The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Third distillery for Fossa as Aghadoe House gets green light
AN BORD PLEANÁLA GRANTS PERMISSION FOR NEW DISTILLERY AT HISTORIC 19TH CENTURY SITE
KILLARNEY’S burgeoning reputation in brewing and whiskey distillation has received a further boost in recent days with An Bord Pleanála giving the green light to Killarney Distillers Limited’s plans for a new distillery on the historic Aghadoe House site in Fossa.
Its approval follows Killarney Brewing Company’s successful 2018 application for a €24m micro-craft distillery at the former Rosenbluth International and Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism site in Killalee, Fossa, which received the go-ahead seven months ago. That project has been under construction for a number of months with the building undergoing a significant overhaul.
Another distillery at Lakeview Estate is home to the Wayward Irish Spirits company founded by Maurice O’Connell, which launched its inaugural release from The Liberator range of finished whiskeys in March, finished in the site’s traditional 300-year-old stone bonded storehouse on the estate. A visitor centre is proposed there in the future.
Meanwhile, Killarney Brewing Company also has a craft brewery on the Muckross Road
The latest distillery is planned at a 4.8-hectare site on the north side of Aghadoe House and grounds feature a derelict coach house, a ruined two-story structure, and lean-to buildings.
The project – lodged with Kerry County Council in May 2019 and approved by the local authority subject to 36 conditions – proposed to conserve and refurbish the coach house as part of a craft distillery.
The application also sought to reinstate a roof and add a glazed canopy to the derelict building; to carry out ‘minor alterations’ to the building to allow facilities such as a café and restaurant; and the reinstatement of perimeter buildings on the existing courtyard to accommodate facilities such as a mill and bar.
Killarney Distillers Limited’s application also sought to build a new still house and multi-purpose event space; a new maturation storage building; and a new entrance and internal roadway at the site. The ambitious project had been subject to an appeal by a serial planning objector – Michael Horgan of 2 Upper Cloonbeg, Tralee – who claimed the site was unsuitable for such a large commercial project, and he argued that a development would be better suited to vacant industrial sites closer to Killarney town.
He also claimed that the project would, in his view, threaten the viability of the town centre and that it also posed a threat to local wildlife. He further questioned whether or not the plan corresponded with the requirements of the current County Development Plan. However, an An Bord Pleanála inspector found that the development “would not undermine the form and character of the woodland habitat and its setting; would be in keeping with the provisions of the current Local Area Plan and the Kerry County Development Plan; and would, therefore, be in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area”.
An Bord Pleanála sided with its inspector in approving the application, subject to 12 conditions.