Ulster Tatler – June 2019

Lisburn, HiLLsborougH & Moira special focus

138

Location Electrics.com

Sound. Stage. Set. Light. Video. Broadcast

Location Electrics is a Craigavon based,

audio, video, lighting, and staging –

hire, sales and installation company.

Event services

all inclusive event packages, event

& production management

Installation services

system evaluation, design, installation,

training, maintenance & portable

appliance testing

Tel: 07766 618689

Email: [email protected]

18 Slievenaboley Road, Dromara BT25 2EN

Tel: 028 9753 2653 Mob: 078 7941 1334

DRAINAGE CONTRACTORS

PLANT AND MACHINERY HIRE

GROUNDWORK CONTRACTORS IN LISBURN

Herron Contractors Ltd ground works and

drainage services include:

• Underground Ducting • Harbour sea defences
  
  
  • Rock Breaking • Road Construction
    
    
    • Earthworks • Muck shifting
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

Love LocaL

Tell us a bit
about The
Speckled Hen
and its history.
The Speckled
Hen, known in
earlier times as
the Travellers
Rest and The
Village Inn, is
one of Ireland’s
oldest pubs
dating to at
least 1660. It is
claimed Daniel O’Connell, the Irish statesman,
stopped at the pub on one of his trips to
Belfast. In 1937 Will’s the English cigarette
company commissioned paintings for a set
of cigarette cards and the pub is featured on
card No11. During 2014 the pub was in the
process of closing down and so my Dad and I
decided to take the pub over and reinvent it.
My Dad came up with the name The Speckled
Hen. He recalled as a child his granny telling
him her speckled hens were very friendly
hens, they produced the best eggs and were
very tasty.

Tell us a bit about your job role and
describe a typical working day for you.
I am the manager and a part owner. As a
family business we are very hands on. In

addition to myself and my Dad, my mum

and uncle also work in the pub. Having

dropped the kids to school my day consists

of checking the premises are clean, that the

bars are stocked and dining rooms prepped

for service. I also work on menu planning and

team member rota. I liaise with the kitchen

with regard to event planning and brief the

team on menu specials, food and drink. I will

review bookings and arrange table allocation.

I also serve in the dining room and pub as I

believe it’s important to have close interaction

with our customers. It’s really satisfying to see

the great reviews we get. When we see a poor

review it just drives us on to try and do better.

What type of food does The Speckled Hen

offer?

We won a Pub Food of the Year award in

2018. Our aim is to offer a broad range of
      traditional pub food including an extensive
      range of small plates, sharing platters and
      pub classics. We also offer a large selection of
      vegetarian dishes and vegan options. During
      2017 we opened our Pod di Pizza and serve
      traditional stone baked pizza throughout the
      pub and its dining rooms. Where possible we
      use locally sourced ingredients. One of our
      most popular pub snacks is our Cheeky Chips.

What changes will you be making to the

menu for the upcoming summer months?

During May we introduced our refreshed

menu with an emphasis on lighter summer

fare. Seasonal vegetables and fruit are always

a key element of our evolving menus. Our

new sweets use lots of fresh fruit and local ice

creams.

Tell us a bit about the bar section of The

Speckled Hen? What makes it unique?

While the Hen’s Dining Room has a

contemporary feel the bar and Snug Dining

Room are very traditional. The seating and

tables are an eclectic mix of old Irish and

French country furniture. The walls and

shelves are piled up with old memorabilia

gathered up by my Dad or brought in by

customers. The bar serves a broad range of

draught beers and ciders. In addition we stock

over sixty bottled craft beers and thirty ciders.

The pub has its own brewery, The Black

Mountain Brewery which supplies a weekly

guest beer. During the summer it specialises

in fruit beers. We also produce our own

spirit range, The Hen’s Blend. It includes our

Derriaghy Irish Whiskey and Milltown Dry Gin

which is one of five gins we produce. The

most popular being our Strawberry & Lemon

Gin. The pub has a beer garden including

summer cabanas and a dining terrace. We are

in the process of developing a kitchen roof

garden.

Ulster Tatler’s Chloe Heaney chats to Kellie McIlroy, manager of The Speckled Hen in Lisburn.