Ireland to get new €2.9m whiskey distillery

The owners of Irish brewer and pub chain Porterhouse Group are in negotiations to create a new distillery in Ireland.

 

Oliver Hughes, Liam LaHart and Kerry businessman Jerry O'Sullivan are in the process of raising €800,000 for the Dingle Distillery through a Business Expansion Scheme to help fund the €2.9 million development.

 

The three directors will put €900,000 of their own funds into the project, which will also receive grant aid of €400,000. The balance of €800,000 will be raised from private investors.

 

The company expects to be profitable from 2012, with a portion of the profits made from a visitor centre.

There are currently three distilleries operating in Ireland, the Diageo and Irish Distillers owned Bushmills and Midleton and the independently owned Cooley.