Sir, - While recognising the right of your columnists to express a critical view on a particular subject, I was perplexed by the negative tone adopted by Joe Humphreys (An Irishman's Diary, March 10th) regarding his recent visit to the Guinness Storehouse. He certainly doesn't subscribe to the old school of journalism on which I cut my teeth, in which the emphasis always was on constructive criticism.
The writer seems to have a difficulty in accepting that Guinness has a strong historical value (over 240 years) and has become part of our culture, something clearly recognised by the half-million visitors who visit us each year. In fact Storehouse was developed to cater for the enormous growth in visitors in recent years.
And we believe that Storehouse gives value for money. After all, visitors easily can spend several hours exploring the building and their visit also includes a sample pint of Guinness or soft drink for those who are under-age or those preferring not to drink. There are some who make that choice - despite the view expressed by Mr Humphreys of being exposed to "one big sales pitch".
Indeed, I have to stress that Storehouse is in no way pitched at encouraging young people (his word was "children") to drink. Does the Chamber of Horrors at Madame Tussaud's in London encourage young people to go on a rampage of torture and murder? We have to accept that parents with young families will quite reasonably try to satisfy their insatiable desire for knowledge by visiting attractive locations with a long history and tradition. We took account of this when planning Storehouse, while always being extremely conscious of our responsibilities in relation to issues like abuse of alcohol. To suggest that pricing entrance tickets specifically for younger people or even displaying our wide range of advertising is tantamount to encouraging them to drink is nonsense.
Our visitors regard the Guinness "experience" at Storehouse as entertaining and also a source of information about an interesting company and product. Let's be realistic: visitors, both young and old, are sufficiently aware of the world around them to be able to make their own judgments. Perhaps a family visit to the Guinness Storehouse offers a context in which to raise or debate the value of moderate consumption or indeed the negatives associated with abuse of alcohol, particularly by young people.
Finally, despite the comments from Mr Humphreys, I have to say that as a "blow-in" from Cork, I think the city of Dublin looks superb from Gravity, the bar at the top of Storehouse. - Yours, etc.,
Pat Barry, Director of Corporate Affairs, Guinness Ireland Group, Dublin 8.