Galway Stories

A treasure in Galway whiskey has been returned to the city after over 100 years. Paul Garavan has acquired a bottle of Persse’s Whiskey from a collector. It is now on display in Garavan’s Pub.

The name Persse is synonymous with Galway, mainly because of their whiskey distillery. The family involvement with the alcohol trade began circa 1800 when Henry Stratford Persse established a brewery at Newcastle. He later went into the whiskey distilling business and established a distillery at Newcastle in circa 1823. His home in Newcastle became known as Distillery House. His son-in-law, Burton Persse took over the business after Henry Stratford Persse died. He purchased the Joyce Distillery at Nuns Island in 1840. The Nuns Island complex consisted of a large and extensive courtyard. There was a series of buildings and offices including Malting and Corn Stores, Kiln, Malt House, Brew House, Spirit Store and five Warehouses containing some 5,000 casks of whiskey. The ground floor buildings were used for receiving stocks of barley and storing machinery. Other buildings were dedicated to the tradesmen; Blacksmith, Joiners, Painters, Cooperage, Cart Sheds and Stables. Cooling pipes were laid out along the bed of the stream nearby and connected to the distillery to prevent overheating. Health and safety was a prominent feature of the distillery, with fire hoses laid out all across the premises.

Burton Persse died on 31 August 1859 and was succeeded by his son, Henry Sadlier Persse. Under his guidance the Nuns Island Distillery began a long and successful period of whiskey distilling. He carried out many improvements and was determined to produce the best whiskey that money could buy. In order to do so, Persse invested in good quality barley and supplied the seeds to farmers at cost price. 

Alfred Barnard visited the distillery in 1886 while working on his book, The Whiskey Distilleries of the United Kingdom. He was very impressed by the distilling methods and location. Barnard mentioned the clearness and quality of the water being used was the best he had seen. He recorded that the huge volume of water flowing through the city was powerful enough to ‘Turn all the mills in Manchester’. Persse was producing a Single Pot Still whiskey and kept his recipe a closely guarded secret. Persse was manufacturing some 400,000 gallons of whiskey annually. With such an output, and because whiskey had to remain in storage over long periods of time, additional warehousing was required. He acquired or rented at least five external warehouses, some of which were located in Dublin. The warehouses were said to be filled to capacity with wall-to-wall casks. In 1900, he had an estimated million and half gallons of whiskey in bond. It was said that the entire distillery complex and warehousing would spread over some seven acres. 

He had an extensive share of the home market and across the United Kingdom. Shrewd marketing helped him sell the product in many different countries and made the distillery world-famous. Persse was supplying various establishments, including some prominent venues, such as the Olympia Alexandra Palace and Crystal Palace. Persse’s whiskey was also a favourite beverage in the House of Commons. The firm won this contract over a host of competitors. This was hugely important for the company and set them aside from other distillers. In fact, there was an attempt to ban the whiskey because a number of MPs were arriving into the Commons in a semi-drunken state. However, the attempt failed miserably. Persse’s Whiskey was also served at the royal table of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra when visiting Galway in 1903. One source mentions that it was the favourite drink of Sir Winston Churchill. All of these customers helped make the export market successful and over time it reached places as distant as the United States, Australia and South Africa. It was stated that Persse Whiskey could be found in every ‘Portion of the Habitable Globe’ – in all the great population centres across the United States and in all European capitals. The success of export trade meant that agents had to be employed in various countries to ensure control over the product because the home base was so far away.

Persse began bottling his whiskey in 1893. He initially began with his four-year-old spirit, but discontinued this sometime later. However, he continued to bottle the seven and ten-year-old whiskey. Once the whiskey was bottled it was placed in cases that held a dozen bottles and this was how it was sold to the customer. 

