New €24m Killarney brewery and distillery to open this summer

A computer-generated image of the new brewery and distillery outside Killarney, currently under construction.

A €24m investment on the Ring of Kerry, just outside Killarney, will be Ireland’s largest independent brewery, distillery and visitor centre and two flagship products have been launched to mark its arrival.

The 62,000 sq ft Killarney Brewing & Distilling on the N72 looks set to open later this summer.

Although with a firm eye on the global export market – especially the US market – the venture has strong roots in the revival in local brewing and distilling.

Parent company KBD owns both Killarney Brewing Company Ltd and Killarney Distilling Company. It was founded in 2013 by Killarney men Tim O’Donoghue, Paul Sheahan, and their Chicago-based business partner, Liam Healy, who has family connections in Kilbrean, Killarney.

The brewing operation began eight years ago and is located in a taproom and pizza facility in the old mineral water factory on the Muckross Road.

250-seat gala event space

The Fossa facility, on the coach and bus route, overlooking the Lakes of Killarney and the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks, will have a rooftop garden, as well as a 250-seat gala event space, a chocolate shop and other facilities. 

Once fully operational, it will employ more than 85 people and aims to attract in excess of 100,000 annual visitors.

On St Patrick’s Day, the company unveiled two products: an eight-year-old premium blended Killarney Irish whiskey, partnered with an imperial stout. The stout has been matured in the same Killarney whiskey casks and designed to complement the flavours of the whiskey blend.

On completion, the new premises will be Ireland’s “largest independently owned and co-located distillery, brewery and visitor experience”, the company said.

'Years in the making'

Barry Spellman, general manager at Killarney Brewing & Distilling Company, said the project had been “years in the making” and the two new products are a showcase of what the distillery will offer.

“Working with some of the leading distilleries in Ireland, the company sourced some of the finest grain and malt whiskey available and with the help of their master distiller, blended to our exact specification,” he said.

The distillery and brewery is tapping into a centuries-long tradition of brewing and of mineral water production in the tourist town, which ended in the 1960s.

A second whiskey distillery and bonding facility is already located at the old Lakeview Estate in Fossa and a third brewery and distillery has permission in nearby Aghadoe.