The Sunday Times

For much of the 20th century, Guinness was synonymous with its home town. The black stuff stood for Dublin as much as Nelson's Pillar did. Although it was said stout didn't travel well - much to the locals' delight - Guinness tugs animated the Liffey for decades, belching smoke and folding their funnels as they passed beneath the bridges. Until a few years ago the Guinness boats, moored opposite Custom House, shipped the most visible of the republic's exports to the outside world.