TAOISEACH Micheál Martin has praised the global influence of the Guinness brand while manufacturers Diageo unveiled a new brewery in Kildare.
The drinks manufacturer formerly opened their new €300m Littleconnell Brewery in Newbridge yesterday afternoon.
The 40-acre carbon-neutral facility is part of a larger €1bn capital investment programme by Diageo which will be implemented across the island of Ireland between 2020 and 2029.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the official opening of Diageo’s Littleconnell Brewery in KildareThe newly opened brewery will produce some of Diageo’s most popular brands including Rockshore, Harp, Smithwick’s and Kilkenny, alongside well-known licensed beers such as Carlsberg, for both the Irish and international markets.
The company also plans build a second brewery at the site, which will brew Guinness and Guinness 0.0, at a cost of €400m.
The Taoiseach and Ireland’s Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon were among those at the Littleconnell Brewery opening this week.
The Taoiseach said he was “very pleased to mark the opening of the Diageo’s ground-breaking €300 million brewing facility”.
“This highly significant investment represents a vote of confidence in high-end Irish manufacturing, with a €1bn commitment involved overall,” he added.
Diageo CEO Sir David Lewis, and Taoiseach Micheál Martin pictured outside the new facility this weekAddressing those gathered for the laujnch event, Mr Martin described the brewery as an “incredible example of high-end quality manufacturing”.
He added that the launch was a “very exciting occasion and also a very reassuring one in terms of the sustained investment of Diageo between 2020 and 2029 of €1bn between here and the St James site”.
Praising the global influence and legacy of the Guinness brand, the Taoiseach added: “It’s fair to say that Littleconnell is an apt location for this new venture, rooted in the rich legacy of Arthur Guinness, who was born a few miles away in Celbridge a little over 200 years ago.
“And we can see of course the global influence in terms of Guinness.
“Two million people are welcomed into the Guinness Storehouse every year, so ‘splitting the G’ has probably done as much for boosting Irish tourism in recent years as any Tourism Ireland campaign.”
The Taoiseach was referring to the popular Guinness drinking game where the aim is to have your first sup of the black stuff leave the remaining stout to settle exactly in the middle of the ‘G’ printed on the pint glass.
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