E.Smithwick & Sons Ltd Round Enamel

E.Smithwick & Sons Ltd enamel tray dating from the 1950s.

Smithwick's Foundation & Early Trading

John Smithwick started brewing with Richard Cole in 1705, on land leased by the Duke of Ormond in Kilkenny.
When John Smithwick purchased the land, and became its sole owner in 1710, he built Smithwick's Brewery.
Following John's death, the brewery temporarily fell out of the family's hands, due to restrictions on Catholic ownership.
It was re-purchased by John's great grandson, Edmund, in the 1780s when penal laws were revoked.
Edmund was responsible for the fivefold expansion of the firm, selling its beers to drinkers in England, Scotland, and Wales.
In 1800, export sales began to fall, and the brewing industry encountered difiiculty. To combat this, the Smithwick family increased production in their maltings, and began selling mineral water and delivering butter on the back of their drays.
By the 1850s, Smithwick's had recovered, becoming the second largest Irish brewery.

Post-Registration

The Company, was registered as E.Smithwick & Sons Ltd, in 1899.
By 1900 Smithwick's was struggling again. Output was at an all time low and the Smithwick family was advised to shut the brewery.
Instead, James Smithwick reduced the Company's range of beers and secured military contracts which resulted in a turnaround of the business.
James's son, Walter, took control of the business in 1930 and steered it successfully through the Second World War.
By 1950 Smithwick's was exporting its beers to Boston, USA.

Guinness Takeover to Cessation of Brewing

The business was purchased from Walter Smithwick, by Arthur Guinness, Son & Co. Ltd, in 1965.
Together Guinness and Smithwick's developed and launched Smithwick's 'Draught Ale' in 1966.
By 1979, half a million barrels were being produced each year.
Smithwick's Draught became the leading imported beer in Canada.
Guinness became part of the newly formed Diageo group in 1997.
In 2008, Diageo started to scale down its brewing operations in Kilkenny, and by 2013 all brewing was transferred to the St. James Gate Brewery in Dublin. Brewing ceased completely that year.
The site re-opened as a visitor attraction in 2014.
Smithwick's Draught Ale, an Irish Red Ale, is still brewed in Dublin.