Guinness

Guinness, brewing dynasty and one of Ireland's greatest commercial success stories of the 19th century. Arthur Guinness (1725–1803), son of a land agent from Co. Kildare, commenced brewing in Leixlip in 1756, and three years later took over a disused brewery at St James's Gate, Dublin. His son Arthur Guinness (1768–1858), inherited the brewery, along with his father's extensive flour milling interests. He became a director of the Bank of Ireland in 1808 and governor from 1820. Like his father a committed member of the Church of Ireland, and active in a range of philanthropic ventures, Arthur II supported Catholic emancipation and parliamentary reform, but declined to back O'Connell's repeal agitation. His son Benjamin Lee Guinness (1798–1868), created a baronet in 1867, was lord mayor of Dublin 1851 and Conservative MP for the city from 1865. He financed and directed the restoration of St Patrick's cathedral. On his death the business passed to his sons Arthur (now Sir Arthur) (1840–1915) and Edward Cecil (1847–1927). Sir Arthur withdrew in 1876. Created Baron Ardilaun in 1880, he devoted himself to public causes, including the restoration of Marsh's library and the Coombe hospital and the construction of artisans' dwellings. He was Conservative MP for Dublin 1868–9, 1874–80. Edward Cecil, manager of the company to 1889 and subsequently chairman of its board, also continued the family tradition of philanthropy, contributing almost £1 million to slum clearance and housing projects, as well as donations to medical and other causes. He was created Baron Iveagh in 1891.

Guinness's Dublin brewery initially produced ale and beer, to which by the 1790s it had added the darker drink porter. From the 1820s its better porters had begun to be described as ‘stout’, ‘double stout’, and later ‘triple stout’. Initially it produced mainly for the Dublin market, but English outlets expanded rapidly from the 1820s and by 1840 accounted for more than half of total sales. The period of most dramatic growth was from the 1850s. By increasing the scale of its operations, while retaining a high quality, and so reducing costs below those of its rivals, Guinness succeeded in extending sales in both the British and Irish markets. When it was incorporated as a public company in 1886, applications for shares totalled over £100,000,000, and by the 1930s it was among the seven largest companies in the world.

Bibliography

Lynch, Patrick, and and Vaizey, John , Guinness's Brewery in the Irish Economy 1759–1876 (1960)

Andrew Bielenberg/ and S. J. Connolly