THE BREWING INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 477 



liolders Committee were unsuccessful in forming a Directorate to restart it, he 

 took up the undertal^ing which appeared at the time to be hopeless, formed 

 a Board of Directors, and re-opened the Bank under the title of the " Mun- 

 ster and Leinster Bank," with a very limited amount of capital at its disposal 

 and in the teeth of the most adverse criticism. From 1885 to 1888 he gave 

 the liquidation of the old bank and the budding business of the new bank 

 his undivided attention, and, before he died he had the satisfaction of seeing 

 the old bank satisfactorily wound up and the new one in a sound financial 

 position. Few realised the far-reaching view he took of the situation at the 

 time of the failure. His opinion was that, unless the liquidation of the old 

 bank was voluntary, and the new one started to take over and nurse the 

 accounts locked up by the closing, the South of Ireland would receive a 

 monetary shock from which it would take years to recover. Ably assisted by 

 the late Mr. R. C. Hall of Cork, and Mr. F. W. Pirn of DubUn, he carried 

 through the liquidation, and undoubtedly saved the province of Munster 

 and a portion of Leinster, from a calamity the results of which would have 

 been far-reaching. 



Messrs. Beamish and Crawford, Limited, who own the other brewing 



establishment in Cork — the Cork Porter Brewery — 



The Cork Porter is one of the oldest firms in Ireland. Records in the 



Brewery. hands of the proprietors show that this brewery was in 



existence in the beginning of the eighteenth century, 

 and that in 17 15 it was in the possession of one Edward Allen. Later 

 documents prove that in 1791 it became the property of William Beamish 

 and William Crawford, whose descendants have ever since carried on the 

 business, and are to-day represented by Mr. Richard Henrik Beamish and 

 Arthur Frederick Sharman-Crawford. Writing in 1809, Wakefield states 

 that Guinness was then only the second brewer in Ireland, Beamish and 

 Crawford, brewing annually 100,000 barrels, standing first. Considering the 

 great decline in the population of Ireland, which, of course, brewers are 

 about the first to feel, Beamish and Crawford have held their own, intro- 

 ducing every possible requisite to keep their establishment in the front rank 

 among the more important breweries of the United Kingdom. Like the 

 Murphy s, they have gradually added licensed property after licensed pro- 

 perty to their register, and last year they purchased Lane's Brewery, and 

 all the hcensed houses in Cork and the South of Ireland which were 

 attached to this concern, so that their output must now rank among the 

 three largest in Ireland. In addition to the large local trade, the firm has, 

 during the last few years, extended its field of enterprise by opening up 

 an export trade in England. 



In 18(35 the brewery, makings, machinery, and plant, were almost 

 entirely rebuilt at a cost of over ;£" 100,000. The Brewery is situated in 

 South Main-street, and is bounded on two sides by the south channel of 

 the river Lee. which washes the walls. The brewery buildings, which, with 

 the yards, cover many acres of ground, are quite enclosed by houses and 

 high walls, and are erected round two big quadrangles. Both porter and 

 ale are manufactured, entirely from malt and hops, and the former is sold 

 at home and abroad. The ale brewed is entirely consumed in Ireland, and is 

 sold both in cask and bottle. Their makings which are situated in Nile- 

 street, a short distance from the banks of the Lee, cover some acres, and 

 are entirely enclosed. They are of very large dimensions, and consist of a 

 picturesque block of buildings formed round three sides of a square court. 



