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)
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.
A 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.
Visitors 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.
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.
"My husband and I are big charity people and that’s why we always make sure we do everything to maximise National Lottery sales and our shop’s contributions to Good Causes," said Ranmal Punja Odera, owner of Smokers Paradise and winner of £1,000.
"I worked for the NHS for years, and now I support the community and our customers. I often take our elderly customers out for brunch and dinner, so I will use the money to treat them to a nice afternoon tea and also give a little to a charity. Then the rest could go towards a holiday."
Tanwar Hussain
Tanwir Hussain, owner of Premier News in Chorley and winner of a £1,000 prize, said: "I was so happy when I found out I’d won. It means we can buy a new washing machine with the money.
"The National Lottery makes a huge difference to our store, as it helps to drive footfall. We recently had the new National Lottery permanent point of sales equipment installed which looks great and is already making a difference."
Allwyn’s Head of Field Sales, Karl Southworth, said: "I’d like to say a huge congratulations to this quarter’s deserving Site, Stock, Sell online prize winners. Keep up the fantastic work. We know that keeping Scratchcard dispensers full, signage current and up to date, and play slips topped up helps maximise sales of The National Lottery and, in turn, increases returns to Good Causes. Thank you for your hard work in helping to raise over £30 million every week for National Lottery-funded projects."
This month, independent National Lottery retailers have the opportunity to earn even more in rewards through Allwyn's Site, Stock, Sell online programme. They can earn £25 instead of £10 for uploading point of sale pictures and scoring 8 or more out of ten. This is helping support the huge £104m guaranteed EuroMillions special event draw tonight (7 March), with POS having already been sent to stores ahead of the huge draw.
If National Lottery retailers haven’t already, they can sign up to The National Lottery Retailer Hub today to find out more about bonus opportunities like this one: https://tnlpartners.co.uk/
Full list of winners:
£10,000
A National Lottery retailer in Kent*
£1,000
Simon Atkinson, owner of Woodfield Convenience Store in Harrogate
Visalini Jeyanand, owner of Go Local Extra in Derby
Paul Walker, owner of Bargain Booze in Wigan
Ranmal Punja Odera, owner of Smokers Paradise in Billericay
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.
Under her leadership, Dole Europe has gone from strength to strength through the exploration of new markets and route to market expansions. Delivering category growth in the UK, now with over 40 per cent share of total ambient fruits, and growing ahead of the category
Isabelle has overseen the relaunch of Doles Tropical Gold canned pineapple into major mults, along with launch of Dole’s 198g Pineapple and Tropical Fruit pots, perfect for a healthy on the go snack, gaining listings in Sainsbury’s and a first ever listing for Dole in B&M. Another first for Dole, under Isabelle’s leadership is the award-winning Add Some WoW campaign, where we stoked controversy for Dole by adding pineapple to the infamous Full English breakfast through a compelling social media and PR campaign that led to two awards.
Previous to joining Dole, Isabelle worked 17 years for Heineken in several roles.
Erik Hamel, will take over the Managing Director role from March 15. Erik joined Dole as Finance Director in 2020 and will continue to drive the company’s transformation, focusing on both short-term and long-term category growth, while promoting Dole’s sustainability work.
Before joining Dole, Erik worked for Heineken for over 25 years covering many different roles in finance, sales and general management across various European markets
“I am very pleased to be given the opportunity to continue our journey in which we strive to enhance nutrition through the goodness of fruit together with our stakeholders,” said Hamel
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.
The scheme's aim is to restore sub-postmasters to the financial position they would have been in had they not become victims of faulty Horizon software which caused false accounting shortfalls.
Walter had his Post Office contract terminated in 2008. He and Janet lost their business and then their family home. They moved in to rented accommodation where they lived for the past 15 years.
Janet said Terry's claim was put forward in February 2024 and it has taken a year to receive an offer for redress from the government.
Terry passed away in February, a week before a letter arrived offering "less than half" of his original claim for financial redress.
"It should have been a 40-day turnaround of an offer. And it's taken 12 months to receive an offer, an offer which came after Terry had passed away.
"They wanted a stroke report back in September to drag it out a bit more, to see if it's being caused by all the stress from the Post Office."
"I think it contributed considerably to the whole state of him.
