PROJECT PROFILE
McCONNELL’S DISTILLERY, CRUMLIN ROAD GAOL, BELFAST
A STRUCTURALLY CHALLENGING PROJECT SAW FELIX O’HARE & CO INSTALL A WORKING DISTILLERY AND FIT OUT THE VISITOR CENTRE AT THE NEW £23M HOME FOR MCCONNELL’S IRISH WHISKY WHILE PRESERVING THE VICTORIAN ARCHITECTURE OF THE HISTORIC CRUMLIN ROAD GAOL… PRESERVING THE INTEGRITY OF A GRADE A-LISTED JAIL
Ensuring the existing character of Crumlin Road Gaol was not compromised during the complex structural works required to create McConnell’s Distillery and Visitor Experience was no small ask for Felix O’Hare & Co Ltd. As main contractor, the Newry business was charged with preserving the integrity of the Grade A-listed jail designed by Sir Charles Lanyon and built between 1843 and 1845. Representing a £23m investment by the Belfast Distillery Company, the production facility and visitor experience is housed in the A-wing of the historic jail, which is also home to another popular visitor attraction open to the public for
tours, concerts and events. Invest Northern Ireland and the Department for Communities contributed a combined £1.9m of support towards the project, with the Department for Infrastructure extending a lease for its development to Belfast Distillery Company. Belfast Distillery Company was created in 2020 by a group of US investors to revive McConnell’s Irish Whisky, a historic Belfast brand dating back to 1776 before the ‘e’ was introduced in Irish whiskey. Expected to attract around 100,000 visitors a year, the new distillery opened to the public on March 27 following a two- year renovation and restoration project. Extending over three floors, the distillery
includes 1,000sqm of floor space for the working distillery, which will operate 24/7, with an open-plan layout showcasing the whole process to visitors. It is expected to produce an annual 500,000 litres of pure alcohol, equating to around four million bottles of McConnell’s 5 Year blend. Belfast Distillery Company also produces a McConnell’s Sherry Cask finish and will eventually roll out a super- premium range. A further 1,700sqm for the visitor centre includes floor space for the whiskey tours and a licensed bar, all-day café and gift shop, available for private event hire. While offering a spectacular setting for the distillery, Crumlin Road Gaol created
“We’re proud to have created a remarkable new space in Northern Ireland that respects its past while looking boldly towards the future.”
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