Working with the Community

Diageo Ireland has a long track record of involvement with its community, dating back to Arthur Guinness donating 250 guineas to the Chapel School at Dublin's St. Patrick's Cathedral in 1780. Our involvement has evolved over nearly 250 years, and includes such notable contributions as;

• Benjamin Lee Guinness providing £150,000 for the restoration of St. Patrick's Cathedral in 1860.
• Edward Cecil Guinness establishing the Iveagh Trust, leading to the development of the Iveagh market, baths and hostel.
• Rupert Edward Guinness donating Iveagh House to the Irish Government in 1939. It is now home to the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.

Today our employees are very proud of the support we provide to communities around Ireland and the organisations and festivals that are important to them. We support educational, enterprise, environmental and community programmes throughout the country.

We sponsor over 1,000 festivals and events, giving vital support to the tourism, cultural and sporting sectors annually. Our corporate giving programme currently donates approximately €500,000 a year directly to small charities across Ireland. This is in addition to other community funding, such as the Guinness Enterprise Centre which provides incubator space for small and medium sized start-up companies. The business also supports the Guinness Ulster Bank Equity Funds.

These investments express part of the values of the company in a very tangible way, much as our marketing campaign on socially responsible drinking is tangible evidence of other values we hold.