Whiskey distillery to be established at Slane Castle

Thin Lizzy’s Whiskey in the Jar was the unofficial national anthem at the now defunct nightclub in Slane Castle, and Thin Lizzy were the first band to headline a concert at the castle in 1981.

Now Slane Castle is set to become home to its own whiskey distillery and visitor centre after Henry Lord Mountcharles (above) confirmed a planning application for the €10 million development would be lodged with Meath County Council shortly.

“In the history of Slane this is a deeply significant step. The application will be lodged next Monday and comes off the back of the great success we have had with Slane Castle Irish whiskey, which we launched in 2009 [at the Oasis concert],” Lord Mount-charles said yesterday.

The decision in 2012 by Beam, the new owner of Cooley Distillery, to cease producing the Slane Castle blend resulted in Lord Mountcharles and his son Alex deciding to become independent distillers.

The distillery will use barley grown on the Slane Castle estate.

“We have 50 per cent of our core capital in place, we have a distribution agreement in place and a great deal of careful thought has gone into this entire project,” Lord Mount-charles said.