The Henighans Story
Although Henighans only opened in Little Lever in 2009, the Henighans
story starts many years ago.
Over 100 years before, the Horseshoe Inn opened its doors to the
people of Little Lever serving Hydes ales. Time passed and well-known
publicans such as the Greenhalghs and Entwistles came and went until
in 1982, Michael Henighan was offered the tenancy having missed out on
the Pack Horse at Affetside.
Michael was born in Heywood and raised in Prestwich, excelling at
school in football and running and upon leaving school started work as
an apprentice toolmaker. Visiting pubs in nearby Clifton he was
befriended by players from the nearby Foley Lane Juniors Rugby League
club and invited to play a few games. Despite never having touched a
rugby ball before, Michael was soon playing regularly for Foley Lane,
and graduated to Swinton Juniors when he reached 19. His performances
here led to Michael being invited to a trial with Salford and his
signing-on fee with Salford enabled him to put a deposit down on a
brand new house in Little Lever.
At this time, Rugby League was only semi-professional so Michael
carried on with his day job and his wages from playing rugby were a
bonus. A successful career in Rugby League took Michael to
Warrington, Swinton and Rochdale Hornets until he retired in 1977,
having played 281 games and scored 88 tries.
Towards the end of his career, Michael took over The Squirrel Inn in
Higher Ince, Wigan, running it from 1976-1980, a period in which he
freely admits he was 'learning the pub trade" and also branched out
into the haulage trade.
After leaving the Squirrel due to high rent increases, Michael
concentrated on his haulage business until the opportunity to take
over the Horseshoe Inn came up. The pub was run as a pure beer house,
and using the knowledge gained at The Squirrel, The 'shoe was soon the
place to be in Little Lever. 
The Horseshoe was the first pub in Little Lever to provide regular
discos and, later on, karaoke plus Fancy Dress, annual trips to the
Haydock Races and Blackpool and even weekend trips to Benidorm, it's
no wonder that people in the village still speak fondly of Mick
Henighan's Horseshoe Inn.
In 2000, rent increases forced Michael to give up the tenancy and the
pub had several tenants but none captured that Henighan magic. In
2008, the tenants left the pub and the building was boarded up.
Seemingly the story of the Horseshoe Inn was at an end.
In 2009, a local businessman from a Bolton brewing family bought the premises from Hydes 
Brewery
with the aim of reinvigorating the licensing trade in Little Lever.
Searching for an evocative name for the new pub, and hearing tales of
the heyday of the Horseshoe under Michael Henighan, the Henighans
brand was born. To create Henighans, the existing pub was gutted, stripped back to bare brick, internal walls removed and a bright, clean, airy space created.
Today, Michael Henighan is the patron of the bar, features prominently
on promotional material and hosts a popular Wednesday night quiz.
Michael describes the transformation of the old Horseshoe Inn to the
modern and bright Henighans Freehouse as 'delightful'.
The pub also has its own ghost. In the early 1900s a cellarman fell down the cellar steps, fatally hitting his head and since then an eerie presence has been felt in the cellar.
Under the management of Lyn Foster, who has 20 years experience in the trade, Henighans is flourishing and a bright future is assured.
Early in 2011, the owners of Henighans were offered the opportunity to purchase the Bulls Head pub in Breightmet. Commonly known as the Bottom Bull, the premises had fallen on hard times and a revamp was much needed. Seeing a gap in the market for a classy pub, a deal was soon struck and renovations were soon underway. In June 2011, Henighans Bottom Bull opened its doors and pulled its first Henighans Freehouse pint...following the familiar Henighans template it offers great service and regular live music...why not pop in and give it a try.
Are there any more Henighans pubs in the pipeline? Only time will tell...suffice to say, henighans.com will bring you the news before anyone else!