This Prison Once Held Violent Offenders — Now, It’s a Whiskey Distillery

A former prison in Belfast has been revitalized into a distillery and whiskey experience. (Photo: McConnell’s Irish Whiskey)

RTE News reported on Wednesday that McConnell’s Irish Whisky is set to open in a former prison in Belfast, Ireland. The prison once held offenders engaged in acts of violence during a particularly volatile time in Irish history: The Troubles.

The prison was an epicenter for some of the violence during the time, and the Irish Republic Army allegedly murdered two loyalist prisoners during a bombing that took place in its canteen, according to RTE News.

In retaliation, loyalists fired a rocket at the warring party of republicans during mealtime. The jail closed in 1996 and functioned as a visitor center until now.

After a £30 million ($37.37 million) buildout, the distillery exists in the “A” wing of the prison. The owners of McConnell’s Irish Whisky brand had to get permission from authorities to be able to build the distillery inside the historic space.

McConnell’s Distillery has hired 34 people and intends to cap its team at a small team of 50. The Irish whiskey brand intends to export its whiskeys internationally.

The whiskey brand claims its origins date back to 1776 when the family began selling their whiskey in Belfast. The brand claimed it was one of the top producers in the Irish whiskey world, but its success ground to a halt after a fire burnt the distillery to a cinder in 1909.

Ninety years later, the whiskey brand has been revived and its new home in the historic Irish prison is an oddly fitting story of resurrection.

“I was a resident here for a period, not voluntarily, and it’s remarkable to be back in here and see how it has transformed,” Economy Minister Conor Murphy said, according to RTE News.

The news outlet reports Murphy spent time in the jail wing while he was affiliated with the IRA. Murphy claimed that the prison is an architectural example of Northern Ireland’s ability to reemerge from the vestiges of a violent time in history and grow.

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