He stooped down to pull out a few boulders to retrieve the bar, next minute he found himself looking down to a vast series of underground chambers, passages and caverns.

News of his discovery quickly spread with large numbers of curious sightseers coming to visit this natural wonder. In order to preserve the caves natural state, guided tours were organised and for over one hundred years visitors were guided through the network of passageways by candlelight.

This might sound terribly romantic and adventurous, but was hardly an ideal day out for the faint-hearted. Electricity and footpaths were installed in 1972 making it the first cave in Ireland to be developed for the public.