Once there was a Porter's spree in Balanamore.
The fee was very heavy and the native lads were unable to
enter. The boys were jealous and they
proposed to ambush the goods which were going to Balanamore
that night. They did ambush the goods and
they had a great feast in spite of the others.
They pretended that they put the goods into a boat and they let
it sail down the Shiven. The following is a story
composed to tell of that incident.
The night was dank, cold, blue, the wind and thickly fell the
rain. A publican in Ballygar, an
order, did obtain an order from some swanky boys who was English
to the core for a Porter's spree and a grand party to be held
near Balnamore. The shop man took his pen in
hand to write those items down. A dozen bottles of whiskey pure,
the best in all the town, the brand.
It must be Jamison's of 10 years old or more for a Porter's spree
and a Swank party to be held near Balanamore.
Case of Wine was ordered next to ladies for to treat and also jam
and butter as a substitute for meat.
Some fresh bread from the bakery and biscuits in the box for a
Porter's Spree and a Swank party to be held near Balanamore.
A box of players was ordered next to say they were not proud
to grant the ladies one request. No pipes would be allowed.
Some tea and sugar then were weighed for a favorite cup to
pour for a Porter's spree and a Swank party to be held near
Balamore. A barrel of stout was next
rolled out to say that they weren't rude.
They said it was for the Roughs who might by chance intrude.
The goods were packed into a cart that waited at the door and
the driver. He sat up on the deck and drove
for Balamore. The night was dark as dark as
pitch, the weather was severe, and some good boys made-up the
plan these goods to commandeer. They lay an ambush at the
bridge, where the torrents loud did roar and out they popped and
the driver stopped on his way to Baminamore.
They told the driver then to stop and bade him subdue.
The goods were packed into a craft that sailed for Killaloo.
They told them then to go his way, his loss.
He did the plore with a broken heart and an empty cart he
sailed for Baminamore. No wonder the Athlone police did
shudder at the very scene for this war.
They saw that very nice a German submarine.
They quickly two their barracks ran and sandbagged all the doors
and wired for reinforcements to their friends in Bala, Namore.
Next morning on the banks of Claire, as the bells rang out
for mass, some boatmen by the Shannon saw a floating object
pass. They pursued it down the river
and examined it all. Or it was labeled extra Porter
from the spring near Bala Namore.
Now young men all on you, I call for, I think, his only right to
extend your deepest sympathy to the victims of this night.
It was no joke to pay 5 Bob and a ticket to procure to go there
then and get sucked in the spree near Balmore.
And that comes from collector Kwaveen de Burka aged 14, a
address a targar in County Galway.
And that's from the national folklore collections.
Ducas Archives from the school collections.
Hello and welcome to the Fish Oaks podcast.
Long time no chat, no Erin with me today, but I missed you, so I
just said I'd I'd pop back in and and what better subject for
today's episode than Stout Porter having a feast of pints,
A spree of pints. Crack is flowing.
The crack is on draft, but I've wanted for a long time to do an
episode on Stout or Porter, considering that it's so
synonymous with Ireland. Baby, let's not drink in.
Let's talk about it for the next hour.
We're also going to look into the darker side of the black
stuff's history. Oh, very sexy.
This is this is clickbait contact creation and its finest.
You're witnessing a master at work.
But Speaking of which. What?
What the hell is the difference between stout and Porter as
synonymous as Porter and stout is with Ireland now in?
Our in our collective consciousness as Porter is a
style of beer that was developed in London, England boom in the
early 18th century. Porter was first mentioned in
1721 as a development of the brown beer already being
produced all across London and delivered to publicans to age
and blend to the customer's taste.
It would be developed whatever in a brewery, maybe on a
slightly smaller scale, and then brought and aged in in the
individual Republicans pub, which I think is a bit crazy.
And the innovation is attributed to Ralph Harwood, a Brewer at
the Bell Brew House in Shoreditch.
He's the mastermind behind Porter.
Before 1700, London Brewers sent out their beer very young as
Miles Annie, aging into stale styles was either performed by
the publican or a dealer with blends of miles and stales,
often sold to the public. Porter was one of the first beer
styles to be aged at the brewery and then dispatched in a
condition fit to be drank immediately.
It was also a style that could be made on a large scale, so
Porter is almost synonymous with this sort of, I suppose,
development of the alcohol industry.