The Persse family had recognised from an early stage that the only way to ensure their whiskey reached the public in its purest form was to have it bottled at the distillery. They believed that this would prevent anyone from tampering with the whiskey. However, some people still managed to dilute the whiskey and by 1900 it was a cause of great concern for William Henry Persse (son of Henry Sadlier Persse), who was then running the business. His guarantee of supplying genuine seven and ten year-old whiskey was now in jeopardy, and something had to be done about the situation. This is interesting as he makes no mention of the four-year-old whiskey. The Persse Distillery became a registered company in 1896. It was hoped that the formation of the company would extend the business even further with financial support from the banks. Advertisements, such as ‘Bottled in Her Majesty’s Bonded Warehouses by the Distillers’, began appearing in newspapers. That same year, 1896, Persse began attaching an additional crescent-shaped label, gold edged with the words, ‘As supplied to the House of Commons’. This was displayed on all seven and ten-year-old whiskey. Again there was no mention of the four-year-old whiskey. The bottle now in Garavan’s is a four-year-old, so the evidence would suggest that it was bottled sometime between 1893 and 1896.

However, Persse eventually became a victim of his own success because some people purchasing his whiskey were diluting it with their own cheaper spirits. They were then selling it off as ‘Persse’s finest’ and demanding the same higher price as the good quality whiskey. Persse issued warnings in newspapers that he would take legal action against anyone tampering with his whiskey. This situation led to a number of legal actions. These court appearances eventually resulted in the demise of the distillery. Persse had taken out bank loans to help extend the business. The legal battles for Persse began in 1901. Over the following years the legal costs mounted. By June 1906, the distillery was in serious financial difficulties. They owed the Bank of Ireland over £24,600 and Persse was served with a notice demanding the money. No settlement was made and on 6 October 1906, the bank obtained a legal judgment against the company. Persse claimed he was unable to pay. The bank then began proceedings to close the distillery and manufacturing ceased. It was declared insolvent and a receiver, Sir Robert Gardner, was appointed as the liquidator. The problem now facing Persse was simple, but disastrous; he couldn’t release the whiskey being held in bond to customers because the company was in liquidation. He couldn’t refund the money to the customers either for the same reason. The bank was in full control of all assets and accounts. The end finally came for the Persse Distillery in October 1910 when it was announced that this valuable and ‘old-established pot still distillery’ along with all its assets were for sale. On 10 May 1911, a ‘Notice’ was placed on the gates of the distillery informing the public that the premises were now officially closed (all business had ceased). A report stated: ‘This announcement ends a chapter in the long career of a famous industry’. 

Reminders of this once prestigious distillery can still be found, sometimes in the most surprising places. Persse memorabilia has become extremely collectable and valuable over the past number of years. The large bar mirrors with the beautiful distinctive image are rare, as are the labelled whiskey bottles. A bottle of Persse Whiskey is almost unheard of in any part of the world. There are a number of stories about the last bottle of Persse Whiskey most of which are now confined to folk memory. One story involved the Galway County Club. Shortly after the closure of the distillery, members of the club purchased a few cases of the famous whiskey. They would raise a glass to ‘Persse’ every New Year’s Eve. This tradition continued until circa 1960 when the last ‘drop’ was consumed.

There is another story of a case (twelve bottles) of Persse’s Whiskey being found in the Nuns Island building during the 1940s. The whiskey was purchased by Larry Hynes, who had a popular pub in William Street. It seems that Larry held onto the whiskey until 1956 when he closed the pub. According to the story, Larry shared the whiskey with all his customers that night, and the twelve bottles were supposedly consumed. However, at least one bottle survived. Larry gave the bottle to Paddy Ryan (City Councillor). Paddy was elected Mayor of Galway in July 1962. One of his first duties took place on 30 July that same year, when he conferred the Freedom of Galway on Mayor Robert Wagner of New York. Following the ceremony, Mayor Ryan and his wife Breda, accompanied by Mayor Wagner and his wife Susan, travelled to the Ardilaun Hotel for lunch. Paddy and Breda were the new owners of the hotel. Paddy felt that this was the most appropriate venue for the final ceremony of the day. The hotel was formerly Glenarde, the home of Henry Sadlier Persse. It was there that Mayor Ryan presented Wagner with what was believed to be the ‘last’ bottle of Persse’s Galway Whiskey. However, the last bottle now resides in Garavans Pub, William Street, Galway.

All of this information, and more, on the history of the family and whiskey making in Galway can be found in Willie Henry’s book Persse’s Galway Whiskey, in all good local bookshops.