Guinness

One of the many light-hearted advertisements for Ireland's most famous export. Founded in 1759, the Guinness Brewery in Dublin is one of the largest in Europe, and it dominates the market for the famous dark ale, or porter.

Irish brewing family who produced the dark, creamy stout of the same name. In 1752 Arthur Guinness (1725–1803) inherited £100 and used it to set up a brewery in Leixlip, County Kildare, which was moved to Dublin in 1759. The business grew under his son Arthur (1767–1855) and under Arthur's son Benjamin (1798–1868), who developed an export market in the USA and Europe. In 1997 Guinness merged with Grand Metropolitan to form Diageo plc.

In the 1980s, the family interest in the business declined to no more than 5% as the company expanded by taking over large and established firms such as Bells in 1985 and Distillers in 1986 (the takeover of the latter led to a trial in 1990).