Irish bar staff are the driving force behind the success of Guinness's strategy to establish Irish pubs abroad, the company says.

Mr Stephen Lombard, retail development controller for Guinness, said yesterday that Irish staff had an instinctive feel for pub culture and many of them adopted a different persona when working abroad. "Our research shows that when a Guinness pub has at least 50 per cent Irish staff, there is a 140 per cent increase in beer volumes sold," he added.

Mr Lombard was speaking at a marketing breakfast organised by the Marketing Institute and sponsored by The Irish Times.