The latter half of the nineteenth century saw the population of Dundalk increase by 30% (despite the population of Ireland as a whole dropping in the same period) as the town's industries thrived prior to the partition of Ireland. The Malcolm Brown &amp; Co. Dundalk Distillery was established c.1780 at Roden Place and operated successfully throughout the 19th century. Brewing was also a key industry in the town, with eight breweries in operation by the end of the 1830s. The famine of the 1840s left just two breweries in operation, which merged to become the Macardle Moore &amp; Co. brewery at Cambricville. The Great Northern Brewery opened later, in 1896. The Dundalk Iron Works was established in 1821 and by the end of the century had expanded to become a leading employer in the town under the ownership of A.E. Manisty. The P.J. Carroll tobacco factory, started on a small scale in the 1820s, grew throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) works established in 1881 became the "backbone of the town".