The first illustrated social history of the St James' Gate Brewery, including in-depth discussion of the major contribution made by the Guinness company to the welfare of its staff and the wider community. Introduction by Finbarr Flood, a former director of Guinness.
There is no other company, industry or premises more closely aligned - indeed almost synonymous - with its home town than Guinness, St James' Gate brewery and Dublin city. From the company's modest beginnings in 1759 to its heyday in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and its continued strength into the twenty-first century, Guinness has had an enormous influence over the city's economic, social and cultural life.
In this extensive illustrated study, Tony Corcoran examines the magnitude of the brewery's operation, and the working lives of the thousands of Dubliners who depended on Guinness for their livelihood, either directly or indirectly. The company's extremely progressive treatment of its workers - in terms of health, training and housing - is revealed in detail, as is the Guinness family's philanthropy and compassion towards the less wealthy residents of the city. The book is a labour of love, full of anecdote, humour and historical insights into one of Dublin's most renowned, best-loved institutions- a company that's become inextricably intertwined with Irishness.
About the author: If you were to prick Tony Corcoran's index finger, he might bleed the black stuff. Both his grandparents joined Guinness in 1891, his father later in 1924, and he followed in their footsteps. Tony spent 38 years working in Guinness, working in the highly specialised brewing area. His career prospered, and he took on a growing responsibility for staff training, becoming training manager. On retiring from the company in 1996, he decided to mine the company's extensive archive in order to chart the brewery's history, growth and, in particular, its progressive approach to staff welfare.
ISBN: 978-0954533571
- 7 Rathfarnham Road
- Terenure
- Dublin
- 6W
- IRL
