21 January 2014
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
The local community of Dungourney, Co Cork gathered to host a ‘Welcome
Day’ on 18th January, to welcome the arrival of the first
barrels of whiskey to Irish Distillers’ new Dungourney Warehousing
facility.
The facility, which has recently had a €100 million investment by
Irish Distillers, owners of Jameson, welcomed the first barrels of
whiskey from the Midleton Distillery amongst cheers from the local
community who organised a ‘Welcome Party’ at Dungourney Community
Hall.
A ‘Distilling Welcoming Committee’ made up of local business owners
and community members welcomed the arrival with band pipes, activities
and a brief presentation to the staff of Irish Distillers.
File photo of spirits
According to John Hayes, Chairperson of the ‘Distilling Welcoming
Committee’, it was important to the town to formally mark the
occasion. “We are incredibly proud here in Dungourney to be part of
the Jameson success story. Irish Distillers have always been very
supportive of the local community, including the GAA club, the local
schools, and the local workforce, of which many are employed directly
by the company. The arrival of the first load of barrels to the newly
expanded distillery is a great day for the whole town of Dungourney
and we wanted to formally welcome the trucks, and show our
appreciation to Irish Distillers for their continued support and
investment in our town.”
Tommy Keane, General Manager, Midleton Distilleries said: “We would
like to sincerely thank the local community of Dungourney for such a
warm welcome and for their support and trust in us right through the
planning process, and the major elements of the construction process
that has taken place to date. Without their support the project would
not have been possible. We look forward to developing this
relationship with the Dungourney community and continuing this
partnership long in to the future.”