As it were, the popularity of Porter was significant.
It became the first beer style to be brewed around the world
and production quickly commenced in Ireland, North America,
Sweden and Russia. By the end of the 18th century,
early London porters were very strong beers by modern
standards, at least early trials with the hydrometer.
I don't leave the house without mine.
A hydrometer is in 1770s. A recorded Porter is having a
gravity of 6.6% alcoholic content, and I think Guinness
now is what, like 4.55%. I think if you're wondering why
it's called Porter, very interestingly, it's because when
it was originally brought out, it was incredibly popular with
porters, so those who would be carrying bags around or
welcoming people at hotels or apartments.
In terms of the difference between stout and Porter,
depending on who you ask, the same thing with a few little
changes here, here and there. The history of stout and Porter
are intertwined. The name stout used for a dark
beer, it came about because stronger porters were marketed
as stout porters and later just been shortened to a stout.
Once Upon a time there was a man who wanted a wife, so one day he
sent his mother looking for a wife for him and she got him
one. The next day they bought the
wedding. They bought a barrel of Porter
and a bag of loaves, and the mother killed a goose, not for
any reason. Next morning she went for the
woman. Before she went, she left the
goose down in a pot to boil, and she told Tom, who was a foolish
sort of fellow, to look after everything until she would
return. When she was gone, Tom looked at
the goose to see if it was cooking all right.
The steam burned his finger and he put it in his mouth.
He thought the soup tasted good, so he took up a mug of soup and
drank it. After a while he got very hungry
and he went to the pot again and took up the goose and ate her,
and he drank all of the soup. He was sorry now, though, when
he had the goose eaten, because he said to himself that they
wouldn't have anything for the party.
Lucky enough for Tom, they had a goose hatching and he brought
her in and killed her as well. Without even plucking her.
He put her in the pot to boil but asked.
He went to the barrel and drank a mug of Porter.
He didn't know how to turn off the tap and all.
The Porter began to run along the floor.
He said his mother and wife would get all wet and so he got
the bag of oats for the loaves and put them here and there all
around the room as steps. He thought that the eggs on
which the goose was sitting would be cold and he sat on them
himself. When the mother and wife came
home, Tom was still sitting on the eggs.
And when his intended wife saw him and all about, she turned
away and went home, leaving Tom to his mother.
That came from collector Mary Jo Nolan from Kaluli County Galway.
Lots of Galway stories this time around.
And she got that story from informant John Tiernan, who was
63 upon the time recording that story.
And he's from Kilsala and County Galway.
Strange little tale there. Obviously Tom was a hapless
sword. I'd say the amount of people
getting married back in the day that that did not deserve the
person they were getting with just because of these sort of
weird organized like his mother went out and found a wife.
I don't like the term. Tom was left to his mother and
really just feels like they were trying to fop this fellow off
anywhere they could. And who and who would blame
them? I thought as well, if he didn't
know how to turn off the the Porter, that he was just going
to do some sort of like Looney Tunes action on it where he
drank the whole thing. But now I just affect oats all
around the floor and start to sit on some eggs.
So within a few decades, a Porter breweries in London had
grown beyond any previously known scale for breweries at the
time, large volumes were being exported to Ireland.
Maybe it's no surprise by 1776 that an industrious Arthur
Guinness was concocting something.
In the 19th century, the beer gained its customary black color
through the use of black patent malt, giving it its stronger
flavor. And this would be what would
become the flavor and taste and look we associate with Guinness
stout, particularly originally the adjective stout for
describing something meant proud or brave, but later, after the
14th century it took on the connotation of just strong.
So the first known use of the word stout for a beer was
documented in 1677. The expression stout Porter was
applied during the 18th century for strong variations of Porter.
In the UK it was possible to find a stout, pale ale for
example, but later all of that other frills would be dropped
and stout was just associated with Porter.
Today the term stout and Porter are used in different breweries
almost interchangeably just to describe a dark beer, but there
are some people will decide on distinctions.
I think the distinction is some people use stout to describe
maybe more that burnt sort of very guinnessy flavor.
Whereas if you ever had a milk Porter or milk stout, but I
think it's. I don't know, there's something
gross sanding about it. Now technically this next story
has nothing to do really with Porter or stout, but I couldn't.
But leave it in and it's a cure, of course.
And this person, It's a cure from Fart Farton Fart Han Farton
County. Go with and.
