Originally launched in 1957 by

HB Ice Cream HB Ice Cream (originally an initialisation of both Hughes Brothers and Hazelbrook Farm) is an ice cream brand in Ireland and is part of the Unilever Group's Heartbrand ice cream brand. It manufactures most of the Heartbrand's ice cream range, as ...

(HB), the Golly Bar is an

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

formerly sold exclusively in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. It was a single rectangular block of

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

ice cream on a wooden stick. The packaging of Golly Bars depicted an image of a

golliwog The golliwog, also spelled golliwogg or shortened to golly, is a doll-like character, created by cartoonist and author Florence Kate Upton, which appeared in children's books in the late 19th century, usually depicted as a type of rag doll. I ...

, a 19th-century caricature of a

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. The term originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist enter ...

, which is now regarded as racist. The golliwog image was removed from the packaging in 1992. However, continued concern from the manufacturers over any racist connotations saw a name change to the Giant Bar. Giant Bars remain available for purchase across the Republic of Ireland though reorganisation of the HB brand by corporate parent

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

saw the production and ownership of the Giant Bar Brand move to Northern Ireland company Dale Farm.

References

Brand name frozen desserts Irish confectionery Products introduced in 1957 {{Food-product-stub

See also

References