It's changing times for Dublin City...
"Dublin's last iconic factory to become real estate After 249 years, tracts of the brewery are to be sold to developers.
THE SIGHTS, sounds and smells of the Guinness brewery at St James's Gate in Dublin have been part and parcel of the Liberties for nearly 250 years - ever since Arthur Guinness himself first secured a 9,000-year lease on four acres of ground in 1759 for an annual rent of £45, including water rights.
The brewery has expanded substantially since then and now occupies 64 acres on either side of Thomas Street, stretching down to Victoria Quay on the River Liffey. It was from here that the Guinness barges transported kegs of stout downriver to the Lady Patricia and Lady Gwendolyn, moored at City Quay.
The vast brewery has its own theatre and swimming pool, as well as the tracks of a narrow-gauge railway that once served the site. It still has its own power station to fuel the production of over 50 million barrels (nearly 83 million hectolitres) of beer - including Guinness Extra Stout, proudly brewed at "James's Gate Dublin".
At one stage, the brewery employed as many as 4,000 people and, although the number has fallen to a fraction with the onset of automation, Guinness remains the largest employer in the Liberties - but that's now likely to change.
The inner city lost Jacob's biscuit factory, the Powers and Jameson distilleries and many other traditional industries, and now St James's Gate is to be "consolidated", with a new brewery to be built on a greenfield site.
Powers and Jameson went to Middleton, Co Cork, and a replacement distillery that resembles a chemical plant.
A new "state-of-the-art" brewhouse is to be developed at St James's Gate, and much of the rest of the site will be sold off. But the visitor centre will stay. This nine-storey Chicago-style warehouse was converted into the Guinness Storehouse in 2000 and, drawn by the Gravity Bar, tourists have flocked to it in huge numbers. Even by 2004, the storehouse had welcomed two million visitors and it is it now "Ireland's No 1 visitor attraction", as Diageo notes.
The Gravity Bar, with its panoramic views over the city, has also hosted numerous functions, including the 30th birthday party of Rory Guinness, younger brother of the current earl of Iveagh.
The storehouse is a protected structure, listed in the Dublin City Development Plan, as are several other buildings in the brewery, particularly along Thomas Street. Whatever development takes place on the site, these buildings will have to be retained - though many would be suitable for conversion into loft-style apartments.
Even if only half the site is sold, it would be one of the largest areas to come up for redevelopment in recent years. Its long frontage on Victoria Quay is a largely blank wall, protecting a huge marshalling yard for beer trucks. This could be a prime development site, particularly because of its proximity to Heuston station, Dublin's main transport hub.
Coincidentally, the Harp brewery in Dundalk (also known as the Great Northern Brewery) is located right next to the town's railway station on the Dublin-Belfast main line. The Smithwick's brewery in Kilkenny also occupies a town centre site between Parliament Street and the River Nore, and includes the ruins of a Franciscan friary.
Because of the sheer scale of the Guinness site in Dublin, it is clear that a detailed local area plan would have to be prepared by the city council's planners before any development gets under way.
This would be on the scale of a city quarter, which will hopefully retain such amenities as the swimming pool and Rupert Guinness Theatre.
Any planning scheme would also have to take account of Iarnród Éireann's proposed underground rail link between Heuston station and Spencer Dock, as it would traverse the site on its way to High Street, St Stephen's Green and Westland Row, before crossing beneath the Liffey to Spencer Dock."Irish Times
Here's a short video tour, that I like, of Guinness James's Gate Brewery:
So now it's...
"Hops, skip and a jump...
Guinness goes back to its Kildare roots
IT'S coming home. After more than 250 years, Guinness has announced it is to return to its Kildare roots to build its new flagship brewery.
And remarkably, the firm has had to turn to the Guinness family's descendants for the land on which it will build the facility, due to open in 2013.
More readily associated with Dublin and St James's Gate, Guinness in fact began life in Leixlip's Ralph Street, with the River Liffey running behind the stone brewing halls.
