Inside America's oldest Irish pub, where Houdini's old handcuffs are behind the bar

Inside America's oldest Irish pub, where triangles left behind by WWI soldiers who never returned hang from the ceiling and Houdini's handcuffs have pride of place behind the bar at McSorley's Old Ale House in New York opened in 1854. light beer, with two mugs for $7 The pub allowed women in in 1970 and a women's toilet was installed in 1986

By Sadie Whitelocks for Dailymail.com

Posted: 18:05 GMT, 11 Mar 2023 | Updated: 18:07 GMT, 11 Mar 2023

Wornwood, dim lighting, the dizzying smell of beer and the crunch of sawdust underfoot.

Step through the weathered swinging doors of McSorley's Old Ale House in New York's East Village is like stepping back in time.

In fact, not much has changed since this characterful pub first opened in 1854 - apart from the fact that women are now allowed, there is electricity and the invention of the deep fryer meant fries and breaded fish were added to the menu to complement the usual array of liverwurst, cheese, soup and sandwiches.

DailyMail.com stumbled into McSorley's, which prides itself on being America's oldest Irish pub at the age of 169, and got a visit from current owner, Teresa de la Haba, 53.

The New Yorker started out as the pub's very first female bartender at the age of 24, under the watchful eye of his father Matty Maher, who bought the place in 1977.< /p> ...