The. The address of this of this cure
makes sense when you when we we dive into into the nitty gritty
details here. So a cure for measles, get some
sheep's manure and put it in water and drink this in
quotation marks soup. This was called Porter in order
to get us to drink it. It was found to be a great cure
for measles. No whiskey in that time, which
obviously seems to have been maybe the more preferable cure
for measles. I didn't realize whiskey had
anti measle qualities. Another cure for measles was to
boil rusty nails and drink the juice out of them.
It's still another great cure. Another cure they listed for
ringworm was old soot and salt and men's urine and tobacco torn
up. Steep all these together and put
it in a jar and keep this as a use for cures.
For ringworm, I assume you just apply that to your to wherever
the ringworm was. And maybe all that stuff's just
so toxic that it that it that it makes life inhabitable for the
ringworm. But yeah, this person's variety
of cures are hardcore. They're drinking sheep's manure,
rusty nail water and they're applying all soot, salt and piss
and tobacco. Very strange.
That comes from informant Jude Henry, who's 76 year old and
clearly a very hardcore woman from Farton County Galway.
I'm sure I'm pronouncing that wrong.
It's probably Fartan, Fartan, County Galway.
So at the opening of the podcast we had that beautiful We song
about a spree in Balanomore and the English lads in the area
hosting a big soiree and the drink getting commandeered by
the by the native Irish sort of classic sort of underdog
underdog. Narrative song that we love.
And in that story I believe there's a line in which they say
that they bought stout or Porter to sort of keep the commoner
happy. And I think that's some of the
success of Porter or stout as well, as well as it being mass
produced and not aged in the pub and thus being able to consume
it quicker. I think it was also quite
affordable too. So I think when we're
considering why it might be popular here or the world over
and why it's spread, one, they were able to produce a whole
pile of it and two the cost was quite reasonable as well.
During our afterlife episode where we discussed wakes and
assert of the the events that surround a funeral and awake as
well as with the Ren boys, we kind of touched on the straw
boys, the straw man who would attend weddings and but you can
kind of see if you go on to ducas and type Porter or stout,
how much the drink was associated with these sort of
events maybe by proxy of it being a sort of economically
sound beverage to to supply for an event.
The tradition if if you've ever been at a wedding where
essentially a pilot, a pile of men come in dressed up in straw
sort of weird outfits and do a weird dance around at the the
newly married couple and they usually get steamed drunk.
Then that's not so far removed from what used to happen back in
the day. But it seems that I had a
weirder it had a different suit of origin.
Maybe that like the closer people to the family would be
invited to the wedding and they wouldn't be donned and straw
both those in the local area who may not have known the the
husband or wife too well. They would almost appear like
spectres of of straw some. In some stories the morning of
the wedding and in some stories like at the reception and it was
almost like you'd give them no more than with trick or treating
and offering of of Porter. And in some stories they stay at
the wedding and they kind of like, I suppose there's like
there's a little pile of drink that the the straw men are are
sort of appeased with in some stories.
If I can find them now, it's almost like they arrive and like
a torment and then are given their offering of drink and then
they like go away with the drink and drink it.
In one story I saw that like a field beside the venue and they
they had their Porter and stout. A short times ago, two people
got married. The girl was from my village and
the man was from Westport and they were married in Bala.
A couple always get married in the girls parish.
They went to the church in a motor car.
There was an old shoe tied to the back of the motor car to
bring them look. Cannon Ryder Bala married them.
They were married in Bala because this girl was from Bala
parish. That night there was a marriage
feast held in the girl's house. The man invited all of his
friends to the house and the girl invited all of hers.
The house was filled with people.
There was a half barrel of Porter and a bottles of whiskey
for the men, and they had teas and wine for the girls.
A man went around the house with a bucket of Porter and a mug,
and he gave each man some Porter.
There was the music of the melodion and a fiddle, and they
all danced in the kitchen. The girls danced reels, jigs,
waltzes, horn pipes, and half sets and sets.
At about 1:00 that night, when all the people were enjoying
themselves, the straw boys came to the house.
The captain of the straw boys knocked at the door and went
into the house. Others followed.
The captain danced with the bride and the others danced with
the other girls. When they were finished dancing,
they went outside the door and they were supplied with drink.
They then went away wishing well to the newly married couple.