The new brewery, part of a €650m scheme to modernise the firm, will be owner Diageo's biggest site in the world and will be known as The Arthur Guinness Brewery.
The St James's Gate site in Dublin will be modernised, and will continue to make Guinness for the Irish and British market.
The Guinness family is selling 50 acres to Diageo, while Kildare County Council will provide the remaining 20 for 70-acre Leixlip site.
Yesterday, Desmond Guinness, the son of former brewer Bryan Guinness, who has lived in Leixlip Castle since 1958, said he was "awfully proud" Diageo had decided to turn to its past in order to build its future.
"The news is just wonderful," he told the Irish Independent.
"It means the strong historical roots between the Guinness name and Leixlip will endure for generations to come."
Mr Desmond's granddaughter Jasmine got married in Leixlip, in July 2006, to Gawain O'Dare Rainey, in a wedding featured in Hello! magazine.
Arthur Guinness was born in 1725, most probably at Celbridge according to family and company records, where his father worked for the Archbishop of Cashel.
"It has frequently been suggested that both Arthur and his father had made beer at Celbridge for the Archbishop and in this way learned the "art and mystery" of brewing, the company said yesterday.
"Arthur honed his brewing skills between 1752 and 1755. In a suit in the Irish Court of Chancery dated September 11, 1755, in which he is the defendant, he is described as 'Arthur Guinness of Leixlip, Co Kildare, brewer'."
The new facility will be state-of-the-art, but back then Arthur had to make do with a riverside well and barley from nearby farms. Hops were brought in bales from Dublin.
In 1759, Arthur left the Leixlip brewery in the hands of his brother Richard and moved to Dublin. There, on the December 31, 1759 he obtained the famous lease for St James's Gate.
Now, the story has come full circle. Brian Duffy, chairman of Diageo Ireland said: "Not only are we demonstrating our commitment to Ireland, we are also staying true to the roots and heritage of the Guinness brand and Arthur himself." Irish Independent
Slainte!
"Dublin's last iconic factory to become real estate After 249 years, tracts of the brewery are to be sold to developers.
THE SIGHTS, sounds and smells of the Guinness brewery at St James's Gate in Dublin have been part and parcel of the Liberties for nearly 250 years - ever since Arthur Guinness himself first secured a 9,000-year lease on four acres of ground in 1759 for an annual rent of £45, including water rights.
The brewery has expanded substantially since then and now occupies 64 acres on either side of Thomas Street, stretching down to Victoria Quay on the River Liffey. It was from here that the Guinness barges transported kegs of stout downriver to the Lady Patricia and Lady Gwendolyn, moored at City Quay.
The vast brewery has its own theatre and swimming pool, as well as the tracks of a narrow-gauge railway that once served the site. It still has its own power station to fuel the production of over 50 million barrels (nearly 83 million hectolitres) of beer - including Guinness Extra Stout, proudly brewed at "James's Gate Dublin".
At one stage, the brewery employed as many as 4,000 people and, although the number has fallen to a fraction with the onset of automation, Guinness remains the largest employer in the Liberties - but that's now likely to change.
The inner city lost Jacob's biscuit factory, the Powers and Jameson distilleries and many other traditional industries, and now St James's Gate is to be "consolidated", with a new brewery to be built on a greenfield site.
Powers and Jameson went to Middleton, Co Cork, and a replacement distillery that resembles a chemical plant.
A new "state-of-the-art" brewhouse is to be developed at St James's Gate, and much of the rest of the site will be sold off. But the visitor centre will stay. This nine-storey Chicago-style warehouse was converted into the Guinness Storehouse in 2000 and, drawn by the Gravity Bar, tourists have flocked to it in huge numbers. Even by 2004, the storehouse had welcomed two million visitors and it is it now "Ireland's No 1 visitor attraction", as Diageo notes.
The Gravity Bar, with its panoramic views over the city, has also hosted numerous functions, including the 30th birthday party of Rory Guinness, younger brother of the current earl of Iveagh.
