When you’re born into a family with a name as famous as Guinness—yes, the one that has been brewing the famous Irish stout for 267 years—you know a little something about longevity. For Arthur Edward “Ned” Guinness, however, a little wasn’t enough.
The former member of the House of Lords and trustee of Ireland’s oldest housing charity dug deep into the family archives and last fall published Guinness: A Family Succession, a book that shares his family history, the growth of Guinness Brewing, and the evolution of Ireland.
On March 15, Guinness talks with architectural historian Robert O’Bryne at Club Colette in Palm Beach for the Irish Georgian Society’s annual dinner. But first, he answered some of our questions.
PBI: Tell me a little about your book and why you decided to write it.
Arthur Edward “Ned” Guinness: I felt there was a big gap in what is known about the lives of the earliest generations of us brewers.
PBI: Did the recent Netflix movie, The House of Guinness do a good job of depicting the family history?
AEG: Netflix, whom I hadn’t conferred with and whom I don’t believe linked with the beer company that has a wonderful archival resource, wrote an entertaining drama with the freedom of artistic license. I wanted to create a book which told it as much as possible like it was, which, though an interesting read, isn’t necessarily traumatic.
PBI: How did your family receive your book?
AEG: We are a huge family, and I’ve had a lovely reception because there isn’t a book like it in circulation. I tried to be fair, and I tried never to steer away from challenging issues, though there wasn’t some dreadful thing that I had to cover up. They were thoroughly decent people who tried their best.
PBI: How did your family recognize the hard times and challenges during the rise of the brewing company’s success?
AEG: In Dublin, the brewery was adjacent to some of the poorest suburbs of any European city, and building a business there created an incentive to provide not only for the employees and their families, but the community in the broader sense, decades prior to the state creating social welfare as we know it today.
PBI: Can you give me an example?
AEG: The Iveagh Trust for social housing is more than 130 years old. I’m very proud of the things that were started four generations ago, that is today [the country’s] largest growing social housing charity that provides affordable housing within Dublin and surrounding counties.
PBI: What is the most surprising thing you learned in your book research?
AEG: I loved unearthing the role of the women, who are remarkable but less narrated. We weren’t from noble stock. We came up from nowhere. But we married women who were able-bodied, had long lives, and lots of children. They also had an amazing ability to connect to elements of society, to spot good people, nurture partnerships, and help grow and promote talent from within.
PBI: What are you planning to speak about at the Irish Georgian Society’s dinner?
AEG: I’m coming to Palm Beach to learn as much as to tell a tale that has been a Guinness family tale for between 250 and 300 years. I would love to learn more about Palm Beach and persons who have a philanthropic mindset. I feel strongly that the world is a better place when we wish not to engender the sense of victimization but promote that individuals can do good. If we can encourage each other to bring out the best of ourselves, I think it’s a wonderful and powerful thing.
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