Have you been in a Scruffy Murphy's before? This one is unusual in that it's just like all the farging rest of them. Van Morrison piped music establishes this as a genuine Oirish bar. Guiness on tap. Beamish for the Catholics. Oirish bar staff. James Joyce books on shelves, to be sure. Really, you could be in Dublin. Or Barnsley. Drink too often in here and you'll soon be sending money to the UVF.
I recently revisited, and idly wondered when it will all change and how much it will cost. A TV blared away as background noise, nobody watching it. Bar staff lounged bored at the top of the bar. A few students sat around looking as if they were sure better things were happening somewhere else. I reckon poor old Scruffy will soon be resting in peace, gone and best forgotten.
