Conor Devlin wanted to make just one change when he took over The Vernon Arms.
The 58-year-old was manager of the traditional Dale Street pub for a time, working under previous owners Jimmy and Barbara Monaghan. When Jimmy and Barbara announced their retirement in January this year, Conor, originally from Dungannon, County Tyrone, was a natural fit to become a proprietor.
Conor, who had been a regular at the pub long before he worked there, wanted to keep things almost exactly the same. But that it may not shock you that the only change the Irishman had in mind was for Guinness.
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He told the ECHO: “When I came over from Ireland I was surprised that there was only Guinness Extra Cold – it was a very strange thing and I couldn’t get my head around it. In Ireland the default is regular Guinness Then you can have it extra cold if you want.
“The first thing I did when I came in was get an extra tap of Guinness so we could make Guinness regularly. I wanted to turn the temperature up a few degrees – now it’s creamier, thicker and has more flavour.
“When someone walks into a bar and asks for a Guinness, I know who’s going to have a regular or a cold draft.
“If they’re Irish they’ll have regulars, if they’re from Liverpool and a bit older they’ll have regulars. The younger ones go for extra colds – we know what they’re going to have.”
“I drink Guinness so it must be good here. I keep watching.”
As any good homesteader would expect, Conor takes his beer seriously. The Vernon Arms is renowned for the quality and quantity of its cask ales and has been awarded CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) annually since 2009. Conor is passionate about real ale and wants to maintain that reputation.
He explained: “This is a real traditional pub. It’s exceptional to have something like this in the city center because it’s the last of a dying breed to have pubs like this in the city.”
“I don’t plan to change it, it’s working very well and I want to keep it that way. It’s declared a real ale, it just got the CAMRA LocAle 2024 award today. You’ll see above the bar, It’s been awarded every year since 2009.”
The pub has seven hand pumps in constant use and serves beer from all over the country. However, Conor is always keen to support local breweries and the Wirral Brimstage Brewery always sells particularly well.
He said: “Trapper’s Hat (a session beer) flies out – anything from Brimstage does. Brimstage is one of those breweries that you can drink after brewery.
“I don’t care what the drink is, it’s from Brimstage so I’ll have it. Their Oyster Catcher porter is amazing, they gave it to me last year as an exclusive.”
“They brew it seasonally, they stop it in April. I tried to convince them to continue because I can sell porter all year round – today I have porter.”
“It’s really important to support local beers. Brimstage would stand up to any beer in the country.
“Supporting local breweries is key – you have to do it. There are some fantastic beers nationally and we get them, but the local ones are top notch.
“We’re basically a real ale pub and I don’t think you can exist today if you’re just selling lagers. You have to make real ales.”
Vernon’s regulars include plenty of cask ale drinkers who feel right at home in its traditional surroundings. When he took over, Conor didn’t want to do anything to upset it.
“For me, it was just about keeping it open because it’s really, really important to the community and as a hub for people,” he said. “So I didn’t want to close the doors even for a single day – we managed to do that at the end of January, we took it over and kept it open.
“The real thing that I love is that the same faces come in. The same guy is sitting there and he comes in at this time of day and he’s sitting there. If I didn’t see those people, I’d be scared.”
“It’s kind of a home for people, it’s never changed so people still feel a part of it. The same people who have been coming for years still come at the same time, order the same thing, and sit in the same place. It’s one of those places where if it doesn’t happen, you’re going to be worried.”
Conor added: “I had a look the other day and there were two couples sitting there. They were in their 70s, it was a Tuesday night and they had a pint of real ale, Guinness and the ladies had a glass of wine.” .
“I just thought – we’re making it easy. They’re sitting here having a nice Tuesday night and we’re creating that environment for them. It’s really special, you know. It’s a beautiful thing to do.”
The Vernon is one of many historic pubs in Liverpool’s business district, Conor respects his neighbors and believes they all work well in harmony.
He said: “Our line is ‘Putting the ale in Dale Street’. The thing about this street is that it’s the only street in the country that has five bars in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide, no other street has that.
“You’ve got all these pubs and they’re all on one street. On a Friday, a lot of people start at the Ship & Miter and then work their way up and then back down. We’ve got all the pubs working together and this is a wonderful part of town to have a beer in.
“That’s something I really wanted to work with. It’s a beer district – having The Ship and The Excelsior nearby, where everyone’s making good beer, is good for all of us. That’s how it works, everyone likes pubs.
Being part of Liverpool’s central pub hub is something Conor has always wanted. Although his path to leading Vernon is far from conventional.
He explained: “I left Ireland over 30 years ago. I went to Belgium – my background is IT and I worked in the European institutions in Brussels.
“I kept going to Liverpool. Then I moved to London but I kept going to Liverpool. It was driving me crazy, I’d leave on Sundays but everyone was leaving – the day all the families got dressed.” got up and went out Sunday afternoon.
“All ages, youngsters, dads, grandads, they all come out. I was leaving it and going home so it really drove me crazy. So I thought – I’m moving to Liverpool and that’s what he was doing.”
The owner isn’t quite sure how he ended up swapping a career in IT for hospitality. But he thinks his family history has something to do with it.
He said: “I used to go here drinking and then the opportunity came up to run the place so I took it. I was thinking recently, maybe it’s in my DNA because my grandfather, who I’ve never met, actually had a bar in the docks of Belfast
“The docks were devastated in the Blitz in 1941, the whole area no longer exists, but my father grew up in that bar in Belfast, they’re publicans on my mother’s side too, so I guess it’s in my DNA. I’m lying there, oblivious.
“I pretty much retired two years ago, I thought I’d be idle.
“But the opportunity came up to take it over, so I jumped at it. It wasn’t planned at all, I had no idea I was going to do it, I didn’t mean to, but maybe the innkeeper in me woke up.” .”
A regular group of Vernons will be very glad that it did.
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