Lily's Blog

Today 24th September, celebrations are planned around the world to celebrate 250 years since Arthur Guinness first went into business.

At one minute to six, the actual time of the historical signing of the lease in 1759, the event will be marked by raising glasses of the black stuff. The Dublin celebrations will centre at St James’s Gate.

Guinness’ brewery was founded when Arthur Guinness secured a 9,000 year lease on the St James’s Gate site, on the River Liffey. At first, Guinness was only sold in Dublin but the growing network of canals was used to send it all over Ireland. By the end of the nineteenth century, St James’s Gate was the largest brewery in the world. The brewery is now owned by Diageo.

Guinness had a reputation as an excellent employer. The Dublin of the time was pretty grim and a job in Guinness changed family lives.

The building where we studied Microbiology at Trinity, the Moyne Institute, was presented to the College in 1953 by Grania Guinness in memory of her father, the first Baron Moyne. Many may know this unusual shaped building beside the Pavillion at the Lincoln Place end of the college.

Today’s celebrations include setting up ‘The Arthur Guinness Fund’ to support social entrepreneurship. The fund builds on the long legacy of the Guinness family in the area of philanthropy and it is hoped to raise up to €2.5m over the next few months.