PERRSE'S GALWAY WHISKEY
by Tom Kenny
The name Persse is synonymous with Galway, the first members of the family having arrived in this country with the Cromwellians and many of them making significant contributions to life here since, the best known being Isabella Augusta Persse who later became Lady Gregory.
The family involvement with the alcohol trade began about the year 1800 when Henry Stratford Persse and Robert Persse established a porter brewery at Newcastle. It was in an ideal location, close to the river, and had a natural continuous supply of water to power the equipment. It was capable of producing 3,000 to 4,000 barrels of porter a month. The brewery was initially successful but sadly eventually went bankrupt. It was purchased by a man named Adams who moved the business to Madeira Island, thus leaving the Newcastle site available for the establishment of a distillery there.
In 1840, Burton Persse purchased the Nuns Island Distillery which had been owned by John Lynch and which had been producing 100,000 gallons per annum. Persse initially established a woollen mill there but when the trade in this article declined and when the lease on his Newcastle distillery ran out, he restored the works at Nuns Island to their original business and focused all of his energy on enlarging and improving the distillery.
Many improvements were carried out and the operation became more sophisticated. Persse made maximum use of the waters in the distilling process and of the power of the waters in the river for driving the machinery. They became major contributors to the industrial life of Galway, were one of the city's biggest employers and they generated business for many artisans in their immediate vicinity - coopers, cork manufacturers, printers, carters, case makers, etc. We do not know where their bottles were made but the Straw Envelope Factory was another ancillary business which produced woven straw containers into which the bottles fitted and were thus protected while being shipped.
In order to produce the best whiskey, it was necessary to use the best quality barley, so Persse's began to sell high quality Chevalier barley seed at cost price in order to encourage farmers to grow this particular crop. There were other types of seed available, but they were determined to promote their own choice by supplying the seed cheaply, and in doing so, brought a great deal of commerce to towns and villages close to where the barley was grown. For example, the climate and soil around Kinvara were ideally suited for growing barley and so the barley market there thrived. Persse would arrive with a large number of staff and there were times when they loaded 20 tons of barley on to boats for the journey back to Galway.
In 1901, The Freeman's Journal reported that Persse Whiskey could be found in 'every portion of the habitable globe, in the principal cities and colonies, whether in America, Australia or South Africa, in all the great centres of population in the United States and in all the capitals of Europe'. It was the favourite beverage in the House of Commons.
There were a number of court cases against publicans who were diluting Persse's Whiskey which was having a damaging effect on the distiller's reputation. There were other factors too militating against them and sadly, in October 1910, it was announced was in liquidation and was for sale by private tender.
All of the above is taken from a new book by William Henry entitled Persse's Galway Whiskey which documents the history of the business for the first time. It is the result of hard work, meticulous research, and attention to detail, a record of the people involved, the lives they led, and the systems they used. It is a must for anyone interested in Galway history, is highly recommended and available in good bookshops.
Our images today are among the many in this book and show a Perrse Whiskey mirror which is on display in the Galway City Museum and an old poem which was recited for Paul Grealish by Olga Madden and is now on display in The King's Head.