They were dressed in soldier straw.
Each straw boy had a band of straw around his waist, a band
around his knees and a tall straw hat on his head.
And that comes from collector Paddy Kerr from the newly County
Mayo informant John Kerr, aged 50.
Also from the newly probably is Papa.
Wine and tea for the women and Porter and whiskey for the men.
I'd love to see some straw girls.
That would be a cool thing to do.
Now, sort of flip the flip the switch.
I'm sure people have done that already, but it would be cool at
a wedding. Have a gang of women done up in
straw. Instead.
Make that happen. Women of the world.
But of course, we couldn't talk about the black stuff without
talking about Guinness. It's hard when you think of the
word stout. For me, it's the first thing I
think of. It's gotten to that sort of a
iconoclast position. Guinness no more than Vaseline.
So people say tato for everything.
I think that confuses things. I understand you're a great
nationalist if you say tato for. Every brand of crisps.
But I just think it's needlessly confusing.
Anyway, I'm, I'm digressing. I'm digressing.
Let's talk about Guinness. Okay.
So if you're listening to this now, this is actually maybe a
week after I originally recorded.
Maybe you can taste the sands of time and my current tombra was a
little bit of a tongue twister. Hell hell yeah.
But. We're moving on to the Guinness
family. As said, I lost all the audio.
From this part, but sure look. Isn't it no different than just
giving us just giving it a once over a practice run?
It is without saying. I'm sure you've heard already.
That the Guinness family were correctly and are correctly.
Viewed as being extremely enlightened employers, and that
was no different in the past. You can make the argument that
Guinness did it to prevent there was a lot of unionizing at the
time. They were like the Googles of
their time. They made their workplace very
tolerable to be in Imagine. From the late 1800s onwards, the
brewery built quality homes for its workers and provided them
with free health care. Guinness actually had wages at
20% higher than the Dublin average, at the time, 20%.
That's a huge amount. They were one of the first
companies in Ireland to provide pensions to their staff and
pensions not just for staff but for their widows too.
Those widows would also receive. A preferences when job vacancies
came up. Free dinners for their kids once
a week, and this would encourage the kids then to attend school.
And in 1870, Guinness opened up a medical dispensary to provide
free Doctors Consultations and Medicines for the sick.
In 1890, the Ivy Trust, originally the Guinness Trust,
was established to provide. Homes for the poor in both
London and in Dublin, but all. Of this is aside to just the
little sort of extras employees received during the working day.
As I said, very like a Google Vibe.
This included three meals in the dining room, A2 pint, beer
allowance or script as it was called, and this could be
exchanged for goods at the Co. Op store for those employees.
Who had wives who had recently given birth?
Something called snipes were given free snipes.
Small bottles of Guinness egg would have vitamin B rich yeast
sediment for nutrition for mother and baby.
It's funny because you do hear that Guinness is good for
pregnant women. That's the old slogan.
Guinness is good for pregnant women.
I actually one of the first times I had Guinness and the
first pint I ever had in a pub. I was 1617 at the time and me
and my friend wanted to try Guinness and he suggested
because he found the. Taste of it the first time he'd
sampled it foul. That he suggested having Ribena
and Guinness mixed. So the publican kind of.
We asked sheepishly, but I think you asked sheepishly if you're
1617 as is and we made it and the next thing a friend came in
and he had just a slightly older friend and he arrived in the
door and he went lads, lads, lads.
That's what pregnant women do, be drinking.
And he was right, it is. But funny in hindsight, haven't
had one since. There has been an excess of
noises this time around recording children, police
sirens. They just hit the same cord in
me. They really microphones,
microphones, drink children and sirens like no man's business.
Aside from that, as early as the 1900s, Guinness employees
received social benefits from free train tickets for trips to
the countryside to Guinness Athletic Union for sports and as
well as a bicentenary center with a theater and swimming
pool. It's been mentioned on previous
episodes that the Guinness family.
Have provided a lot with regard to green and cultural.
Spaces at to Dublin City and we have Guinness to thank for
Stevens Green. Stephens Green are the earliest
iteration of St. Stephens Green was originally a
medieval leper hospital, now St. Mercer's Hospital, dedicated to
St. Stephen on nearby Stephens
Street. Until 1663, St.
Stephens Green was sort of just a marshy common area on the
edges of Dublin back when the city was a bit smaller.
