs, the small enclosed booths built when respectable customers wanted to drink out of sight. Go in during daylight and take five minutes over it. You are looking at a room that survived every fashion since 1887 by simply refusing to change.

Victorian front bar, largely untouched since 1887 Game of Thrones Door number 4, carved from Dark Hedges timber Traditional Irish music every Friday evening Original snugs, wood panelling and a white marble bar top 28@The Hollow restaurant on site

Good to know before you go:

Traditional music runs every Friday evening, and the Atrium and Level 7 rooms carry live performances and one-off events through the year. The what's-on listing on their own site is the place to check before you travel.

What to bring

🎶An ear for a tuneTraditional sessions are free to sit in on — you just find a seat and listen.

🕑An eye on the timeAfternoon sessions suit families; most rooms turn over-18s later in the evening.

💷A bit of cashFor food, and for the hat if the musicians pass one round.

📱The what’s-on pageSession nights and gigs move around — check before you travel.

Everything before you go

Type

historic Victorian bar with restaurant and live-music rooms

Who it's for

families are workable in the daytime, when NI licensing permits an accompanied under-18 in the bar area until 9pm, or 9.30pm with a meal bought before 9pm. The Friday music and the late weekend hours are adult territory.

Music

traditional Irish music every Friday evening. The Atrium also runs live music. Confirm the current line-up before travelling.

Tickets

free to walk in. Restaurant bookings advised.

Food

yes. 28@The Hollow serves modern Irish cooking using seasonal local ingredients.

When

Mon and Tue 11.30am to 11pm, Wed and Thu 11.30am to midnight, Fri and Sat 11.30am to 1am, Sun noon to 11pm.

Address

6 Church Street, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, BT74 7EJ

Questions

Before you go

Can we bring the kids?

What's the music like?

traditional Irish music every Friday evening. The Atrium also runs live music. Confirm the current line-up before travelling.

Do I need a ticket?

free to walk in. Restaurant bookings advised.

Do they do food?

yes. 28@The Hollow serves modern Irish cooking using seasonal local ingredients.

When is it on?

Mon and Tue 11.30am to 11pm, Wed and Thu 11.30am to midnight, Fri and Sat 11.30am to 1am, Sun noon to 11pm.

Getting there

Blakes of the Hollow is at 6 Church Street, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, BT74 7EJ. Tap below for directions.

Directions on Google Maps Official website See it on our map

Nearby

Make more of the day

More days out around EnniskillenSee what else is close by More live music across NISessions, gigs and music centres

The story

Herberts, then Blakes

The Herbert family put up the three-storey building on Church Street and opened it as a pub in 1887. Enniskillen was a garrison town then, prosperous and busy, and the fit-out reflects it. Nobody panels a whole room in wood and tops a bar in white marble unless they expect the place to matter.

In 1929 Catherine Blake bought it from the Herberts, and the name that stuck was hers. The nickname came from the ground itself. Church Street dips, and the pub sits in the low point, so it became simply The Hollow.

Almost 140 years on, the front bar is still doing the same job in the same fittings. That is the part worth standing still for. Most buildings this old have been gutted twice and rebuilt to look old. This one just never stopped.