Sir, - Your correspondent Patrick Clarke (September 30th) made an interesting suggestion in putting forward St Patrick's Windmill on Thomas Street as a worthy millennium restoration project. Indeed, it is a most striking building with a varied though uncertain history and, as such, now enjoys a preserved status. The windmill was developed initially, it would appear, for use by a flour mill and then subsequently was used by a number of whiskey distilleries which operated on the site. However, it has never had any functional role for Guinness although it became part of its property when the company acquired the site in 1949.
Consideration has been given in the past to its possible development as a visitor attraction, but because of the substantial costs involved and the fact that the windmill never had a relevance to the brewery, it was felt that such an investment was not appropriate. Instead, we have concentrated on developing the Guinness Hop Store - expected to welcome half a million visitors this year, making it the third largest visitor attraction in the country. - Yours, etc. Pat Barry,
Director of Corporate Affairs, St James's Gate, Dublin 8.