Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Belfast jail reborn as whiskey distillery

Belfast jail reborn as whiskey distillery
A photograph taken on May 17, 2024 shows bottles of McConnell's Irish Whiskey at the Crumlin road jail, in central Belfast. (Photo by PAUL FAITH/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images

Once home to paramilitary prisoners during Northern Ireland's ‘Troubles’, a notorious Belfast jail is now home to a whiskey still that is drawing tourists to a formerly strife-torn area.

For Graeme Millar, master distiller at McConnell's Whisky, the repurposed Crumlin Road Gaol, whose four forbidding Victorian granite wings are still surrounded by high fences, is an "iconic part of Belfast's history".


"We want to do it justice, by bringing distilling back to Belfast and into a building of such significance," the 53-year-old told AFP.

"It feels very calm and peaceful for me when I come to work in the morning. I'm sure it's very different from what it used to be like when it was a prison," he said.

The Troubles claimed over 3,500 lives during three decades of sectarian violence over British rule of Northern Ireland, which largely ended in a 1998 peace deal.

GettyImages 2155338501A photograph taken on May 17, 2024 shows the entrance of the Crumlin road jail, in central Belfast, which imprisoned IRA and Loyalist prisoners, that has been transformed into an Irish Whiskey distillery and tourist attraction. Once home to paramilitary prisoners during Northern Ireland's 'Troubles' conflict, a 178-year-old repurposed Belfast jail now hosts an Irish whiskey still that is drawing tourists to a formerly strife-torn area. (Photo by PAUL FAITH/AFP via Getty Images)

For many Northern Irish people, Crumlin Road Gaol - located in the northwest of the city which was an epicentre of the conflict - was associated with riots, bombings and breakouts.

"I would have driven here with my mum and dad as a child and would have seen the barriers up at the front and the big tall fences, I remember those sights," said Millar, who grew up near the city.

Since closing in 1996 the prison's A-wing lay derelict but reopened in April after a £30 million joint investment by the US-backed Belfast Distillery Company and the UK government.

The prison's thick stone walls and rows of cramped cells along gangways presented "a challenge" when fitting the distillery into the space, according to Millar.

"Small rooms to put things like air compressors into work well, but something like grain handling equipment which should be outside needed to be fitted into a few cells over the course of three floors," he said.

The firm now provides jobs for over 30 people, including distillers and tourism staff at a brand new visitors centre.

It has also resurrected both a long dormant brand - McConnell's Irish Whisky that dates back to 1776 - and is helping revive whiskey-making in Belfast, which died in the 1930s after Prohibition in the US.

"We are bringing employment and distillation skills that haven't been used in Belfast for years," said Millar.

'Building on history'

"We're not the first whiskey distillers in this prison though," Ross Wade, a tour guide, told a group of English tourists from Nottingham.

"The prisoners used to make their own home brew with fermented fruit, crackers and yeast, but their speciality wouldn't be as nice as our whiskey," laughed Wade, 27.

Opened in 1846, more than 25,000 people were incarcerated there including "suffragette" women's rights activists, pro-Irish unity republican and pro-UK loyalist paramilitary prisoners, as well as murderers and petty crooks.

Famous inmates included former Irish president Eamon de Valera and ex-IRA commander Martin McGuinness, who became Northern Ireland's deputy premier after the Troubles ended.

GettyImages 2155338378Visitors taste whisky on May 17, 2024 at the former Crumlin road jail, in central Belfast. (Photo by PAUL FAITH/AFP via Getty Images)

The jail - colloquially known as the Crum - opened its doors as a tourist attraction in 2012 and the firm hopes the distillery will draw even more visitors.

Wade said it complements other major sights in the city such as the museum commemorating the doomed Titanic liner which was built in Belfast.

"We are expecting to get roughly 100,000 people annually here, especially in the high season when the cruise ships and coaches come into Belfast," he told AFP.

One tourist, Simon Simmons, said the prison distillery was "definitely a great experience".

"Being from the mainland UK we had definitely heard of the Troubles in Northern Ireland," said the 54-year-old IT manager.

"We hadn't necessarily heard of this prison itself but we were aware of what was going on as we grew up. It's good that that history is being built upon," he said.

(AFP)

More for you

Allwyn Awards £20K to National Lottery Retailers

Ranmal Punja Odera

Allwyn awards £20k to 11 retailers!

Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, has announced it has awarded £20,000 in prizes to 11 National Lottery retailers in its latest Site, Stock, Sell online quarterly prize draw.

A single National Lottery retailer took home the £10,000 top prize, while a further 10 retailers each won £1,000 for achieving high scores in Allwyn’s Site, Stock, Sell online in-store standards programme.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dole Packaged Foods announces Erik Hamel as new Managing Director for Europe

Isabelle Spindler-Jacobs, outgoing Managing Director of Dole Packaged Foods Europe

Dole Packaged Foods Europe appoints Erik Hamel as new managing director

Dole Packaged Foods has appointed of Erik Hamel as Managing Director for Dole Packaged Foods Europe, replacing Isabelle Spindler-Jacobs

Isabelle joined Dole in 2019, where she took the lead in relocating the business from Paris to Rotterdam during the challenging time of the Covid pandemic, where she established a fantastic office and team by focusing on diversity and valuing individuals.

Keep ReadingShow less
Terry Walter's widow criticized the Post Office for delayed compensation
Post Office Horizon scandal
Getty Images (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

Widow slams Post Office for delayed, 'less than half'  redressal

Widow of the former post master, whose compensation arrived days after his death, has slammed Post Office for delaying the compensation as well as for offering an "utter disgrace" of the redressal.

Terry Walter was one of 555 sub-postmasters who won a legal battle against the Post Office in 2019. He was part of the GLO Group Litigation Order (GLO) Scheme established after the 2019 High Court win.

Keep ReadingShow less
Infographic showing Veganuary participation rates and consumer behavior trends

Decline in plant-based product sales and rise in meat and dairy sales

iStock image

Meat and dairy sales rise as plant-based declines

Meat and dairy products saw a rise in sales in January, while their meat-free counterparts and dairy-free products experienced less demand compared with 2024.

According to a report released by Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), while the meat, fish and poultry (MFP) category saw volume growth of 1.4 per cent, meat-free products had their fourth consecutive year of decline.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK Disposable Vape Ban Guidlines
Retailers cautioned to prep for disposable vape ban
Photo: iStock

Warning issued over vapes 'falsely claiming to be nicotine free'

Vapes touted as "nicotine free" to UK consumers can have traces or even considerable amount of nicotine, shows a new report as Trading Standards continue to unearth new intelligence around the illegal vapes market.

As part of Operation Joseph, a Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) funded initiative tracking the sale of illicit vapes and underage sales, 76 products sold as nicotine free vapes were tested by Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service, working together with Trading Standards teams in Salford and Berkshire.

Keep ReadingShow less