Arthur's Round : The Life and Times of Brewing Legend Arthur Guinness

Ireland's best-known Irishman, his name and signature in every household and village in Ireland, and many abroad, is also the least known. Part of Dublin life for over two centuries, both family and brewery have passed into legend, but their origins have been obscured. Here, in the round, these origins are explored and the story of the man and his background told for the first time. Various sources are examined and myths about Arthur laid to rest, many of which were allowed to continue by his descendants. This narrative traces the family's origins in Ulster, Gaelic and Protestant-Irish tenant-farmers from humble backgrounds on both sides, when Arthur's father Richard appears as a household agent in Celbridge, Co. Kildare, in 1722 to work for Arthur Price, the Protestant Dean of Kildare. In 1755, Arthur takes on a brewery in Leixlip and joins the Kildare Friendly Brothers dining club in 1758, marrying and moving to St James's Gate in 1759/60 where the business developed. By 1781, he is a patriarch and member of liberal 'patriot' political groups, diversifying his assets to preserve his wealth in unsettled times. Of a generation with Edmund Burke and Richard Brinsley Sheridan, this wily businessman built an empire that endured and expanded. Family and social history combine with an account of the brewing process and descriptions of economic and political backgrounds in a rapidly developing Ireland, giving a rich weave to this tapestry. Visual sources include maps, rare original documents, prints, and photographs of associated houses and places, people, and artifacts. The result is a fascinating contextual portrait of an enigmatic figure, the founding father of one of Ireland's most powerful dynasties The Life Of Arthur Guinness, As Recounted Here By One Of His Direct Descendants, Is Compelling Proof Of Dickens's Dictum. Rising From Obscure Beginnings, Arthur Laid The Foundations For A World-famous Brewing Empire In Ireland's Capital, But His Story Has Never Been Comprehensively Told - Until Now. Patrick Guinness Has Reconstructed The Life Of One Of Ireland's Most Celebrated Yet Enigmatic Figures, Bringing His Ancestor, The Brewery And The Dynasty He Founded - And The Tumultuous Times In Which He Lived - To Life. Arthur Is Revealed As Far More Than Just A Businessman With A Nose For A Good Brew, As He Mingled Comfortably In A Society Peopled With Such Illustrious Characters As Wolfe Tone, Richard Sheridan And Samuel Johnson, But Was No Less At Ease With The Likes Of The Turkish 'doctor' Achmet Borummadel, Who Turned Out To Be A Kilkenny Conman Named Patrick Joyce, Or George Fitzgerald, The Wastrel Duellist Who Manacled His Father To A Bear.--book Jacket. 1. Origins -- 2. Transitions -- 3. Childhood -- 4. Youth -- 5. The Start -- 6. St James's Gate And Marriage -- 7. Beaumont And Dublin -- 8. City Life -- 9. Problems And Solutions -- 10. Porter Comes To Dublin -- 11. Arthur's Patriot Politics -- The Kildare Knot And The Volunteers -- 12. Social Aspects Of The Knot -- 13. Networks -- 14. Family Matters In The 1780s -- 15. Turning The Corner -- The Tax On Beer -- 16. Marriages -- 17. Politics And Identity -- 18. Rebellion -- 19. Revolution -- 20. Inheritance -- Appendix A. Measures And Currency -- Appendix B. The Tax On Beer, 1791-1792: The Underlying Statistics -- Appendix C. Family Trees. Patrick Guinness. Originally Published: Dublin : Lilliput, 2006. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 245-251) And Index. Arthur's Round is the story of Arthur Guinness, recounted here by one of his direct descendants. It tells of Arthur's rise from obscure beginnings and how he laid the foundations for a world-famous brewing empire in Ireland's capital - a story that had never been comprehensively told until this book was published. With a mixture of original research and the insight of a family member, Patrick Guinness has reconstructed the life of one of Ireland's most celebrated yet enigmatic figures, bringing his ancestor, the brewery and the dynasty he founded - and the tumultuous times in which he lived - vividly to life. Arthur is revealed as far more than just a businessman with a nose for a good brew, as he mingled comfortably in a society peopled with such illustrious characters as Wolfe Tone, Richard Sheridan and Samuel Johnson, but was no less at ease with the likes of the Turkish 'doctor' Achmet Borummadel, who turned out to be a Kilkenny conman named Patrick Joyce, or George Fitzgerald, the wastrel duellist who manacled his father to a bear. Arthur's Round sifts the fact from the fiction - correcting many generally accepted myths along the way - and offers the reader an insightful portrait of the remarkable man who created Ireland's national drink. The biography of Arthur Guinness, founder of the Dublin brewery (1725-1803). It examines the successful transition of him and his family from the Gaelic milieu in Ireland to the urban commercial world.