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If you have an enquiry in relation to the History of GUINNESS® please complete the form below, using the drop down menu and press submit to send your request to our Company Archivist.

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Archive

The GUINNESS® Archive was formally established in 1998 when the Company employed its first professional archivist to curate the Company's history. The Archive is open by appointment Monday - Friday, 9.30am-5.00pm.

Based in GUINNESS STOREHOUSE®, the doors of the Archive were opened in December 2000, and maintain to this day the unique position of being the only corporate archive in Ireland open to the public.

The Archive collects preserves and makes accessible records and artefacts from the formation of the Company in 1759 to the present day. The Archive, a treasure chest of Guinness history, is the source for information on all aspects of the history of Guinness, focusing especially on the work and life of the St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin.

Secure conditions and correct environmental controls ensure the preservation of a range of material. This includes advertising and memorabilia collections, an extensive range of photographs, documentary material, including employee records, microfiche copies of plans and drawings and an extensive range of photographs and video footage.

Highlights of the Guinness Archive include:

Over 7,500 linear metres of records
Over 2,500 press and poster advertising
The original 9000 year lease signed by Arthur Guinness on St. James's Gate Brewery
Original brewing ledgers
20,000 employee files
The Archive answers 12,000 historical enquiries annually from all over the world
The oldest artefacts in the collection are barley grains from Tutankhamun's Tomb - nearly 3,500 old

The Archive is used by GUINNESS® marketing communities around the world, economic and brewing historians, collectors, family history researchers and anyone with an interest in the Guinness Company and brand.

Contact the Archivist

If you have a query in relation to any of the following, please click below to fill out our enquiry form and we will do our best to help with your questions.

GUINNESS® memorabilia, bottles and labels
GUINNESS® Advertising
General GUINNESS® Company history
GUINNESS STOREHOUSE®

Enquiry Form

Guinness Archive Fact Sheets

The Guinness Archive has produced a number of factsheets relating to various topics of Guinness history. Please click on the links below to discover further information on Guinness history:

Arthur Guinness (PDF)
Barges - Liffey (PDF)
Bibliography (PDF)
Bi-Centenary (PDF)
Book of Records (PDF)
Bottle Drop (PDF)
Brand Identity evolution (PDF)
Coopering Process (PDF)
Doctors Books (PDF)
Downhill Harp (PDF)
Employee Welfare at Guinness (PDF)
Festival Clock (PDF)
First World War and Guinness (PDF)
Gilroy and Guinness Animals (PDF)

Guinness and food (PDF)
Guinness Brewers (PDF)
Guinness Family Achievements (PDF)
Guinness Ships (PDF)
Harp Trademark (PDF)
Iveagh House, Iveagh Gardens, St. Stephen's Green (PDF)
Iveagh Play Centre (PDF)
Iveagh Trust Housing (PDF)
Locomotives (PDF)
Rupert Guinness Hall (PDF)
Storehouse Building (PDF)
Terenure Housing (PDF)

Archive Collections

The Guinness Archive, a treasure chest of Guinness history, is the source for information on all aspects of the history of Guinness, focussing especially on the work and life of the St. James's Gate Brewery. The following descriptions provide an example of the collections held at the Archive.

Papers of the Guinness Company (PDF)
Papers of the Directors of the Guinness Company (PDF)
Papers of the Registry Department (PDF)
Papers of the English Trade Department (PDF)
Papers of the Advertising Department (PDF)
Papers of the Irish Trade Department (PDF)
Papers of the Dublin Export Department (PDF)