The storehouse is a protected structure, listed in the Dublin City Development Plan, as are several other buildings in the brewery, particularly along Thomas Street. Whatever development takes place on the site, these buildings will have to be retained - though many would be suitable for conversion into loft-style apartments.
Even if only half the site is sold, it would be one of the largest areas to come up for redevelopment in recent years. Its long frontage on Victoria Quay is a largely blank wall, protecting a huge marshalling yard for beer trucks. This could be a prime development site, particularly because of its proximity to Heuston station, Dublin's main transport hub.
Coincidentally, the Harp brewery in Dundalk (also known as the Great Northern Brewery) is located right next to the town's railway station on the Dublin-Belfast main line. The Smithwick's brewery in Kilkenny also occupies a town centre site between Parliament Street and the River Nore, and includes the ruins of a Franciscan friary.
Because of the sheer scale of the Guinness site in Dublin, it is clear that a detailed local area plan would have to be prepared by the city council's planners before any development gets under way.
This would be on the scale of a city quarter, which will hopefully retain such amenities as the swimming pool and Rupert Guinness Theatre.
Any planning scheme would also have to take account of Iarnród Éireann's proposed underground rail link between Heuston station and Spencer Dock, as it would traverse the site on its way to High Street, St Stephen's Green and Westland Row, before crossing beneath the Liffey to Spencer Dock."Irish Times
Here's a short video tour, that I like, of Guinness James's Gate Brewery:
So now it's...
"Hops, skip and a jump...
Guinness goes back to its Kildare roots
IT'S coming home. After more than 250 years, Guinness has announced it is to return to its Kildare roots to build its new flagship brewery.
And remarkably, the firm has had to turn to the Guinness family's descendants for the land on which it will build the facility, due to open in 2013.
More readily associated with Dublin and St James's Gate, Guinness in fact began life in Leixlip's Ralph Street, with the River Liffey running behind the stone brewing halls.
The new brewery, part of a €650m scheme to modernise the firm, will be owner Diageo's biggest site in the world and will be known as The Arthur Guinness Brewery.
The St James's Gate site in Dublin will be modernised, and will continue to make Guinness for the Irish and British market.
The Guinness family is selling 50 acres to Diageo, while Kildare County Council will provide the remaining 20 for 70-acre Leixlip site.
Yesterday, Desmond Guinness, the son of former brewer Bryan Guinness, who has lived in Leixlip Castle since 1958, said he was "awfully proud" Diageo had decided to turn to its past in order to build its future.
"The news is just wonderful," he told the Irish Independent.
"It means the strong historical roots between the Guinness name and Leixlip will endure for generations to come."
Mr Desmond's granddaughter Jasmine got married in Leixlip, in July 2006, to Gawain O'Dare Rainey, in a wedding featured in Hello! magazine.
Arthur Guinness was born in 1725, most probably at Celbridge according to family and company records, where his father worked for the Archbishop of Cashel.
"It has frequently been suggested that both Arthur and his father had made beer at Celbridge for the Archbishop and in this way learned the "art and mystery" of brewing, the company said yesterday.
"Arthur honed his brewing skills between 1752 and 1755. In a suit in the Irish Court of Chancery dated September 11, 1755, in which he is the defendant, he is described as 'Arthur Guinness of Leixlip, Co Kildare, brewer'."
The new facility will be state-of-the-art, but back then Arthur had to make do with a riverside well and barley from nearby farms. Hops were brought in bales from Dublin.
In 1759, Arthur left the Leixlip brewery in the hands of his brother Richard and moved to Dublin. There, on the December 31, 1759 he obtained the famous lease for St James's Gate.
Now, the story has come full circle. Brian Duffy, chairman of Diageo Ireland said: "Not only are we demonstrating our commitment to Ireland, we are also staying true to the roots and heritage of the Guinness brand and Arthur himself." Irish Independent
Slainte!