Workers lament 'sad, sad day' as business leaders attempt to convince Diageo to stay

DUNDALK CLOSURE: "THIS WAS the last bastion of manufacturing in Dundalk

DUNDALK CLOSURE:"THIS WAS the last bastion of manufacturing in Dundalk. The cigarettes are gone, the shoe factories are gone, the railway is gone and now the brewing industry is gone. It is a sad, sad day."

The words of one of the many workers whose families had worked in Dundalk's brewing industry for generations.

This particular man, who didn't want his name published, is the third generation in his family to work in the Great Northern Brewery, or "Harp" as it is still locally known.

The staff at the Diageo-owned company gathered yesterday morning for a meeting where the company outlined its planned new brewing operation near Dublin and the subsequent closure of the Dundalk site.

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Many shock their heads and looked at the ground as they left the emotionally-charged briefing. Most were too stunned to talk to the waiting reporters.

"Not today; it is a bad day," said one man.

Nicky McKeever and his son Stuart, who both work there, paused to say how they they were "very disappointed". Both described how the announcement came "as a surprise" before they drove away to break the news to the rest of the family.

The closure of the site by 2012 will see 85 families directly affected with a knock-on effect on suppliers and the immediate economy of the region.

Bill Tosh, executive director of Dundalk's chamber of commerce, said the repercussions for other related jobs would be three times that. "There are suppliers, distributors, lorry drivers and others. The wage bill would be at least €3 million and that can also be multiplied three times to get the potential loss to the economy," he said.

The chamber of commerce says says that two sites near Dundalk could be used to build Guinness's proposed new plant. Immediately, the Louth county manager along with Dundalk town clerk and chairman of the town council said they would be seeking a meeting with Diageo in an effort to save the jobs and have the company examine other options.

The closure of the site will see another chapter ending in the industrial history of the town.

Its proximity to the border contributed to it being a popular location for many manufacturing industries. These included brewing, tobacco and shoes.

The Diageo plant is on a 12-acre site adjacent to the railway station which was once home to the Great Northern Railway, hence the brewery's name.

Harp, Carlsberg, Smithwicks and Satzenbrau are brewed there at the moment.

It was one of a number of industries whose emissions gave the town an air of familiarity.

The smell of the hops brewing hung like like a mist over the town all year round.

In previous years the town also had the aroma of tobacco courtesy of the Carrolls cigarette factory. Both preceded any notoriety Dundalk acquired as a result of the Troubles, and it came be said that the industries had outlasted the Troubles as well.

The announcement marked the end of a chapter, not just in the lives of the employees but in the town itself.