New distillery opens in historic Belfast prison

A 250-year-old whiskey brand, a historic listed building and a state-of-the-art distillery – Belfast’s newest visitor attraction has all the ingredients for an unforgettable experience.

Housed in the A-wing of Belfast’s notorious Crumlin Road Gaol, the new distillery will produce McConnell’s Irish Whiskey, first distilled in the city in 1776 and still going strong until the 1930s when many of the island’s distilleries closed.

McConnell’s Distillery will be one of the biggest spirit operations in Northern Ireland, bringing back to life the Belfast born whiskey brand which was created by the McConnell family in the eighteenth century. Guided tours of the distillery reveal the unique history of the famous brand and the stories of Belfast’s illustrious distilling past. The tours explain the distilling process and offer samples of some of McConnell’s award-winning Irish whiskies along the way.

The Crumlin Road Gaol dates back to 1845 and closed its doors as a working prison in 1996. It is now a visitor attraction and events and conference centre. Guided and self-guided tours of the site explore its colourful history from Victorian times when women and children were held within its walls through to the political segregation of prisoners during Northern Ireland’s Troubles. 

 

McConnell’s Distillery is the second new distillery to open in Belfast within the past year reflecting the resurgence in popularity of Irish whiskey worldwide. Titanic Distillers became Belfast’s first working Irish distillery for almost 90 years when it opened last year in the city’s Titanic Quarter. Housed in the historic pumphouse, built in 1911 as part of the infrastructure needed to build the massive White Star transatlantic liners, Titanic Distillers produces a range of whiskeys and vodka. 

The distillery also offers four immersive tours: the Signature Tour; the Premium Tour; the Dock Tour and the Legacy Tour. All the tours explore the historic building, which retains all the original pump equipment and internal features, and include tastings of Titanic Distillers’ award-winning Irish spirits. Some of the tours also include a visit to the Thompson Graving Dock, where the Titanic and her sister ships were built, and which was the largest dry dock in the world at the time it was constructed.

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