Birr Distillery

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

Birr Distillery

Location	County Offaly
Owner	N/A
Founded	1805
Founder	R.&J. Wallace
Status	N/A
Mothballed	1889

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

• Irish Whiskey
• Historical distilleries