Tullamore Dew in process of buying large parcel of land from Offaly County Council

Tullamore Dew is currently engaged in the process of buying a big parcel of land from Offaly County Council adjacent to its factory in Clonminch Tullamore.

On Monday afternoon, during their monthly meeting, the councillors agreed to the sale of the land.

In Item Three on the agenda, the Director of Services Tom Shanahan told the meeting that under Section 183 of the Local Government Act 2001 the Council was proposing to sell two separate plots in Clonminch to William Grant and Sons (Irish Manufacturing Ltd), the owners of Tullamore Dew.

The first plot was 9,097 acres and was worth €454,850. The second was 10.41 acres and was worth €416,400. The councillors unanimously agreed to the sale.

Cllr Neil Feighery pointed out that this was excellent, very positive news for Tullamore and the wider Offaly region.

Cllr Sean O'Brien also warmly welcomed the news. He said it was Tullamore Dew who approached the Council and asked to buy the land.

“Tullamore Dew has been such a success story since they arrived here in 2014,” he commented, “and we are delighted to see they are planning to expand again, and expand significantly. It will probably mean the creation of more jobs, which is always a good thing.”

The councillor added that Tullamore Dew has also bought another parcel of land from another landowner adjacent to their factory.

Cllr Declan Harvey said he was delighted to hear the news and he hoped it would lead to more job creation.

The councillors said they are strongly committed to attracting more companies into the area, with the aim of bringing about more employment.

Back in September 2018 it was announced that William Grant & Sons had invested a further 25 million Euros in the Tullamore Dew site bringing its total investment in the distillery to about 60 million Euros. About 80 people are employed in the facility. In October 2017 the new grain distillery and bottling plant were officially opened making it one of the world's few “grain to glass” whiskey operations.

Giles Wilson, CEO of William Grant & Sons, said the company is an independent, family-owned business and really cares about the legacy it's creating. He said that when the company sees potential it makes a big effort, focussing on investing and building. The company can see that potential in Tullamore. Tullamore Dew is the second largest Irish whiskey globally (after Jameson), selling 1.5 million cases annually.

Whiskey production returned to Tullamore for the first time in sixty years in 2014 when William Grant opened the distillery in Clonminch.