Birr Distillery

Distillery in Ireland

Birr DistilleryLocation| County Offaly

|

Owner| N/A
Founded| 1805
Founder| R.&J. Wallace
Status| N/A
Mothballed| 1889

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

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

* Irish Whiskey
* Historical distilleries

## References

[edit]

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

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53°05′46″N 7°54′18″W﻿ / ﻿53.096°N 7.905°W﻿ / 53.096; -7.905
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