Birr Distillery

Last updated

Birr Distillery
Location Offaly
OwnerN/A
Founded1805
FounderR.&J. Wallace
StatusN/A
Mothballed1889

Birr Distillery was a distillery built in 1805 in County Offaly (previously known as King's County) in Ireland. [1]

Contents

The distillery was located close to Newbridge Street on the River Cam-Cor (meaning ‘crooked weir’). The three storey, quadrangular distillery was a substantial distillery at one stage with an annual output of 200,000 US gal (760,000 L; 170,000 imp gal), but not much is known about it today. [2]

History

There were five distilleries in County Offaly, but by 1818 there were only two in operation which were both located at Birr. [3] In the late 1840s, one of the distilleries closed, and the other was purchased by the Wallace Brothers who are only known by their initials R and J. [3] Birr Distillery consisted of a malting floor, kiln and mill, mash tun, still room, spirit store and bonded warehouse. [4]

The Wallace brothers kept Birr Distillery in business up to 1889 until a fire broke out and put an end to the distillery. A worker fell asleep and the friction caused by the millstone ignited the surrounds. As the fire spread, casks exploded and there are reports that state "the whiskey flowed in a flaming mass down the Camcor River, turning it into a great swirling and flaming Christmas pudding." [2]

In the 1990s, it was bought by an English family who converted it to a summer house, while the other buildings across the river were converted into apartments. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slane</span> Village in County Meath, Ireland

Slane is a village in County Meath, in Ireland. The village stands on a steep hillside on the left bank of the River Boyne at the intersection of the N2 and the N51. As of the 2022 census, Slane's population was 1,445. The village and surrounding area contains many historic sites dating back over 5,000 years. The village centre, as it is laid-out today, dates mainly from the 18th century. The village is in a townland and civil parish of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irish whiskey</span> Popular spirit made in Ireland

Irish whiskey is whiskey made on the island of Ireland. The word 'whiskey' comes from the Irish uisce beatha, meaning water of life. Irish whiskey was once the most popular spirit in the world, though a long period of decline from the late 19th century onwards greatly damaged the industry, so much so that although Ireland boasted at least 28 distilleries in the 1890s, by 1966 this number had fallen to just two, and by 1972 the remaining distilleries, Bushmills Distillery and Old Midleton Distillery, were owned by just one company, Irish Distillers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County Offaly</span> County in Ireland

County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain. Offaly County Council is the local authority for the county. The county population was 82,668 at the 2022 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birr, County Offaly</span> Town in County Offaly, Ireland

Birr is a town in County Offaly, Ireland. Between 1620 and 1899 it was called Parsonstown, after the Parsons family who were local landowners and hereditary Earls of Rosse. The town is in a civil parish of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tullamore</span> Town in County Offaly, Ireland

Tullamore is the county town of County Offaly in Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midlands Region, with 15,598 inhabitants at the 2022 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Brosna</span> Tributary of the Shannon in central and western Ireland

The River Brosna is a river within the Shannon River Basin in Ireland, flowing through County Westmeath and County Offaly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilbeggan Distillery</span> Irish whiskey production site, County Westmeath, Ireland

Kilbeggan Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery situated on the River Brosna in Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, Ireland. Founded in 1757 the distillery is owned by Suntory Global Spirits, an subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meelick, County Galway</span> Townland in County Galway, Ireland

Meelick is a townland on the River Shannon in County Galway, Ireland. It lies approximately 4 km southeast of the village of Eyrecourt. According to local sources, it is home to the oldest church still in use in Ireland having been given papal permission and built in 1414 AD. Meelick is also home to Meelick-Eyrecourt hurling club, which was founded in 1884. Meelick has a small pub which is known locally as "George's/The Shop". The area hosts a kayaking festival each year after the boating season halts in winter.

The River Camcor is a tributary of the Little Brosna River in central Ireland. It joins the Little Brosna in the Birr Castle Desmesne, Birr, County Offaly. The Little Brosna, in turn, joins the River Shannon close to Victoria Lock at Meelick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sculpture in the Parklands</span>

The Sculpture in the Parklands is a 50-acre (200,000 m2) land and environmental sculpture park located in Lough Boora, County Offaly, Ireland. The park is open to the public 365 days of the year and admission is free.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Brosna River</span> River in Ireland, tributary of the Shannon

The Little Brosna River rises near Dunkerrin, County Offaly, Ireland. It flows for 36 miles before joining the River Shannon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrig (electoral division)</span> Electoral division in County Tipperary

Carrig is a settlement and electoral division in the historical barony of Ormond Lower, County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located on the N52 road between Birr and Borrisokane. The early medieval Christian psalter known as the Faddan More Psalter was discovered near here in July 2006 in a peat bog.

Sharavogue is a townland in the historical Barony of Clonlisk, County Offaly, Ireland. It is a rural area located near the junction of the N52 road and the R492 between Roscrea and Birr. The Little Brosna River flows under Sharavogue bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jameson Experience, Midleton</span> Distillery museum in Midleton, Ireland

The Jameson Experience, Midleton, is an Irish whiskey museum and visitor centre located in the Old Midleton Distillery in Midleton, County Cork, Ireland. Set over 15 acres, since opening as a visitor's centre in 1992, the old distillery has received approximately 100,000 guests per year, receiving 125,000 in 2015.

Allman's Bandon Distillery was an Irish whiskey distillery which was established in 1826 in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. The distillery closed in 1929 following financial difficulties. However, agents for the company trading under the name Allman, Dowden & Co., may have continued to sell off the existing stock which had built up in bonded warehouses, in both cask and bottled form, until 1939.

The Yellow River is a river in central Ireland, a tributary of the River Boyne.

The North Mall Distillery was an Irish whiskey distillery located in Cork City, Ireland. In its day one of the most famous distilleries in Ireland, the distillery was destroyed by a fire in 1920. Distilling operations never resumed at the North Mall after the fire, and it was later converted into a bottling and storage facility which was used by Irish Distillers until 2007, at which point operations were transferred to Irish Distillers' other bottling facilities in Dublin. In the mid-2000s, much of the site was jointly acquired by University College Cork and Mercy University Hospital, and has since been redeveloped.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teeling Distillery</span> Whiskey distillery in Dublin, Ireland

Teeling Distillery is an Irish whiskey distillery established in Dublin in 2015 by the Teeling Whiskey Company and owned by Bacardi Limited.

The Old Tullamore Distillery was an Irish whiskey distillery which was established in Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland, in 1829. The original home of Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey, the distillery closed in 1954, having endured financial difficulties for many years, like many Irish whiskey distilleries of the early 20th century.

Marlfield Distillery was an Irish whiskey distillery which operated in the village of Marlfield, just outside of Clonmel, Ireland between approximately 1817 and 1856.

References

  1. "the old distillery, Birr, County Offaly". buildingsofireland.ie.
  2. 1 2 3 The Lost Distilleries of Ireland. Neil Wilson Publishing Ltd. 14 February 2012. ISBN   9781906000097.
  3. 1 2 "R.&J. Wallace Distillery - Birr, Co. Offaly". irelandwhiskeytrail.com.
  4. "MILLS OF CO OFFALY" (PDF). offaly.ie.

53°05′46″N7°54′18″W / 53.096°N 7.905°W / 53.096; -7.905