|
'My Goodness My Guinness'
|
“My Goodness my Guinness”.
My earliest memories of the existence of Guinness in Dublin was in the 60’s, I remember the strange aroma which lay heavy in the air around the City. The intensity of this fragrance depended on the wind direction. As a young child living in the shadow of the lofty Christchurch cathedral and within a short distance of the St James Gate brewery, these aroma’s were every present. On enquiring, my Mother told me of the origin of the aroma and explained that it was part of the brewing process that takes place up in the brewery on James Street. She also spoke of the many people who worked in the brewery from the neighbourhood, and she was always very complimentary of the working conditions of the brewery. She always said "they looked after them well"! It was not just the employees who were the beneficiary of Lord Iveagh, his generosity provided housing, hostels and markets for the people of Dublin. When you lived in Dublin your awareness of the Guinness family the brand and the organisation it is always present in daily life and they have left some powerful legacies in Dublin.
Back in the early 60’s we regularly walked from our home on St. Michaels Hill to Arbour Hill in Stoneybatter to visit my grandparents my Mothers Mam and Dad, they had movedto Arbour Hill some years ago from St Michaels Hill. On our journey to Arbour Hill my mother would stop to allow me to see the Guinness Barges as they puffed along on the river Liffey. Looking through the balustrades of Winetavern Street Bridge or along the Liffey walls. The barges passed gently under the bridge billowing smoke from their stacks on their way to and from the port of Dublin, you were always sure that someone on board would return your hand gesture as they puffed on by. This was further evidence of the existence and the impact that the Guinness Company has on our city of Dublin.
In Arbour Hill my Grandad would often take me to Walsh’s public house which was his local pub, this pub still exists today. The interior of the bar has not changed much over the years but gone are the long black taps with brass embezzled tips used to dispense the black liquid. I remember sitting at the bar propped up on a high stool with glass of blackcurrant in my hand watching the barman craft the pint he never hurried he had all the time in the world, while he made conversation with his customers. After the correct time had passed he would top the pint off and ceremonially present it on the bar.
My Grandad was the first to educated me on the correct method of dispensing a pint of Guinness. He would always allowed me a “sup” of his pint as he would call it, defending his actions later to my Mam later telling her that it was good for me, “sure it will kill the worms” he would add. I was quite concerned about these worms but never explored the detail, thinking its best leave sleeping dogs lie for fear I would never get that “sup” again from the top of his pint.
The dark blue livery of the delivery trucks packed with kegs could be seen around Dublin on route to pubs around the city of Dublin and further out into the country. I remember the Guinness train with the Blue coloured steam engine which ran from the Brewery yard next to the Nurses home of Dr Stevens Hospital to the goods yard of Kingsbridge now Hueston station, it puffed along the Johns Road West with a flagman walking in front of the train as it whistled its way along the roadway.
My earliest memories of the existence of Guinness in Dublin was in the 60’s, I remember the strange aroma which lay heavy in the air around the City. The intensity of this fragrance depended on the wind direction. As a young child living in the shadow of the lofty Christchurch cathedral and within a short distance of the St James Gate brewery, these aroma’s were every present. On enquiring, my Mother told me of the origin of the aroma and explained that it was part of the brewing process that takes place up in the brewery on James Street. She also spoke of the many people who worked in the brewery from the neighbourhood, and she was always very complimentary of the working conditions of the brewery. She always said "they looked after them well"! It was not just the employees who were the beneficiary of Lord Iveagh, his generosity provided housing, hostels and markets for the people of Dublin. When you lived in Dublin your awareness of the Guinness family the brand and the organisation it is always present in daily life and they have left some powerful legacies in Dublin.
Back in the early 60’s we regularly walked from our home on St. Michaels Hill to Arbour Hill in Stoneybatter to visit my grandparents my Mothers Mam and Dad, they had movedto Arbour Hill some years ago from St Michaels Hill. On our journey to Arbour Hill my mother would stop to allow me to see the Guinness Barges as they puffed along on the river Liffey. Looking through the balustrades of Winetavern Street Bridge or along the Liffey walls. The barges passed gently under the bridge billowing smoke from their stacks on their way to and from the port of Dublin, you were always sure that someone on board would return your hand gesture as they puffed on by. This was further evidence of the existence and the impact that the Guinness Company has on our city of Dublin.
