The Distillery in Kilbeggan

While riding Bus Route 20 through Kilbeggan, Ireland, the sight of a waterwheel attached to a distillery along the River Brosna is captivating. Of course, this feeds the imagination of tourists and is a lucrative enterprise for the town. What is fascinating, despite the lore and prominence given to Irish whiskey, is how much the industry has struggled over time. This particular distillery is billed as the oldest licensed in Ireland, dating to 1757 when Matthew MacManus licensed the Brusna Distillery Company.

The Locke Family took over the distillery in 1843 and ran it until 1954 when it ceased production, totally closing down in 1957. Declining whiskey sales in Ireland and Britain during the depression in the 1920s and 1930s, coupled with the closing of the American market during Prohibition, all but finished Locke Whiskey. Transportation costs for the distillery were high, particularly so because the railroad was never built to Kilbeggan. In 1947, an attempted sale to two men from Switzerland with dubious backgrounds fell apart because of political pressure. The sale of the distillery was derailed when questions were raised in the Dáil (parliament) about the proposed deal. The controversy arose because officials uncovered an attempt to sell whiskey on the English black market and the perpetrator was one of the Swiss men soliciting the purchase of the distillery. Some politicians worried that flooding the black market with the whiskey made in Kilbeggan would do damage to the reputation of Irish whiskey in general. Additionally, questions were voiced about whether the government showed favoritism to a foreign interest over an Irish concern. The deal fell through and the heirs to Locke Whiskey continued to run the business for another decade.

A group of local people in Kilbeggan helped to preserved building after it sat empty for a quarter of a century and established a museum of the Locke family distillery. In 1988, the Cooley Distillery bought Kilbeggan and in 2007 began producing whiskey at the site again. Most of the original 19^th century machinery remains intact, complete with the waterwheel. Today Kilbeggan Distillery serves as a museum, a tourist destination, as well as a working distillery.

In case you were wondering, Kilbeggan means “Church of Beccan,” a sixth century saint who was a recluse in the area. Now he has a whiskey named after him.