Building has started on a new €25m Irish whiskey distillery in County Carlow.

The founders of the independent Walsh Whiskey Distillery are Bernard and Rosemary Walsh. It is located at Royal Oak, by the banks of the River Barrow.

Situated on an 18th Century estate, comprising of 40 acres of pastoral land, the distillery will be the largest independent whiskey distillery in Ireland. Its two production lines, using both pot stills and column stills, will give Walsh Whiskey the capacity to produce 500,000 cases – two million litres of pure alcohol (LPA's) or six million bottles – of whiskey annually.

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Once commissioned, in early 2016, the distillery will produce Walsh Whiskey's critically acclaimed, award winning, ultra-premium Irish whiskey brands – The Irishman and Writers Tears.

The development will also include two maturation houses with a capacity for 60,000 barrels and a visitor experience, incorporating the 18th Century Holloden House, which will cater for 75,000 'whiskey tourists' by 2021.

(CD/JP)