Work on Tullamore distillery to begin in April

Work on the new Tullamore Dew distillery at Ballard and Clonminch in Tullamore is to begin in April. William Grant and Sons Ltd revealed the news today (Thursday), as they officially announced planning permission had been granted for the project by Offaly County Council. Council planners gave the project the green light on December 18. Since then no appeals have been submitted relating to the project however, allowing the whiskey company to look to the construction stage of the project. Construction on the new €35m distillery, which is to be situated on a 69 acre site, will begin in April, while a projected completion date of summer 2014 has also been given. The development is part of a long term plan which will include a pot and malt distillery building, warehousing, offices, an employee car park and visitor facilities. The project will support something in the region of 100 construction jobs. The new Tullamore distillery will utilise the latest in green technology according to William Grant and Sons Ltd, and will meet the long term growing production demands for Tullamore Dew. Speaking today Tullamore Dew global brand director Shane Hoyne said it was a happy day. "We are pleased that planning permission for the distillery has been granted and the construction phase can now commence," he said. "The new distillery is a significant step in the journey of Tullamore Dew, which is now the second largest selling Irish whiskey worldwide. "It is also an important development for the town of Tullamore and part of our continuing investment in the region following the redevelopment of our visitor centre in 2012," he continued. "We look forward to building a state-of-the-art distillery, and we are very proud to be bringing whiskey distilling back to Tullamore Dew's roots for the first time in almost 60 years."