In Arbour Hill my Grandad would often take me to Walsh’s public house which was his local pub, this pub still exists today. The interior of the bar has not changed much over the years but gone are the long black taps with brass embezzled tips used to dispense the black liquid. I remember sitting at the bar propped up on a high stool with glass of blackcurrant in my hand watching the barman craft the pint he never hurried he had all the time in the world, while he made conversation with his customers. After the correct time had passed he would top the pint off and ceremonially present it on the bar.
My Grandad was the first to educated me on the correct method of dispensing a pint of Guinness. He would always allowed me a “sup” of his pint as he would call it, defending his actions later to my Mam later telling her that it was good for me, “sure it will kill the worms” he would add. I was quite concerned about these worms but never explored the detail, thinking its best leave sleeping dogs lie for fear I would never get that “sup” again from the top of his pint.
The dark blue livery of the delivery trucks packed with kegs could be seen around Dublin on route to pubs around the city of Dublin and further out into the country. I remember the Guinness train with the Blue coloured steam engine which ran from the Brewery yard next to the Nurses home of Dr Stevens Hospital to the goods yard of Kingsbridge now Hueston station, it puffed along the Johns Road West with a flagman walking in front of the train as it whistled its way along the roadway.
I was lucky that my mother had a good friend whose husband worked at the at St. James Gate brewery, I was a friend of their son which brought many benefits. One such treat was using the facilities of the excellent Guinness swimming pool on Watling Street. Each year the Guinness workers staged a gala concert in the Rupert Guinness hall after Christmas, tickets for this free show were always in big demand, I was privileged to attend with my mother compliments of her friend’s husband. It was always a great night of fun and entertainment, I will always remember the guy whose act was to whistling to a musical piece, we always thought he stole the show.
In the late 60’s my friend and I discovered the Guinness Visitors centre which was based on James Street directly facing the iconic St. James Gate. Today the building is occupied by a branch of the Bank of Ireland. On our way to the Guinness swimming pool we had noticed a lot of activity of people coming and going in and out of this building. This aroused our curiosity so decided to explore what happened at the Guinness visitor centre . So it was on a Wednesday afternoon as we had the afternoon off school we decided to venture inside the Visitors Centre building, we were amazed at the brightness and grandeur of its interior. There was great hustle and bustle and noise present all around, we noticed that the majority of the people’s accents indicated that they were from the United States of America. As we surveyed the inner depths of this building we were looking for a direction of what our next move should be. We felt uncomfortable not knowing if we should even be there in the first place. Suddenly out of no were a voice enquired of us, “where are you going”? Looking up we discover a rather large tall uniformed man standing over us, fear that the game was over started to creep in to our minds as we were unsure if this gig was for us mere mortals.
Our fears were abandoned when he continued his address to us “we are about to depart for the 2.30 tour if your coming follow me”! “Wow” we breathed a sigh of relief, and with haste we proceeded to follow him thought the entrance door that we had entered only minutes earlier. We were off on what was to be a great adventure into the unknown depths of the Guinness brewery. Back then the Guinness factory visit featured a walking tour of the complete brewery.
We stuck very close to the guide who seemed to take a special interest in us, and while waiting to cross the road he enquiry if we had been on the tour previously to which we replied “No”. The guide then proceeded to ask everyone were they came from it was at this time we found that we were the only Irish people on the tour, everyone else were from the U.S. He directed the question at us, “and where do you lads come from”? To which we answered with an air of pride “Dublin”! This resulted in a loud laugh from the group. He then continued to ask the same question of the rest of the group. Then flowed the litany of place names in response to his question Boston, New York, Philadelphia and so many other U.S. states some were less familiar to us. We were only aware of these far away places from our Geography lessons at school or from the U.S. shows we had seen on television,. The tour proceeded to cross the road on James Street and forward to the main entrance of the brewery at St James Gate. This was our first time to enter this famous gateway to the brewery on that warm and sunny afternoon, "We were in"!
