I was a member of what was perhaps the last year of undergraduates to have known the old Lincoln’s Inn. Apart form the clever joke, the best thing about that pub was that, inside its purple-and-white livery, it was an uncompromisingly dingy pub. The important thing was that it was a friendly, uncompromisingly dingy pub. It was really a hole, I suspect the moss on the roof was the decider, and fate was sealed.

The Licoln re-opened recently with a new décor - it charges €6.70 a pint, and the secret door from the Statistics Dept. is gone. I think the technical term is ’nuff said.

Many refugees found a reasonable shelter in Mahaffy’s, named for the celebrated Egyptologist, John Pentland Mahaffy, friend and mentor of Oscar Wilde.

Mahaffy’s was also a home to gamers for many years, and a literal home to Computer Science postgrads, who lived in the apartments above the pub. There was even a direction antenna built
from a pringle can on the roof.

After the owner of Mahaffy’s, a man named Paddy (I think), died, there was a need to refurbish the building, which is listed as protected. Despite a recent renovation, and new tape on the seats, the watering hole’s clientele moved away from TCD and towards locals.

Most recently, Mahaffy’s has been re-renovated once again. The paintwork is rather nice, but there is one glaring problem:

The name. Mahaffy’s memory is gone, in favour of a new name, the Lombard, complete with a white square.

I am sorry to bring grim news to you, my friends, and I hope the shock will not cause too many womenfolk to swoon in dangerous places.

As soon as I have the chance, I will post a review.