Enniskillen family the Coalters have owned Horseshoe & Saddlers since 1967, and the family has seen many changes throughout its tenure.
Current manager Norman Coalter was just four when his mother Joan and father Gerry, who were originally from Derrylin, returned home from a stint in New Zealand and purchased the property.
The Coalter family lived directly above the pub as they took control of it just before the onset of The Troubles in the late 1960s, and have seen it flourish in the decades since.
With a restaurant added to broaden its appeal to people in the town as well as a number of different extensions and renovations, the latest addition is "Granny C’s snug" a homage to Norman’s 83-year-old mother Joan.
“We had this whole area that we decided to convert into a snug, and my wife came up with the idea of calling it Granny C’s Snug,” Norman told MyFermanagh.
“My mum is in her early 80s and still comes down every day keeping an eye on us and checking in on us.
“Everybody calls her Mrs C and we thought we’d have to put something in her memory, and she’s here to see it thankfully.
Joan herself said it was a pleasant surprise to hear her son was putting her name to the snug.
“It was lovely, I got a big surprise when Norman decided to do it,” Joan said.
“I suppose it will always be there now, and as long as Norman’s here I’ll be able to come down and have a look at everything that is going on.”
Joan and Gerry Coalter moved to New Zealand in 1964, before returning to Co Fermanagh three years later due to a family bereavement.
That’s when they first took over the premises on Belmore Street, with the family living directly above the pub for more than three decades.
“When they came back in the spring of 1967, The Horseshoe was a pub on the corner and it was for sale,” Norman added
“At that stage everybody lived above the shop, and we not only got a business but they also got a house above it.
“We as a family lived above the shop from June 29 1967 until June 1998, and at that stage we decided that between my brother and I the pub wouldn’t be big enough for the two of us to run.
“At that point Saddler’s restaurant was invented and built into the family home directly above the pub.”
The Horseshoe gained a reputation for many years as a venue where deals were done for the nearby mart in Enniskillen, until it was moved further out of the town.
“On a Thursday this bar would have been packed, and there would have been more cows sold here at the pub than actually in the mart yard.
“Obviously things change and move on, the marts dropped considerably and moved out the road and Dunnes Stores moved in.
“That in itself moved the whole centre of town down here.
The local businessman added that as Co Fermanagh natives, they hold a proud tradition and are delighted to have been backed by people in the town for decades.
“We’re Fermanagh people, born and bred and we’ve a good name right across the community.
“People say if you want a good meal, then go to the Horseshoe & Saddlers and that has stood to us.
“Everybody’s welcome within our premises and we just get on with doing what we can do to the best of our ability.”
Video: Harry Bateman