The tour took us to the inner most parts of the brewery which allowed us exposure to the complete brewing process from the grain to bottle or keg, with a great emphasis on the history of the drink and the Guinness company. I remember the great heat, moisture noise and sometimes calm as we were lead thought the plant. Who was this guy Arthur? Where did he come from? What was his claim to fame? Our questions were answered as the tour proceeded. Yes! There were questions and we got our fair share of them as we weaved our way around the many buildings that made up the brewery plant. Towards the end of the tour we approached the Watling Street gate, and here we came in sight of that big imposing tower as you look up that steep hill on Watling Street. We had passed that tower for many years it was almost invisible to us and held no special place in our life. It was at this point that we were informed by the guide that we were at the conclusion of the tour and he went on to extend an invitation to the members of the group to taste the finished product “Guinness”! But he gazed at us Lads and informed us “I am sorry you won’t get to try it the Guinness today” because of we were too young. Well! you would think all our lives had come to an end, having enjoyed the tour so much had unmerciful urge! on us to taste the “Guinness”!
We were feeling it was all a bit of an anti-climax, and we were not going to get the opportunity to taste the black stuff. This is when the guide pounced with his final question addressed to the lad’s from Dublin “Do you see that tower up there” to which we replied Yes! “Can you tell me who is the figure standing on top of that tower”? Panic set in as we squinted and scanned the top of the tower. Yes there was a figure there on top of the tower as we concentrated it became more visible “Its Saint Patrick the patron saint of Ireland” I said. To which I received a hearty round of applause, and to our surprise the guide invited us to into the building along with the group and we were treated to a glass of cold orange juice. I always look back on that initial visit to the Guinness Brewery which is etched on my memory and I will always remember the first time I passed through St James Gate, adjacent to that tower on which an image of St Patrick stood.
The next engagement I had with the Brewery was in the early 70’s when I spent nearly two year working as an apprentice electrician for a contractor working on the construction of the bottling hall near Victoria Quay end of the complex. Although based in that area I also got to work on other projects in other parts of the brewery and hence got to explore the vast area of that this factory covered. I also got to enjoy the cuisine in the Brewery Canteen in the building known as Bellevue, for a mere 5pence you were treated to a hearty meal this certainly was a token sum and was a further demonstration of Guinness as a caring employer.
In the late 60’s my friend and I discovered the Guinness Visitors centre which was based on James Street directly facing the iconic St. James Gate. Today the building is occupied by a branch of the Bank of Ireland. On our way to the Guinness swimming pool we had noticed a lot of activity of people coming and going in and out of this building. This aroused our curiosity so decided to explore what happened at the Guinness visitor centre . So it was on a Wednesday afternoon as we had the afternoon off school we decided to venture inside the Visitors Centre building, we were amazed at the brightness and grandeur of its interior. There was great hustle and bustle and noise present all around, we noticed that the majority of the people’s accents indicated that they were from the United States of America. As we surveyed the inner depths of this building we were looking for a direction of what our next move should be. We felt uncomfortable not knowing if we should even be there in the first place. Suddenly out of no were a voice enquired of us, “where are you going”? Looking up we discover a rather large tall uniformed man standing over us, fear that the game was over started to creep in to our minds as we were unsure if this gig was for us mere mortals.
Our fears were abandoned when he continued his address to us “we are about to depart for the 2.30 tour if your coming follow me”! “Wow” we breathed a sigh of relief, and with haste we proceeded to follow him thought the entrance door that we had entered only minutes earlier. We were off on what was to be a great adventure into the unknown depths of the Guinness brewery. Back then the Guinness factory visit featured a walking tour of the complete brewery.
We stuck very close to the guide who seemed to take a special interest in us, and while waiting to cross the road he enquiry if we had been on the tour previously to which we replied “No”. The guide then proceeded to ask everyone were they came from it was at this time we found that we were the only Irish people on the tour, everyone else were from the U.S. He directed the question at us, “and where do you lads come from”? To which we answered with an air of pride “Dublin”! This resulted in a loud laugh from the group. He then continued to ask the same question of the rest of the group. Then flowed the litany of place names in response to his question Boston, New York, Philadelphia and so many other U.S. states some were less familiar to us. We were only aware of these far away places from our Geography lessons at school or from the U.S. shows we had seen on television,. The tour proceeded to cross the road on James Street and forward to the main entrance of the brewery at St James Gate. This was our first time to enter this famous gateway to the brewery on that warm and sunny afternoon, "We were in"!
