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Guinness Book of Records
...the Wexford connection |
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In 1759 Arthur Guinness founded the Guinness Brewery at St. James'
Gate, Dublin, and by
1833 the brewery was the largest in Ireland.
Arthur Guinness Son & Co. Ltd. became a limited liability company
in London in 1886, and
by the 1930's Guinness had two breweries in Britain producing its
special porter stout.
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The slogans 'Guinness is good for you', Guinness for strength' and 'My
Goodness,
My Guinness' appeared everywhere. Guinness was the only beer on sale
in every public
house, yet Guinness did not own any of the pubs - except for the
Castle Inn on its hop farms
at Bodiam, Sussex.
Thus the company was always on the look-out for
promotional ideas.
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In
1951, whilst staying at Castlebridge House in Co. Wexford as part
of a shooting party, Sir Hugh Beaver, the company's
managing director, was involved in a dispute as to
whether the
golden plover was Europe's fastest game bird. Then in 1954,
another argument arose as to whether grouse were faster than
golden plover.
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Sir Hugh realised that such questions could arise among people
in pubs and a book that provided answers for debates such as
these would be of great use to licensees.
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Chris Chataway, the record-breaking athlete, was then an
underbrewer at Guinness' Park Royal Brewery in London.
He recommended the ideal people to produce the book - the
twins Norris and Ross McWhirter.
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The McWhirters were then running a fact-finding agency in Fleet
Street. |
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1935 Guinness Advert ~
If he can say as
you can
Guinness is good for you
How grand to be a Toucan
Just think what Toucan do |
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They were commissioned to compile what
became 'The Guinness Book of
Records' and, after a busy year
of research, the first copy of the 198-page book was
bound on
27th August 1955.
It was an instant success.
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The Guinness Book of Records English edition is now
distributed in 70 different countries with another 22 editions
in foreign languages.
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Sales of all editions passed 50 million in 1984, 75 million in
1994 and will far exceed the 100 million mark early in this decade. |
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