Donegal's Distilling Heritage

Donegal is steeped in a history of legal and illicit distillation, and the Sliabh Liag peninsula and the parish of Glencolmcille were among the most prolific poitín producing areas in the County. Aeneas Coffey referred to distilling in the mountainous parts of Donegal as being where illicit distillation "has been carried on from time immemorial and been the principal occupation of almost the whole population".

William Leathem established the last legal distillery in Donegal in 1814 at Bohillion Farm on the way to Letterkenny. To avoid the competition from the illicit distillers he produced high quality grain spirit which he matured for at least a year. By the late 1830’s production was at around 200,000 gallons a year and there were 60 people on the payroll. With predominantly home market customers, the distillery foundered due to a strong temperance movement, declining population through emigration following the Great Famine and a switch of drinking tastes towards beer and porter. In 1841 the distillery produced its last drop.

Glen Lough, a lonely valley overlooking the Atlantic and 12 km north of Sliabh Liag as the crow flies, was the capital of illicit poitín-making in Donegal. You can still see the remains of an old peat-fired malting house dating back to the 1700’s. In the now deserted village spirit was distilled, put into casks and buried in the bog to mature, usually for four months. The resulting liquid was excellent and often traded for tobacco and brandy. In 1926 Rockwell Kent famously depicted local poitín characters in the painting “Moonshine, Ireland”.

Donegal Poitín was renowned for its quality and was largely made using copper stills and barley. The remoteness of the Sliabh Liag peninsula allowed the Poitín men to carry out their trade with little fear of being caught or of confiscation. So investing in the more expensive copper was worthwhile. However, they were not always able to evade the excise men. Local lore tells of the Red coats raiding the parish of Glencolmcille in 1748 to seize distilling equipment. To hinder their path the locals burnt the bridge across the river, just upstream from where An Dúlamán Distillery now sits.