“Guinness to brew beer in Dublin? ” – From the first issue of Business & Finance, 1964

By Business & Finance

21 March 2024

Pictured: Cover of Business & Finance, Vol. 1, No. 1, 18 September, 1964.

To celebrate Business & Finance’s 60 year history of bringing readers the best in news, comment, reportage and thought leadership, we have launched our Archive Digitalisation project whereby our catalogue of print issues, dating all the way back to 1964, will be digitalised and brought to readers in a new format.

This will provide valuable insight for researchers, archivists, and readers interested in how the business landscape has changed in Ireland over the past 60 years.

In this very first issue of Business & Finance, volume 1, issue 1 (18 September, 1964), readers were given a look at developments at Guinness, Jacobs, Grafton St and the stock exchange. To read this issue in full, please visit our archive.

Here are some of the highlights of our very first magazine – volume 1, issue 1 (18 September, 1964):

Guinness is looking into the possibility of brewing beer at St. James’ Gate, Dublin, for the first time in its 205-year history

In one of Business & Finance’s first leading stories, Arthur Guinness Son & Company discusses the possibility of brewing beer as well as stout at its St. James’s Gate headquarters.

The beer would be sold to Irish Ale Breweries, which was 66% owned by Guinness. This would mark the first time that Guinness has produced anything but stout at St. James’s Gate.

See below for more:

Jacob’s

In a feature on Jacob’s, the brand name for lines of biscuits and crackers, Business & Finance noted the company’s inimitable success, with sales in 1963 advancing by almost 10 per cent.

Trading profits were 16 per cent to the good, the magazine reported, after a hefty write off for pensions.

A new multi-level building promises to modernise the company, with flour and other ingredients set to be automatically mixed, where, after a period in “long, horizontal” ovens, they will emerge as completed biscuits.

The new building also boasts an ICT computer, which is used to manage payroll.

“Chocolate biscuits,” the magazine reports, “including the marsh-mallow type, are becoming increasingly favoured” by the consumers of 1964.

Grafton Street

The first issue of Business & Finance also contained a business survey of Grafton Street. Do you recognise any of these outlets?

Ireland’s leaders welcome

The publication of a new weekly business magazine, the first of its kind in Ireland, enticed the country’s business and political leaders.

“I am very pleased to learn of the publication of a new magazine dealing with financial matters in Ireland, including investment, business and property,” wrote former Taoiseach Jack Lynch, who, at the time of publication, served as Minister for Industry and Commerce under Seán Lemass.

“This new review should make an important contribution towards the maintenance of the conditions necessary for economic expansion,” wrote another former TD and soon-to-be Senator, Dr. James Ryan.

Current business news

Business & Finance‘s first issue contains news from across the business landscape.

Pye, a manufacturer of radio and television sets, announced its intention to begin development on a wide range of domestic appliances, including refrigerators, washing machines, and water heaters.

Dr. Dillon Digby, Managing Director of Pye, said: “The moves are essential to diversify our activities so we are not completely dependent on the radio and TV market.”

The new Local Government (Planning and Development) Act was set to come into force on 1st October, 1964, aiming to give local authorities scope for comprehensive and orderly planning and development.

Dublin Stock Exchange

In a report on recent developments in the Dublin Stock Exchange, Business & Finance noted the record success of Irish Cinemas, a Rank-controlled cinema and motor inn group.

“Irish cinemas,” the magazine says, “has, of course, benefited greatly from the abolition of entertainment duty.”

Magazines need advertising to stay afloat, and Business & Finance is no exception. Below is a selection of vintage advertisements from the very first issue. Do you recognise some of these names?

Kenny’s advertising agency