69. Mahon’s Hotel Bar

If it is ever decided to rename this bar, then its new title is obvious—-The Museum Bar.

Step inside the lobby and you immediately find yourself in the midst of an extraordinary exhibition of curios, odds and ends, mementos, bric a-brac, knick-knacks, relics, and all manner of 44 collectibles.
Every available space boasts something to attract those who are interested in the bizarre, the unusual, or the antique, including the mounted trophy heads of a stag and wild boar shot by Captain Hermon of nearby Necarne Castle, and an array of grotesquely shaped specimens of bog oak, A Lough Erne trout, wrought iron castle railings, an old butter churn, a photo of the first quintuplets born in Ireland, the huge bell from the town workhouse, an original horse collar from the Guinness brewery in Dublin .are you starting to get the picture?

A fine collection of carriage lamps, a coachwhip and horn, harness, carriage wheels and trappings suggest that this old establishment was once a Coach House, which indeed it was, and in point of fact, the present dining- room was at one time the innyard stables.

You can spend an hour browsing round this veritable museum and still not have exhausted all its treasures.
The business has been in the Mahon family for a number of generations, although the actual building has been an inn since early Victorian times.

The present owner, Joe Mahon, will tell you that this unique collection is an ongoing one and that new items are added as they are acquired.

If you are anywhere in the region of Irvinestown you really should make a point of visiting the Mahon Hotel; quite apart from this remarkable display of exhibits you are promised a friendly welcome from the genial proprietor and very good value for money.