Homeland Art

 Arthur Guinness and the founding of the Brewery

Arthur Guinness was born in 1725 near Dublin in the town of Celbridge, county Kildare where his father, Richard Guinness, was a Land Steward. Part of Richard’s duties were to supervise the brewing of beer for the workers on the estate and it is probable that young Arthur first learnt the art of brewing from his father. The brewing industry in Dublin at that date was suffering because English beer was taxed less severely than the home-produced product. Arthur was not, however, deterred. He decided to acquire what was then a small, disused and ill-equipped brewery at St James’s Gate.

The lease, signed on 31 December 1759, was for 9000 years at an annual rent of £45. To start with, Arthur brewed ale, but by the 1770s a new drink, a strong black beer called porter, was being exported from London. Arthur decided to brew this new beer himself. He proved extremely successful and right into his seventies Arthur continued to be active in supervising his business at the Brewery, now assisted by three of his sons. Arthur had married an heiress, Olivia Whitmore, and had 21 children, 10 of whom survived into adulthood. When he died in 1803, he left a considerable personal fortune of about £23,000 and an extremely flourishing business which later generations of his family were to develop, following the example of initiative and enterprise set by its founder.

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The town of Howth on the north-side of Dublin is a small fishing villiage, located at the Northern end of the electric rail system (DART).  It is a penninsula but a long time ago Howth was an island but over time became part of the mainland as a result of a sandbar making the connection.

The main places of interest are the harbour and marina, the cliff walk, the martello tower, and the boat trips around Ireland’s Eye Island. There are also some fine restaurants, fish and chip shops, high quality fish mongers, and a beach, but the beach is nothing to write home about. The beaches in Malahide and Portmarnock are better because you don’t have to wade out a couple of hundred yards to reach water deep enough to swim in.

 The Harbour is home to a working fishing fleet aswell as countless yachts that are evidence of Ireland’s Celtic Tiger economy. The fishmongers are located on the shorter inner harbour wall and you will always see people fishing off the extreme end of this wall. The other pier is much longer and quite a walk. It is facing the sea and can be a very fresh experience especially if there is a stiff breeze coming off the sea. At the end is an automatic lighthouse and from here you will have a great view of Ireland’s Eye and it’s impressive colony of sea birds. It is also the best place to get a glimpse of one of the many grey seals which have made Howth Harbour theit home.

The Martello Tower was built to defend against the possibility of French invasion in the time of Napolean and sits on a steep cliff which looks very difficult to access. It is a short steep climf but is totally worth it for the view.

The cliff walk around Howth is a fantastic experience and it’s hard to believe that you are only 10 miles or so from the city centre. The sea views are spectacular and on a clear day you can see the mountains of Wales.

The history of Howth: the name of “Howth” is belived to be derived from the Norse word “hoved” which means “headland”. It was an early Viking settlement at the same time as the same time the Vikings were building the greater settlement in Dublin around the time of the first millenium A.D.

The first building you might notice as you leave the DART station is a pub called the Bloody Stream which actually right underneath the DART station. The name is a reference to the story of Brian Boru whose death was foretold by a woman who was washing his clothes and the stream ran thick with blood.

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