It was approximately 60 acres and used for grazing until the
Dublin Corporation decided to enclose the center of the common
and seller at the land around the perimeter of it for
building. The center was then enclosed as
a park with a wall in 1660. Four so quickly since Stevens,
Green and the green in the middle became somewhat of a.
Resort for the better off of the city after the death of Prince
Albert, Queen Victoria actually suggested that St.
Stephen's Green be renamed Albert Green and have a statue
in his honor at the center and even at this time.
This suggestion was rejected with indignation by a Dublin
corporation. Access to the Green, as we were
saying, was restricted to local residents until 1877, when
Parliament passed an Act to reopen St.
Stephen's Green to the public. This was an initiative set about
by Sir A E Guinness, a member of the Guinness Brewing family.
He would later pay for the layout of the Green in
approximately its current form. So as you see since Stevens
Green today and how it's landscaped, I don't think a
Guinness was out there himself. It would shovel and spade but he
had a hand in the setup. The same setup you see in
Stevens Green is the same as the plans which took place in 1880.
It was then given to Dublin Corporation as representatives
of the people of Dublin and given as a gift to the people of
Dublin by way of thanks of course, the City Commission the
statue which you can see. It faces the College of
Surgeons. And you know what?
A Guinness wasn't the only guy that fancied.
Himself to have a bit of a green thumb.
And what a large green thumb. Because these were these were
public barks. These boys were building and Ivy
Garden. Ivy Garden has an interesting
history. Originally one of the the
Guinnesses Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness Co, founded at the
Dublin Exhibition Palace and Winter Garden Company, which was
a private business. But that took place on the
grounds of what is now Ivy Gardens and the surrounding
buildings. Sir Benjamin Lee's son in 1870
brought the whole plan a step forward, Edward Cecil Guinness,
who later became Lord Ivy. Despite attempts to make the
site still an exhibition of Irish arts, it wasn't a success
and the gardens reverted back to private ownership.
In 1883, Edward Cecil Guinness would sell the buildings the Ivy
Garden Buildings to the Royal University, which was
subsequently adapted into University College Dublin.
Mr. M and Debbie Lehrer. Who was both a tee shock and
chancellor of UCD at the time, which is kind of scary notion?
He inquired to the second Earl. Of Ivy As to whether they'd sell
Ivy House back to the Irish State as well as the Gardens
complex initially in 1937, the second Earl of Ivy declined.
However, he had a change of heart by 1939 and wrote to AIM
and Devalera, offering the Ivy complex.
As a sort of gift for the nation.
But one thing which is really admirable about Lord Ivy's
decision was that he was kind of concerned about the future.
Of the site, he said he'd give it to the public under the
conditions that the Ivy Garden site remain unbuilt on and be
kept as a long for Dublin. Now the harp's long been
associated with Ireland. Obviously it's an instrument we
play, and if you listen to our episode Invention of Music,
you'll hear about how important the harp is in terms of our
national identity. And furthermore, if you listen
to our episode on Owen Rowe O'Neill, you'll know that one of
the first times you would have seen the Green Flag with the the
Golden Harp joining the fight between Owen Rowe O'Neill and
Cromwell in the 14th century. That harp is also known as the
Brian Brew harp, which is now preserved in the.
Library of Trinity College, Queen Elizabeth the 1st and
indeed Cromwell both saw the negative in the harp as a symbol
of Irish identity Cromwell was stringing up.
Computer harpists because the relationship between passing on.
Music, history and Irish identity were all intertwined in
these figures. So, as said, in the earliest
days Guinness adopted, I think it was in 1860, They adopted the
O'Neill style harp to their Guinness glass.
That's where the sort of flat edge of it is pointed.
It's on your it would be on your left as you're looking at the
harp. And as early as 1862, Guinness
trademarked this symbol of the harp and the.
Irish Free State, which was formed in 1922, couldn't use it
anymore. The state actually had to change
the traditional. Shape of the harp that they flip
it around the other way so that the flat edge, if you look at
your passport or anything now sits along the right hand side.
So obviously pretty harmless in in in Truth, but I think it's
amazing to think that the Irish state had to bend to Guinness's.
It's funny to think that Guinness has lived for longer
than Irish independence has. In 1797, Arthur Guinness was
named by the Union Star newspaper as suspected former
against Irish rebels. He was described as a Brewer at
James's gate. An active spy United Irishman
will be cautious of dealing with any publican who sells his
drink. Historian and author Paul.
