A Protected Structure · Castlebridge, Co. Wexford
Gifted to the village by Guinness in 1980 and closed since 2019 — a community-led project to bring the Reading Rooms back to life.
Where we are now
The Reading Rooms is a Protected Structure, sound but closed. The barriers to reopening are legal and administrative, not structural — and the village has come together to clear them.
Donated to the people of Castlebridge by Guinness Ireland in 1980, the building was kept in good repair by the community through the 1980s and 90s — a new slate roof, replastering, windows, heating. It has been closed since around 2019. With the last of the 1980 trustees having passed away, clean community ownership now has to be re-established before the building can be insured, restored with heritage funding, and reopened.
A community trust is being formed to do exactly that. Read the full story →
The room where a record began
In 1951, a shooting party on the nearby North Slob led to a dinner-table argument at Castlebridge House over Europe's fastest game bird. No reference book could settle it — and Sir Hugh Beaver, managing director of Guinness, saw the need for a book that could. Four years later, the first Guinness Book of Records was published.
The record books have been kept in the Castlebridge Reading Rooms since 1976. Few small buildings anywhere can claim a thread to a story read in every country on earth. More about the building and its history →
How you can help
Give your time
Join the committee, offer a skill, or lend a hand on a working day. New members are welcome.
Give your support
Every contribution helps unlock the heritage grants that need a local match. Soon you'll be able to sponsor a slate or a window.
Stay in touch
See how the restoration is moving, meeting by meeting, and hear about open days as they're planned.