291) The Barn House (O’Shea’s) of Dolphin’s Barn, D8

A huge haunted house by the foot of the grand canal bridge (and reputedly has some connection with the late lamented Patrick Nevin, the unfortunate murdered spouse of the equally late but not so lamented Catherine Nevin, the eponymous 'Black Widow'). It took as many as seven pints to find the courage to cross this particular threshold. And it didn’t take long to abandon all hope we who had entered there.

On taking our seats at the bar we were left unnerved by a few of the patron’s scarfaces, but we were eventually served with cordiality. Being outsiders under deep scrutiny, we felt a hundred thousand eyes on us at all times from those in the lounge and even beyond in the bar. We finished our pints without pause, but not before a brave new look around at the darkened surrounds. We noticed an inhouse ramp to the main bar, a segregated area for darts, and the unmistakable scent of burning hash and wafting weed coming from a few delinquent goons congregating in a huddle, impossible to avoid if one needed the jacks. 

Unfortunately, continual stare-downs from the locals made our stay unwelcome which meant a frightful end to an arduous journey. We came forth to see once again the stars and followed the waterway back to Portobello and Rathmines. The pub obviously has a notorious reputation for violence and skullduggery, one that very much precedes it – an unpolished colleague of Andrew Stephens, for instance, expressed passionate concern for his welfare upon learning that he had been foolhardy enough to visit this hole. ‘Who took you in there, Andy? Who were you with when you went in there, Andy? What were you doing in there, Andy?’ Such alarm was telling, very, and speaks volumes about the pub’s problematic prestige.

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