£10m Limavady Irish Whiskey distillery gets planning approval

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council in County Derry has granted planning approval for the second new distillery in the area in four months, bringing a long-vanished name in Irish distilling back to the area.

Limavady Irish Whiskey has secured planning permission for the new £10 million development in Magilligan.

Darryl McNally, who was at Bushmills for 16 years until 2015, launched the company in 2021, reviving an historic name in Irish whiskey.

The original Limavady Distillery operated in the area between 1750 until around 1915. At the height of its success, the distillery was producing 1.2 million litres of alcohol a year.

The new distillery is set to be developed on McNally’s father’s farm, located 6 miles outside of the Limavady Valley on Ireland’s North Coast. McNally hopes to source local grains and distill in the family barn, a project which has been in the works for a number of years prior to the brand’s launch in 2021.

The £10m investment is expected to create 13 jobs and support another 12 roles indirectly.

McNally said the modern incarnation of the distillery will be capable of producing 3.5 million bottles of whiskey annually, designed to cater for global markets.

“This initiative will particularly benefit local farmers and foster the development of a high-value ecosystem, anticipated to generate tens of millions of pounds for the Causeway Coast and Glens region,” he said.

Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council officially signed off on the farm diversification plans on 2 May 2024, 32 months after the County Derry master distiller submitted his application, The Irish News reported.

It is the second Irish whiskey distillery to be granted permission by the council this year. The Glens of Antrim Distillery project in Cushendall was given the green light in February.

The application for the Glens of Antrim Distillery project was first launched by the McKillop family in December 2020. The proposal initially sparked a number of objection letters, but the McKillop family were eventually able to present a petition with dozens of locals backing their plans. The committee had considered a report from council planning officials which recommended the distillery and tourism project be given the green light.

Limavady Distillery may be rooted in Irish distilling history, but its backing comes from across the pond in the US. McNally partnered with Vermont-based Whistlepig to launch the brand in 2021, and the US backer is responsible for distribution of his Limavady Single Barrel Irish Whiskey in the US market.