Locke's Kilbeggan Distillery

Also known as Locke’s or Brusna, Kilbeggan Co Westmeath1757 to 1958.
Resumed production 19th of March 2007.

The distillery was established in 1757 licensed to Mathew MacManus who possibly was already distilling in the area.

The next recorder owner was Patrick Brett in 1833.

John Locke acquired the distillery that is situated on the banks of the river Brusna or Brosna in 1843.

By 1887 the distillery had been passed on to John Locke’s sons John Edward and James Harvey.

The Lockes were benevolent employers providing accommodation for their employees either for rent or purchase via an in house mortgage scheme. They also provided a field called “cow and calf park” for the employees to graze a cow and calf for a nominal fee. A wagonload of coal was provided at the start of the winter and paid for slowly out of each weekly wage over the following months. They also permitted other “perks”.

This kind approach paid off as in 1866 the Boiler blew up. Locke’s did not have the, or the means, money to purchase a replacement. With the distillery and 70 jobs threatened the local townsfolk raised the cash for a new one. The plaque from the boiler can still be seen in the visitor centre restaurant.

As with all Irish distilleries they fell on hard times during the 1920s American Prohibition started in 1919, there was punitive duty rises in Ireland combined with the “troubles “ and the formation of the Irish free state with the resultant trade war with England, which denied sales to the then UK and the then “British Empire” and colonies.

By 1931 all that was left, in the free state, of the great Irish whisky industry was Locke’s, Tullamore and the giant Dublin distilleries of Powers and Jamesons plus the Cork Distillers Company.

During this period of difficult trading John Edward Locke died in 1920 and his brother James Harvey died in 1927 on the latter’s death his shares passed to his daughters Florence and Mary, However they had to surrender these shares as collateral to the Hibernian Bank. At some point the sisters relinquished day-to-day control to two senior employees Joseph Cooney, Company secretary and Joseph Coffey Chief distiller.

From 1931 the distillery was experiencing an up turn in fortune and in 1938 built a new warehouse, due to the sales achieved by Joseph Cooney in the USA and Canada.

In 1947 the Sisters decided to sell the distillery. Three fraudsters attempted to gain and sell the large quantity of mature whiskey stock for a large profit. They failed to produce the deposit money and this minor scam should have been forgotten. However an ambitious opposition member accused government officials of being involved in the scam. This so called scandal (that never was) filled the Irish newspapers for months, badly damaged the distillery’s reputation and drove away any buyers or investors.

The 1949 distilling season had to be extended due to the old 1890s distillery equipment breaking down and had to be repaired. However a talented distiller J.J. Hogan joined the company and invested £55,000 in new equipment.

In April 1952 the Irish government raised the spirit duty from £6.85 to £8.80 a proof gallon considerably cutting demand. By the November of 1953 Locke’s could not afford the duty to release the whisky from bond for the Christmas period and distilling ceased.

The company struggled on until November 1958 when a debenture issued to the bank in 1953 became due. Locke’s could not raise payment so the bank called in the receiver and ended 201 years of distilling history.

The receivers sold the property and stock to K H Mellor for £10,000 despite the fact the whiskey was worth far more than that. The earthen crocks that the whisky was supplied in were smashed and used as hardcore and the property was turned into a piggery.

Mellor sold the property in 1969 to Powerscreen (a Volvo Plant Dealer) who completed the vandalism by selling of bits and pieces of the redundant equipment. ripping out the stills and worms for scrap copper

During the early 1980s a local campaign was started to restore the distillery as a visitor attraction. This gained government support and funds were raised for restoration. The roofs and building were repaired, the mill wheel and steam engine restored.

In 1987 the distillery was acquired, from its then owner Lee Mallaghan, by the Cooley distiller for an exchange of Cooley shares and a place on the Cooley board. Under this new investment the warehousing was restored and used by Cooley to mature its output from its distillery at Riverstown, Dundalk.

Outside the distillery buildings the stills from the Tullamore distillery are stored. All the owners that have come and gone have maintained the £5 annual distilling license. So who knows Kilbeggan could return?