"I've told them I will not accept [the offer]," Janet tells Sky News. "I think it's an utter disgrace. Not when I look at him and I think, no, what you've been through - I won't just take anything and go away.
"It's a scandal what they did with the Horizon system, it's a scandal now because of the length of time it's taken [on redress]."
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said, "We are sorry to hear of Terry's death and our thoughts are with Janet and the rest of his family and friends."
They added they have now issued 407 offers to the 425 GLO claimants "who have submitted full claims" and are "making offers to 89 per cent of GLO claimants within 40 working days of receipt of a full claim, with over half of eligible claimants having now settled their claim."
The DBT also said it has "doubled" the amount of payments under the Labour government to "provide postmasters with full and fair redress".
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Decline in plant-based product sales and rise in meat and dairy sales
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.
This was mostly driven by vegetable-based products such as bean burgers, rather than meat imitation products (like Quorn), as vegetable-based products saw a -12.4 per cent decline.
This weaker performance is likely due to declining engagement with Veganuary, according to Google searches, and only a small proportion of the population (5.65 per cent) taking part in the challenge this year.
Of those who took part, 1.29 per cent are vegan all year round, 2.30 per cent completed Veganuary and 2.06 per cent did not. Of those who managed to maintain a vegan diet for the entire month, 39 per cent stated they are not going to continue with the diet beyond January, states AHDB.
Promotions played a big part in performance this January, and according to Kantar, meat-free product saw a 9.1 per cent decline in promotions year-on-year, which, along with high inflation, likely contributed to its performance.
While meat imitation products did see spend and volume growth in January, it was the only meat-free category to see increases in both, however, this isn’t expected to continue, as historically (2021–2024) there has been an average decline in volume of -22.5 per cent from January to February (Kantar 4 w/e 26 January 2025).
Cow’s dairy volumes increased by 6.1 per cent in January and saw volume increases in almost all product categories, while plant-based dairy sales increased by just 1 per cent, with volume declines in nearly all plant-based dairy categories, including plant-based cheese, spreads and butter.
Hannah McLoughlin, an AHDB analyst, said, “Our data highlights that consumer interest in meat and dairy-free products is not as strong as it was in previous years.
“The demand for meat and dairy remains resilient, with many consumers showing a preference for traditional products over plant-based options.
“This shift in consumption patterns, coupled with fluctuating promotional activity, suggests that the traditional meat and dairy sectors continue to hold their ground in the face of changing dietary trends.
“AHDB continues to promote the benefits of eating meat and dairy year-round, with our Milk Every Moment, Let’s Eat Balanced and Love Pork campaigns focusing on the great taste and health benefits of these products as part of a healthy balanced diet.”
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Retailers cautioned to prep for disposable vape ban
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.
More than one in every eight (13.2 per cent) of the products were found to contain nicotine in amounts ranging from 0.06 mg/ml to 27.02 mg/ml – around the amount delivered by a pack of 20 cigarettes.
All ten were also found to exceed the limit on the amount of e-liquid permitted in vapes with two found to exceed both the e-liquid and nicotine strength limit.
As a result, consumers hoping to buy nicotine free products would have been exposed to nicotine and its addictive effects and in significant quantities with eight of the ten failed samples.
Lord Michael Bichard, Chair, National Trading Standards, said, “Nicotine free vapes can be a useful tool to quit smoking and reduce nicotine dependency, but these findings reveal that people can actually continue to be stuck in a cycle of addiction if sold the highly addictive substance unknowingly.
“Businesses should be aware vapes falsely claiming to be nicotine free are in circulation and should make sure they are not breaking the law by selling products that are falsely advertised, especially where they are importing goods or acting as the main UK distributor.
“I urge businesses and consumers to be vigilant and report suspected cases to the Citizens Advice consumer service by calling 0808 223 1133.”
Alex Fry, Operations Officer for Heart of the South West Trading Standards, said, “We are pleased to have contributed to and helped co-ordinate the sampling of this project.
"We recognise how important it is for regulators and legislators to have up to date intelligence on what products are being supplied to consumers.
“Trading Standards are at the forefront of ensuring products comply with legal requirements and we hope that the findings will provide valuable intelligence and help shape the future regulation of cigarettes, tobacco and vapes.”