2003:1926 - WATERFORD: Guinness Brewery, Waterford

Monitoring of groundworks associated with the upgrading of the brewery continued into 2003, when drainage associated with the new buildings was dug. The base of a kiln or drying oven was exposed, and some wall foundations of buildings, extant up to 1965, were cut by ground-beam trenches. The demolition of these buildings pre-dates the current project and they are identifiable on the 1902 second-edition OS map. All exposed strata related to the brewery, which has occupied the site since the late 18th century. The area was a brewery in 1792 and was taken over by Guinness in 1955. The new Diageo-owned phase of the Waterford brewery will manufacture a special ingredient used to make 'Guinness flavoured extract', to be exported to the 50 countries where the drink is brewed. Once fully operational, the Waterford plant will produce the ingredient for 550 million pints of Guinness per annum. This high-speed production replaces a technology little changed over hundreds of years. The redundant wooden vats with polished copper domes are cleaned and still functional, and reside in the old brewery building on the south side of the complex.

7 Bayview, Tramore, Co. Waterford