St Patrick's Day is always a big occasion for Irish stout makers Guinness, but this year's celebrations were extra special as thousands of fans of the drink from around the world helped set two new world records.
In a bid to make St Patrick's 'The Friendliest Day of the Year', the drinks firm had been inviting Guinness lovers over the past month to participate in a pair of record attempts - one for the Largest St Patrick's Day celebration (multiple venues), along with a bid for the Most pledges received for a campaign.
In order to claim the titles, Guinness needed to gain more than 50,000 online pledges from friendly folk around the globe.
From Japan to Nigeria, people from 161 countries around the world promised that they would take join a Guinness hosted St Patrick's Day party to mark the Irish national holiday.
GWR officials spent much of Sunday painstakingly counting the number of pledges made and were able to confirm that a staggering 435,456 participants had joined the campaign ensuring that two new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS had indeed been set.
Leading the celebrations at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin following the announcement, Master Brewer Gearoid Cahill said: "This is testament to the global appeal of Irish culture and the positivity of the day which extends all around the world".
"Everyone really has made St Patrick's Day 2012 a day to remember so thanks for being part of the celebrations".
Not resting on its laurels, Guinness says it has already started preparations to make St Patrick's Day 2013 another record-breaking year.
Slainte!