Rig og O'Rourke noted of the Guinness family.
Arthur's successors in Saint James's Gate were definitely
steadfast in their loyalty to the British Crown.
His descendant, Lord Ivey donated £100,000 the UVF Arms
Fund, in 1913. So all well and good.
To hear about lovely Lord Ivey and such and all the great
things that Guinness did. For their staff, and I think
Guinness wanted the best for Ireland as a country, but within
a certain outlook, they wanted the best for an Ireland which
existed under British rule. Generally speaking, companies
who are doing well favor the circumstances of the position
they're in too. So if Guinness is doing well and
Britain is ruling Ireland, then Guinness is happy.
So in response to this large donation to the UVF, many
nationalists organize a boycott of Guinness products, Michael
Conway, later an IRA commandant in Limerick, remarked.
For a time, only Murphy's stout was consumed locally.
But. After a while the boycott eased.
I know that the drinks are from there, but you still see a
preference towards a Murphy's or a Beamish down in Monster.
I ordered it once and they had to change the keg just to give
me one and I was like. Oh buddy, I'm not feeling so
political anymore. Or geez.
In the run up to the Easter Rising, members of the Irish
Volunteers who worked in Guinness were discouraged from
openly parading or expressing their political views.
Frank Henderson, a captain, and the Irish Volunteers who took
part in the host gun running after the Easter Rising, said
Guinness's staff were wary that they may be victimized in the
workplace, joining the actual fighting of 1916.
Trucks used by Guinness were converted into improvised
armored fighting vehicles. These were used by the British
Army against Republican forces. One such vehicle was made by
bolting 4 boilers onto the rear of a Guinness flatbed truck.
It believed that these would have been among the first
armored cars he used in Ireland. Now it's quite conflicting the.
Reports whether these vehicles were offered up and donated by
Guinness Company during the fighting or just commandeered.
By British forces, but with the context of knowing that Guinness
were anti Irish rebellion and pro a British crown, you know
they certainly weren't complaining.
On the 29th of April 1916, the Royal Dublin Fusiliers murdered
civilians William John Rice and Algernon Lucas along with two
off. Duty British soldiers This was
on the grounds of the Dublin Brewery.
The Sergeant who had ordered this execution claimed there
were members of Sinn Fein. 2 of the men were Guinness employees.
Guinness company director HW Rennie Phil Young said there was
nothing in the evidence of the recent court martial to justify
any suggestion the staff were in any way connected with or in
sympathy with the Sinn Fein. So it's good to hear.
Good to hear him coming out the bat.
For for his boys. And I wonder if they were.
Or not. Either way, In any event, the
company took a hard line with anyone displaying any form of
support for Irish republicanism, nationalism or Sinn Fein.
Following the 1916 Rising. Guinness was one of a number of
companies which dismissed staff suspected of involvement in the
rebellion or sympathetic. To those who took part in a
statement to the Bureau of Military History, Robert
Hallard, a member of the Irish. Republican Brotherhood, who
fought with the Irish Volunteers in 1916, described the dismissal
at Guinness as a form of censor for their disloyalty to His
Majesty. GS&W Railways have gone further
and evicted families of men dismissed from their dwellings
Arthur Guinness and other companies.
Followed suit. Charles Sarin, a member.
Of the Dublin Brigade of the Irish Volunteers was one of a
number of Republicans marched past the Guinness brewery at the
end of the Easter Rising, having spent the night previous under
armed guard in the grounds of the Rotunda Hospital, he
described the scene going past the office of Arthur Guinness
and Co Shirtsleeved officials were leaning out of their
windows, looking at us with superior, contemptuous smiles.
All of this is in, I suppose, the not so distant past.
But we have to remember a lot of people really didn't want to
shake up the status quo jory in 1916.
I'm not. I know scholar on it, but I know
I heard. People would literally, you
know, reef the the proclamations out of people's hands at the
GPO. They didn't want to hear about
it. You know, people, the public
just saw it as a big mess. So yeah, you can imagine back in
the day, not everyone is a rebel.
Whatever. You'd like to imagine that
everyone's going to be up the front of the lines, but I think
the majority of people probably would have just been looking
after their own. What's a little bit more
uncomfortable for me is in the stories from the 1980s.
