Tullamore Dew

TULLAMORE DISTILLERY AND "TULLAMORE DEW"the story from 1829 to 1954 is reproduced hereA Famous Irish Distillery TRADITION gives Tullamore an existence in the early years of the Christian era. There is the story of Cahir Mhor, Irish Chieftain from A.D. 120 to 123, who was said to have thirty sons, the eldest being called Ros Failghe-Ros of the Rings. Ros's descendants formed the clan of Hy Failghe, who occupied a large tract of country in the Midlands. The tribal name exists today in the name of the county-Offaly. Captain J. Williams, M.C [died 1965](Former Chairman B. Daly and Co., Ltd.) Nestling in the valley, under the heathery crest of the Slieve Bloom mountains, the clan had their meeting place-the great assembly, Tulach Mhor. Nowadays we call it Tullamore. It is the county capital, a prosperous market town for a rich grain-growing district. It is noted, above all, as the seat of a large Whiskey manufacturing industry-Bernard Daly's Distillery, widely known now as The Tullamore Distillery.UISGE BEATHA Whiskey making in the Irish Midlands dates back to the dim Celtic twilight. A very simple process it was, too, in those days. The field of grain lay ripening in the sun. It was cut and harvested, and a sheaf offered in thanksgiving. Then flailed and winnowed, until the ears remained in a heap of pure gold the bread of life. The grain was ground in a stone quern, and placed in a barrel of warm water to ferment. The fermented liquor was boiled in a pot, and as the steam came off it was condensed by means of a pipe laid in the cold water of the hill stream. And lo and behold! The crystal-clear distillate-Uisge Beatha. The ears of the barley sheaf, the bread of life, had been transformed into the magic distilled essence-the water of life.

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