DUBLIN — Ireland’s love affair with pub and pint is sparking national soul-searching as never before because of an unofficial holiday dreamed up by Guinness.
Thursday’s celebrations of Arthur’s Day, honoring the 18th-century founder of Ireland’s quintessential drink, feature surprise musical performances in 815 pubs and clubs across Ireland as well as concerts worldwide from Malaysia to Jamaica.
Launched in 2009, Guinness says the annual festivities provide a needed tonic for a 7,500-strong Irish pub network struggling to maintain profits in the face of a five-year debt crisis that has ravaged employment and incomes.
Many pubs offered free pints of the dark brown stout at 5:59 p.m. — a reference to the founding of Guinness in 1759 — followed by the appearance of a band or singer, among them famous acts.
But this year, Guinness has been put on the defensive amid surging protests that Arthur’s Day is compounding an alcoholic culture that costs Ireland $5 billion annually in hung-over workers and a Europe-leading rate of liver disease.
