Even in its glory days, Griffintown was what The Pogues would call a "dirty old town," a squalid, festering, carbuncle of a place, where contagious diseases flourished, lackadaisical plumbing oozed, labour strife simmered and political shenanigans reigned...

Source: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/thewest/Canada+Irish+made+their+mark/2679017/story.html