The tour took us to the inner most parts of the brewery which allowed us exposure to the complete brewing process from the grain to bottle or keg, with a great emphasis on the history of the drink and the Guinness company. I remember the great heat, moisture noise and sometimes calm as we were lead thought the plant. Who was this guy Arthur? Where did he come from? What was his claim to fame? Our questions were answered as the tour proceeded. Yes! There were questions and we got our fair share of them as we weaved our way around the many buildings that made up the brewery plant. Towards the end of the tour we approached the Watling Street gate, and here we came in sight of that big imposing tower as you look up that steep hill on Watling Street. We had passed that tower for many years it was almost invisible to us and held no special place in our life. It was at this point that we were informed by the guide that we were at the conclusion of the tour and he went on to extend an invitation to the members of the group to taste the finished product “Guinness”! But he gazed at us Lads and informed us “I am sorry you won’t get to try it the Guinness today” because of we were too young. Well! you would think all our lives had come to an end, having enjoyed the tour so much had unmerciful urge! on us to taste the “Guinness”!
We were feeling it was all a bit of an anti-climax, and we were not going to get the opportunity to taste the black stuff. This is when the guide pounced with his final question addressed to the lad’s from Dublin “Do you see that tower up there” to which we replied Yes! “Can you tell me who is the figure standing on top of that tower”? Panic set in as we squinted and scanned the top of the tower. Yes there was a figure there on top of the tower as we concentrated it became more visible “Its Saint Patrick the patron saint of Ireland” I said. To which I received a hearty round of applause, and to our surprise the guide invited us to into the building along with the group and we were treated to a glass of cold orange juice. I always look back on that initial visit to the Guinness Brewery which is etched on my memory and I will always remember the first time I passed through St James Gate, adjacent to that tower on which an image of St Patrick stood.
The next engagement I had with the Brewery was in the early 70’s when I spent nearly two year working as an apprentice electrician for a contractor working on the construction of the bottling hall near Victoria Quay end of the complex. Although based in that area I also got to work on other projects in other parts of the brewery and hence got to explore the vast area of that this factory covered. I also got to enjoy the cuisine in the Brewery Canteen in the building known as Bellevue, for a mere 5pence you were treated to a hearty meal this certainly was a token sum and was a further demonstration of Guinness as a caring employer.
The daily beer allowance, now this was another story, every morning a list of the names was taken, of the workers from the many contractors on site. As we gathered for the morning tea break an employee of the brewery would stick his head through the door to count and confirm the names on the list, they nicknamed him “the beer bug”. As I was an apprentice and under age at the time I was not allowed to take advantage of this beer allowance but the foreman always allowed me to take some home to the family. My uncle who was a Guinness drinker was always the beneficiary of this beer allowance and he enjoyed the freshly brewed Guinness nectar as my neither my Father or Mother drank alcohol.
Each morning after the completion of the tea break I would take a trip over to collect the daily beer allowance, complete with the empty bottles from the previous day. It was a requirement that you have a full complement of empty bottles to avail of the daily allowance, if you were short empty bottles not you would not receive the full beer allocation that day. Some of the guys brought the beer home and would not be attentive in returning the empty bottles, this would create a problem as this shortage of empties resulted in less beer for the boys. As the youngest apprentice I would was sent on missions to acquire empty bottles to make up the shortage.
I searched the brewery each day for the elusive empties which sometimes took me to the extreme limits of the plant, I unearthed some real unusual empty beer bottles some that had not contained the black liquid for many years. When I returned these bottles I was greeted with great amazement by the Beer Bug and his colleagues, at first they questioned the source of the bottles but later they anxiously awaited my arrival with the treasured old bottles. When I found and delivered an unusual bottle they would comment that they must show this one to Paddy or Mike, and a mystique would reign on these important finds. This resulted in the growth of a strong relationship which led to a relaxing of any shortfall in the required amount of empty bottles, generosity was the order of the day. I was hailed a hero by the lads and and won some respect because I delivered a full compliment of beer daily.
Each morning after the completion of the tea break I would take a trip over to collect the daily beer allowance, complete with the empty bottles from the previous day. It was a requirement that you have a full complement of empty bottles to avail of the daily allowance, if you were short empty bottles not you would not receive the full beer allocation that day. Some of the guys brought the beer home and would not be attentive in returning the empty bottles, this would create a problem as this shortage of empties resulted in less beer for the boys. As the youngest apprentice I would was sent on missions to acquire empty bottles to make up the shortage.