Now that's. Very recently.
That's very recent, As recent as the 1980s.
The Guinness Corporation was willing to cast off and thinking
about casting off long associations with Ireland.
Edward Guinness, A descendant of the Guinness family directly and
a pure guru for the company at this time, said that he was no
longer sure the association with Ireland was helpful due to the
conflict that was occurring in the north of Ireland and the
refusal of the Irish. Government to back the British
during the Falklands War, Edward Guinness said the brewery may
have to emphasize facts, such as that Guinness was an English
company. Now I don't know that you.
I think you couldn't pay Guinness enough money.
I don't think they take. They simply wouldn't call
themselves an English company today.
That being said, as much as. We're aware of all the good that
Guinness has done for Ireland and for Dublin.
Maybe it's not emphasized how much Ireland has done for
Guinness because in the current in 2023, as I've said, I think
the cultural stake of associated in oneself, with the harp and
with Irishness and with Ireland. And you know, I don't think
Guinness ever comes out and suggests it was some sort of
rebel at any point or republican outfit.
It certainly avoids at least the topic of its past.
Arthur's Day for instance, that was held in Dublin.
It's not longer done as a festival anymore.
It always was a kin and sold as like a second Paddy's Day, and I
think it's just good to. Be aware of this stuff when we
look at icons. Of our time once again, there's
no denying how much that Guinness has done for Ireland
and. Particularly Dublin.
And they have continued to do so and I'm glad that they will
continue. To do so, but on the same note,
I think what Ireland has done for Guinness, particularly in
light of its past and family past and, as I said, as recent
as the 1980s considered. Reversing that, he's saying
let's remind people here we're at English company it ain't so
hot. I don't like it, but I will
politely step off my soapbox now and my Guinness keg.
And as a little tonic to my poo pooing as some rusty nails to
your water as the boiled sheep's manure to your measles, I will
reach you. A tonic of a story from.
The Duke as archives. Once Upon a time, a mouse fell
into. A barrel of Porter.
The cat put his paw down and tucked the mouse up.
He was just going to eat him when the mouse said if you let
me go now, I'll come back when I'm dry.
All right, said the cat. You can come to me tomorrow.
Weird deal. Then the mouse went into his
hole. Next day, the cat was at the
hole. The mouse was coming out.
But when he saw the cat, he came no further.
The cat said. Are you coming No further.
No, said the mouse. And I thought you told me that
when you would be dry, you would let me eat you, said the cat.
I did set the mouse. But sure, there's no mind in a
man when he's in his liquor, and that is that.
Thank you so much for listening. To the Pitch Rocks podcast, and
not the most folkloric one. This time around, me and Aaron
will be back. I say this at the end of every
episode, completely teasing you, but we have plans for an episode
cooking up. So don't wait up, Don't wait up,
baby doll. The absolute, the.
Absolute gall of us to even pretend that there's.
There's a schedule as to this show, but thanks to all the new
listeners. One thing I mentioned, if you
made it this far, do leave a rating on Apple Music.
Wherever you get this, it really does help.
If you subscribe or follow or whatever it is to see when new
episodes come up, as long as it doesn't, you bother yourself.
It actually just helps our stats and stuff a lot better.
Me and Aaron don't really pay attention to any of those
things. It's it's a labor of love this
podcast anyway and I enjoy the research and the work that goes
into it. But.
We probably should get a bit more on top of our our marketing
and such and so I need a little bit of help pointing, pointing
us, pointing us towards faces and ears and and all all manner
of our. Offices that you think would be
interested in enlisted to the podcast, please.
Feel free. But I am now off to have a nice
cold beverage, a suck of Guinness, and I hope that the
drink isn't mad at me for for calling us a W Bridge,
essentially, but but Guinness. I love you.
You're you're. You're a good boy.
You were just misunderstood. And you know, I, I love the
park. I love love walking around and
there's a Heron in there. It's pretty cool, but.
And I wouldn't be found a drinking, but when I go at it, I
do go at it awful and very had. I do have 40-5 pints in about
two hours. I'd have a packet of Crips Thin
and maybe an old packet of peanuts, and I'd go for
probably, and I'd have 10 more on there and then I'd get up the
final morning and morning, have the fry on and I'd go ahead
again and there'd be no fucking stuff for me.
I'd take the short of any man's back.
Bastards.