Stars rock Dublin to celebrate 'Arthur's Day'

Global celebrations to salute the world’s most famous stout kicked off in style tonight with Tom Jones leading the toast with pints of Guinness in Dublin.

As millions of people saluted the birth of the brew, a host of stars jetted into the capital to add a touch of glamour to Arthur’s Day.

At 17.59pm, Jones, the star of the show, opened the night-long celebrations to raise his glass at the St James’s Gate brewery to commemorate its founder, Arthur Guinness.

The atmosphere was electric as 2,000 ticket winners from all over the world crammed into an old warehouse and spread the tide of toasts around the world.

Minutes earlier on the red carpet, the singer admitted that he started drinking Guinness shandy as a child at home with his father.

But he said it was fantastic to be invited to perform at the Dublin celebrations.

“Irish people are great, they’ve always been good to me and I’ve always enjoyed coming here,” he said.

“The best place to have Guinness is in Ireland.

“When you are in the place where they make it it’s the real deal.”

The Welsh star also revealed that his best way to cure a Guinness hangover was to down another one.

He told reporters he liked “a hairy dog”... laughing as he realised he had mixed it with up a hair of the dog.

As Cat Deeley and Boyzone’s Ronan Keating presented the main concert from the brewery live to thousands of pubs throughout the UK, artists performed in 28 intimate pub venues across Dublin and in Lagos, Cameroon and Kuala Lumpur.

The list of acts included Kasabian, David Gray, Estelle, and Dizzee Rascal, who replaced the Sugababes at the last minute.

Earlier in the day, Rolling Stone star Ronnie Wood joined his son Jesse’s band The Black Swan Effect for an impromptu gig in a shop window in Dublin city centre.

“It was a total surprise, it was great,” said Jesse. “Totally unexpected.”

Making the 250th anniversary of the signing of the brewery lease a family affair was model and socialite Jasmine Guinness, who arrived at Guinness HQ with members of her extended clan.

“It’s a very good reason to raise a pint and raise money for charity,” she said. “I’m very proud to be here.”

Dressed fittingly in a black and white dress, Guinness pint and shamrock necklace, Jasmine said Guinness’s would be remembered for what they gave back to the community.

“You have to drive around Dublin and look at the buildings, the parks, the hospitals and schools and everything they built,” she continued.

“I think more employers should be like Guinness as they were. That’s the legacy. The legacy is charity. It’s really important.

“If you can give you should give. But we wouldn’t be able to give if it wasn’t for our loyal punters.

“Its all down to the people of Ireland and our customers worldwide. There’s lots of them.”

The Guinness brand, now owned by multinational drinks giant Diageo, is a symbol of Ireland that is recognised around the world.

The brewery was founded in 1759 after Arthur Guinness secured a 9,000-year lease on the St James’s Gate site for the annual sum of IR£45.

By 1886 it was the largest brewery in the world.

The company dubbed September 24 Arthur’s Day and has lined up a host of events across the globe to mark the anniversary.

More than 11,000 people on social networking site Facebook have called for Arthur’s Day to become a national annual holiday.

Comedian Patrick Kielty said he could not turn down an invitation to a piss-up in a brewery.

“I love the way Dublin needs an excuse to drink, like St Patrick’s Day isn’t enough,” he said.

“They thought: 'When are we sober? September! What can we think of?'”