I searched the brewery each day for the elusive empties which sometimes took me to the extreme limits of the plant, I unearthed some real unusual empty beer bottles some that had not contained the black liquid for many years. When I returned these bottles I was greeted with great amazement by the Beer Bug and his colleagues, at first they questioned the source of the bottles but later they anxiously awaited my arrival with the treasured old bottles. When I found and delivered an unusual bottle they would comment that they must show this one to Paddy or Mike, and a mystique would reign on these important finds. This resulted in the growth of a strong relationship which led to a relaxing of any shortfall in the required amount of empty bottles, generosity was the order of the day. I was hailed a hero by the lads and and won some respect because I delivered a full compliment of beer daily.
The unusual type empty bottle supply eventually became exhausted, I have often wondered were those glass treasures of yesterday had gone. This was until I seen the wall of bottles on display on the ground floor of the Storehouse today's Guinness visitors centre. I smile each time I pass that glazed facade and credit myself that some of my treasures has to be among the many bottles that make up that amazing display.
I have been on many brewery tours over the years, but I missed that experience were you engaged directly with the brewing process through the walking tour. The location of the Visitor centre has moved from locations on James Street to Watling Street and on to two locations on Crane Street over the years. From the Hop Store to its present location finally to the present home of today the Guinness Storehouse. The development over the years of the present Home of Guinness has given the attraction the prominence of been Ireland top tourist location. The Guinness brand have always been to the forefront of excellent marketing, and this is portrayed today on the social media such as Twitter Facebook and Instagram. The internet has also given birth to raving fans from around the globe, Guinness memorabilia is very collectable and the association with major sporting events all have assisted in the exposure worldwide of the brand. For tourists no trip to Dublin is complete unless you visit the Guinness factory and drink of the Black Stuff in the Gravity bar.
I have been curiously active in my interest of the Guinness brand and history through the many mediums over the years, I have collected and gathered a few old bottles, labels and other memorabilia. I have taken many friends and colleagues some of different nationalities to the famous Brewery visitor centre. It was an honour to have been selected as one of the first group of people to be awarded the Guinness Storehouse Ambassador title. I continue to enjoy and actively promote the Guinness visitors experience that is the Storehouse. Last year on Arthur’ day 2012 I had the pleasure to meet Rory Guinness and enjoy a pint with him, Rory is a member of the Guinness dynasty, one of the many treats that I have received as a loyal Guinness Ambassador.
From Strong aromas in the air, to barges on the river and steam trains on tracks with the clanging of iron lungs on their way to near and far. Guinness has always held a special place in my life, which prompted me to pen this piece which I thought appropriate to call “My Goodness My Guinness” in celebration of Arthurs Day 2013.
Copyright - olddublintown.com
I have been on many brewery tours over the years, but I missed that experience were you engaged directly with the brewing process through the walking tour. The location of the Visitor centre has moved from locations on James Street to Watling Street and on to two locations on Crane Street over the years. From the Hop Store to its present location finally to the present home of today the Guinness Storehouse. The development over the years of the present Home of Guinness has given the attraction the prominence of been Ireland top tourist location. The Guinness brand have always been to the forefront of excellent marketing, and this is portrayed today on the social media such as Twitter Facebook and Instagram. The internet has also given birth to raving fans from around the globe, Guinness memorabilia is very collectable and the association with major sporting events all have assisted in the exposure worldwide of the brand. For tourists no trip to Dublin is complete unless you visit the Guinness factory and drink of the Black Stuff in the Gravity bar.
I have been curiously active in my interest of the Guinness brand and history through the many mediums over the years, I have collected and gathered a few old bottles, labels and other memorabilia. I have taken many friends and colleagues some of different nationalities to the famous Brewery visitor centre. It was an honour to have been selected as one of the first group of people to be awarded the Guinness Storehouse Ambassador title. I continue to enjoy and actively promote the Guinness visitors experience that is the Storehouse. Last year on Arthur’ day 2012 I had the pleasure to meet Rory Guinness and enjoy a pint with him, Rory is a member of the Guinness dynasty, one of the many treats that I have received as a loyal Guinness Ambassador.
From Strong aromas in the air, to barges on the river and steam trains on tracks with the clanging of iron lungs on their way to near and far. Guinness has always held a special place in my life, which prompted me to pen this piece which I thought appropriate to call “My Goodness My Guinness” in celebration of Arthurs Day 2013.
Copyright - olddublintown.com
