Ireland, Dublin Coopers Society and Brewers' Guild Records, 1702-1945

General collection information

This collection includes an index of the membership of the Dublin Coopers Guild in Ireland, between 1765 and 1945 and minute books from the Brewers´ Guild of Dublin and Coopers' Guild. Notations about individual members were entered in handwritten indexes. The entries were made in alphabetical order based on the member's last name. Images of the original documents are available.

Using this collection

Records in this collection may include the following information:

This index can be used to confirm whether your ancestor was a member of the Coopers and Brewers Guild in Dublin, Ireland, at a specific point in time. The index also can be used to confirm where your ancestor lived when they were in the guild and possibly also the date they died.

Collection in context

The records in this collection were created by officials of the Coopers and Brewers Guild in Dublin. The original documents are housed at the Guinness Archives in Dublin.

Coopers were responsible for making the wooden barrels that carried beer and liquor from the breweries and distilleries to taverns and other marketplaces. Hundreds of coopers were employed at the Guinness Brewery until metal barrels were introduced during the early 1900s.

The River Liffey in Dublin was lined with a dozen breweries by the end of the 1800s, with the two largest being Anchor Brewery, founded in 1740, and Guinness, founded in 1759. By 1840, Guinness was exporting its beer to Europe, the Caribbean islands, and the United States, and by the early 20th century, it was the largest brewery in the world. Many of the members of the Coopers and Brewers Guild included in this index would have worked at Guinness. The two other major breweries in Ireland - Murphy's and Williams, Beamish & Crawford — were both located in county Cork.

Bibliography

Cullen, Niall. "A very brief history of Irish brewing." Irish Central. Accessed 22 March, 2023. https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/a-very-brief-history-of-irish-brewing.

Guinness Storehouse. "Discover the Guinness Story." Accessed 22 March, 2023. https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/discover.

---. "Find Your Family." Accessed 22 March, 2023. https://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/discover/find-your-family.

Hampson, Tim and Stephen Hindy. "Aluminum Kegs." Craft Beer & Brewing. Accessed 22 March, 2023. https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/6cfzgsdkVp/.

Liquid Irish. "Dublin Coopers Guild." Accessed 22 March, 2023. http://www.liquidirish.com/2007/11/dublin-coopers-guild.html.

Payne, Glenn A. "Ireland." Craft Beer & Brewing. Accessed 22 March, 2023. https://beerandbrewing.com/dictionary/PSe4BHhcIs.