488 THE BREWING INDUSTRY IN IRELAND. 



built the Mountain Brewery, the red brick buildings and chimney shaft of 

 which, at the bottom of the mountain, strike the eye as one approaches 

 Belfast on the Great Northern Railway. The new brewery which is con- 

 structed on the most modern principles, and which is fitted up with the most 

 modern machinery, is said to be a thriving concern. No doubt, the water 

 supply from the mountain was one of the advantages which induced Mr. 

 Caffrey to go out of the city. The show cards for Caffrey's beer and 2d. 

 ale may be seen in the windows of a great number of public houses in 

 Belfast and the neighbourhood, whilst porter is of course largely brewed. 



Notwithstanding the want of success of previous breweries in Belfast, a 

 new firm has been started within the last few years, viz., McConnell's 

 Brewery, Ltd., which has a capital of £"25,000. The Directors are Messrs. 

 Charles H. Brett, Thomas Andrews, and Robert Montgomery. The 

 brewery and makings are modern and well equipped in every way for doing 

 a successful business, and there is a plentiful supply of Cromac water from a 

 well 500 feet deep. The firm of J. and J. McConnell, Ltd., so well known 

 in the whiskey trade, is very much identified with this new brewery, which 

 has been built on the banks of the Lagan adjoining their distillery ; and 

 this firm's trade connections are so strong that the product of the brewery 

 has already got a footing in the many publichouses in Belfast. Not- 

 withstanding the fact that there is hardly any important brewery in 

 Ireland, or, indeed, in the United Kingdom that has not agents in Belfast, 

 this new Company has already established a satisfactory reputation for 

 their products, and returned good dividends to the shareholders. 



The third brewery in the Belfast Collection District is owned by Mr. Jas. 

 Johnson, whose name has been already mentioned. His brewery is situated 

 in Lurgan, and is said to do a good business in Lurgan and in many other 

 towns in Ulster such as Dungannon, Armagh, Portadown, Lisburn, Bally- 

 niena, Antrim, and Banbridge. 



The Collection District of Londonderry contained three breweries, but 



The Londonderry °"^^ two are at present working, one vsx Enniskillen 

 ^ and one in Sligo. The Enniskillen brewery belongs 

 District. |.Q Messrs. W. J. Downes and Co., and is situated 



on the banks of Lough Erne. It has been in the hands of the 

 present proprietors for a good many years. They are not so fortunate as 

 some of the other brewers in the matter of barley, as neither in quality nor 

 quantity does the local crop meet the demand for malt which, of course, is 

 a great loss to the firm. In the entire County of Fermanagh in the year 

 1 90 1, there were only 116 acres under barley, so that they have to get most 

 of their barley from a distance. Notwithstanding this disadvantage the 

 brewery has been doing a more or less satisfactory business. They brew ale 

 and porter, both of which are reputed to be of excellent quality. 



Alderman Edward Foley, ex-Mayor of Sligo, who does a good local 

 business, owns the other brewery in the Londonderry Collection District. 

 This being one of the two breweries working in Connaught (the other is the 

 Westport Brewery, situate in the Galway Collection District), Mr. Foley 

 has a fine field for extending his operations. Many Irishmen from the 

 West of Ireland who find their way to England in the harvest time, learn 

 to follow the example of the Englishman to drink beer rather than whiskey. 

 The consequence is that considering the poverty of the West of Ireland, 

 there is a considerable trade done in Irish beers and porters, and Scotch 

 and English beers are also largely patronised. 



