Day 6: Faith & whiskey

Today is all about two integral parts of Irish society, our faith and our fondness for the odd tipple, whiskey to be exact, we’re heading first to Clonmacnoise to absolve us from our sins, this sixth-century monastic site, located on the banks of the River Shannon is home to three high crosses, a cathedral, seven churches and two round towers. This great monastery was founded in 548- 9 by St. Ciarán Mac a tSaor (“son of the carpenter”), who studied under St. Finian at the famous Clonard Abbey. The strategic location of the monastery at a crossroads between the major east-west land route through the bogs of central Ireland and the River Shannon helped it become a major centre of religion, learning, craftsmanship and trade by the 9th century.

Clonmacnoise was a centre of learning excellence, and many manuscripts, including the Annals of Tighernach (11th century) and the Book of the Dun Cow (12th century), were written here. The monastery flourished for 600 years as a centre of learning and religious instruction as well as providing much of Ireland’s finest Celtic art and illuminated manuscripts.

After Clonmacnoise and all the worship, we’ll have worked up quite a thirst, you don’t have to be a whiskey drinker to enjoy a trip to the Tullamore Dew warehouse. Situated on the banks of the Grand Canal, the distillery’s original Bonded Warehouse was the last place the whiskey would rest; the final leg on its journey before being shipped up the canal for distribution around the world. But where the casks moved on, the history remained. The first production of the whiskey now known as “Tullamore Dew” was in 1829. The name came from the initials of the man who later owned the distillery and took this produce to the rest of the world – Mr Daniel Edmond Williams. Daniel E. Williams was certainly made of the rare stuff. His earliest days in the distillery were spent shovelling malted barley; his night spent sleeping in the hayloft. He was the ultimate self-made man, propelling himself quickly through the ranks. In 1873 he became General Manager and ultimately owner of the distillery. Single-handedly, he began to turn a good whiskey great. Sometime later, this accomplished, he proudly marked every bottle from the Tullamore Distillery with the initials D.E.W.

You’ll begin with the birth of a brand and end with it in your glass – your very own personal tasting session. See how they use malting to trick our barley into growing, hear the tales of the distillery’s early workers and find out how the angels always get their share. The full tour takes in every step of the artisan craft of whiskey making, each stage a story, told through captivating audio-visual media and the good old Irish charm of expert guides.