The name Guinness may be world-famous for brewing, but they played other roles in Irish history. Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness was the grandson of Arthur Guinness, founder of the brewery. Born in Dublin in 1798, Benjamin became Lord Mayor of Dublin, and in 1865, he was elected to the House of Commons to represent his native city. His statue sits outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral because he personally funded the restoration of the cathedral in the early 1860s. He was made a baronet in recognition of this philanthropy.
A Grave Concern 